Article Contributed by Gratefulweb
Published on November 24, 2025
Jimmy Cliff | Boulder Theater | photos by moran
It’s a heartbreaking day in the music world. The great Jimmy Cliff, a once-in-a-generation force of joy, resistance, rhythm, and light, has left us. And even as we write those words, they don’t feel real. Jimmy was vitality itself—a living pulse, a spark, a sunbeam in human form. His music didn’t just move bodies; it moved entire cultures, generations, and moments in history.
For those of us in the Grateful Dead community, Jimmy Cliff was more than a reggae legend—he was part of the soundtrack that shaped Jerry Garcia’s soul. “Sitting in Limbo,” “The Harder They Come,” —songs Jerry carried like spiritual companions. Every time Garcia covered Jimmy’s tunes, you could feel the reverence, the love, the connection. Jimmy’s melodies flowed effortlessly into JGB’s world because the source was the same: belief in humanity, resilience in the face of struggle, and joy even when the storm clouds gather.
And today, those clouds are heavy.
Jimmy Cliff didn’t simply perform; he radiated. Anyone lucky enough to see him live knows the truth—he glowed onstage. His music felt like a sunrise. The photos from the Boulder Theater in 2013—the ones we’re sharing again here—say more than words ever could. He’s all motion, all color, all exuberance. Orange jacket open wide like wings. Face lifted to the heavens. Guitar slung low. Every fiber of his being carrying the weight of reggae’s past and the promise of its future.
That night in Boulder, every person in the room left lighter than they arrived. Jimmy Cliff had that power.
He could take the hardest truths and turn them into melodies that healed.
He could take suffering and turn it into hope.
He could take injustice and turn it into fuel for unity.
Few artists ever walked that line so gracefully.
Jimmy’s influence is immeasurable. Without him, there is no The Harder They Come. No international reggae wave. No door blasted open for Bob Marley, Toots, Peter Tosh, Burning Spear, or the thousands of artists who followed. He carried Jamaican music onto the world stage not with ego, but with purpose.
And the loss—today especially—feels enormous.
But grief is only half the story. The other half is gratitude. Because Jimmy Cliff left behind music that will outlive all of us. When the world feels dark, we’ll still have You Can Get It If You Really Want. We’ll still have The Harder They Come. We’ll still have Many Rivers to Cross. We’ll still have the memories of nights—like Boulder in 2013—when Jimmy stepped onstage and made the world feel warm, alive, and full of possibility.
Jimmy Cliff made life sunnier.
And because of him, it always will be.
Rest easy, Jimmy.
Your voice echoes forever.
— Grateful Web
