On November 24, 2025, James Chambers (aka Jimmy Cliff) died aged 81. He was singer, musician (guitar, piano, keyboards, congas) and actor, one of the most important figures in worldwide promotion of the Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae music. He was the only living reggae musician to hold the “Order of Merit”, the highest honor that can be granted by the Jamaican government for achievements in the arts and sciences. In 2010, Jimmy Cliff was inducted in the “Rock and Roll Hall of Fame”.
Tag Archives: Jimmy Cliff
Three Dog Night: Hard Labor
On March 6, 1974, “Dunhill” label released “Hard Labor”, the eleventh Three Dog Night album. It was recorded in 1973, at “Record Plant” in Sausalito, California, and was produced by Jimmy Lenner.
Personnel:
- Danny Hutton – lead and backing vocals, arrangements
- Chuck Negron – lead and backing vocals, arrangements
- Cory Wells – lead and backing vocals, arrangements
- Mike Allsup – banjo, guitars, arrangements
- Jimmy Greenspoon – keyboard, arrangements
- Skip Konte – keyboard, ARP, chamberlin, arrangements
- Jack Ryland – bass, arrangements
- Joe Schermie – bass, arrangements
- Floyd Sneed – percussion, drums, arrangements
- Greg Calbi, Dennis Ferrante, Jimmy Lenner, Jay Messina, Tom Rabstenek, John Stronach – engineer
- Corky Stasiak – engineer assistant
- Roy Cicala – engineer, remix
- Jim Messina – engineer, remix
- Ed Caraeff – art direction, photography
- David Larkham – design
Track listing:
- Prelude – public domain
- Sure As I’m Sittin’ Here – John Hiatt
- Anytime Baby – Larry Weiss
- Put Out the Light – Daniel Moore
- Sitting in Limbo – Gully Bright, Jimmy Cliff
- I’d Be So Happy – Skip Prokop
- Play Something Sweet (Brickyard Blues) – Allen Toussaint
- On the Way Back Home – Daniel Moore
- The Show Must Go On – David Courtney, Leo Sayer
Jimmy Cliff: House of Exile
In December 1974, “EMI” label released “House of Exile”, album by Jimmy Cliff. It was recorded in 1974, at “Dynamic Sounds Studios” and “Dimensional Sound Studios” in New York, and was produced by Jimmy Cliff.
Personnel:
- Jimmy Cliff – vocal, arranger
- Dad Bryan – lead guitar, bottleneck and rhythm guitar
- Hux Brown – guitar, rhythm guitar
- Gladstone Anderson – piano
- Winston Wright – organ, Moog synthesizer, clavinet
- Jackie Jackson – bass
- Tommy McCook – saxophone, flute
- Bobby Ellis – trumpet
- Bob Howsall – engineer
- Carl Piterson – engineer
- Val Wright – illustration
- Cream – design
Track listing:
All tracks by Jimmy Cliff.
- Brother
- I Want to Know
- You Can’t Be Wrong and Get Right
- House of Exile
- Foolish Pride
- No. 1 Rip-Off Man
- Long Time No See
- I’ve Been Dead 400 Years
- Look What You Done to My Life, Devil Woman
- Music Maker
- My Love Is Solid as a Rock
- Money Won’t Save You
Brownsville Station: Yeah!
In August 1973, “Big Tree” label released “Yeah!”, the third studio Brownsville Station studio album. It was recorded in 1973, at “Mediasound” in New York City, and was produced by Doug Morris and Eric Stevens.
Personnel:
- Cub Koda – vocals, guitar
- Mike Lutz – vocals, bass
- Henry “H Bomb” Weck – drums
- Michael Delugg – engineer
- Beverly Weinstein – art direction
- Rob Nalli – photography
Track listing:
- Question of Temperature – Mike Appel, Ed Schnug, Don Henny
- Lightnin’ Bar Blues – Hoyt Axton
- Take It or Leave It – H. Cardell
- All Night Long – Mike Lutz, Cub Koda
- Let Your Yeah Be Yeah – Jimmy Cliff
- Sweet Jane – Lou Reed
- Love, Love, Love – Terry Knight
- Go Out and Get Her – Doug Morris
- Barefootin’ – Robert Parker
- Smokin’ in the Boy’s Room – Mike Lutz, Cub Koda
John Sebastian: Tarzana Kid
In August 1974, “Reprise” label released “Tarzana Kid”, the sixth John Sebastian album. It was recorded in 1974, and was produced by Erik Jacobsen and John Sebastian.
Personnel:
- John Sebastian – vocals, acoustic, electric and rhythm guitar, banjo, marimba, harmonica, autoharp, dulcimer, arranger
- Ry Cooder – mandolin, slide guitar
- Lowell George – vocal, harmony vocals, guitar
- Amos Garrett – guitar
- Russell Dushiell – guitar
- Jerry McKuen – guitar
- Ron Koss – guitar
- Buddy Emmons – steel guitar
- David Grisman – mandolin
- Kenny Altman – bass
- Milt Holland – drums
- Jim Gordon – drums
- Kelly Shanahan – drums
- Bobbye Hall – congas
- David Lindley – fiddle
- Richie Olson – clarinet
- Pinter Sisters – vocals
- Emmylou Harris – vocal
- Phil Everly – backing vocals
- Donn Landee, John Boyd, Peter Granet, Steve Jarvis – engineer
- Basin St. Graphics – photography
Track listing:
All tracks by John Sebastian, except where noted.
- Sitting In Limbo – Guilly Bright, Jimmy Cliff
- Friends Again
- Dixie Chicken – Fred Martin, Lowell George
- Stories We Could Tell
- Face Of Appalachia – John Sebastian, Lowell George
- Wild Wood Flowers – traditional
- Wild About My Lovin’ – traditional
- Singing The Blues – Melvin Endsley
- Sportin’ Life – Joe Butler, Steve Boone, Zal Yanovsky
- Harpoon – E. Jacobsen, K. Shanahan, K. Altman, Neopolitan, R. Koss
Black Angels: Passover
On April 11, 2006, “Light in the Attic Records” label released “Passover” the debut Black Angels album. It was recorded in 2005, at “Cacophony Recorders”, “Wire Recording”, and “Shh! Recording Studios” in Austin, Texas, and was produced by Erik Wofford, Ross Ingram, Christian Bland, Nate Ryan, Alex Maas and Stephanie Bailey.
Personnel:
- Christian Bland – vocals, guitar, bass
- Nate Ryan – bass, guitar
- Alex Maas – vocals, bass
- Stephanie Bailey – drums, percussion
- Jennifer Raines – drone machine
- Erik Wofford – recording, mixing
- Ross Ingram – recording, mixing
- Dave Cooley – mastering
- Christian Bland – design
- Brian Jones – design
Track listing:
- Young Men Dead
- The First Vietnamese War
- Sniper at the Gates of Heaven
- The Prodigal Sun
- Black Grease
- Manipulation
- Empire
- Better Off Alone
- Bloodhounds on My Trail
- Call to Arms
The track “Call to Arms” ends at minute 10:42. After 3 minutes and 30 seconds of silence (10:42 – 14:12), begins a hidden song, a cover of Jimmy Cliff’s track “Vietnam”.
Jaco Pastorius
On September 21, 1987, John Francis Anthony “Jaco” Pastorius III died aged 35. He was a musician (bass), a member of Weather Report (1976 – 1981). Regarded as one of the best world bass players, he worked and recorded with Joni Mitchell, Pat Metheny, Herbie Hancock, Randy Bernsen, Little Beaver, Ira Sullivan, Albert Mangelsdorff, Ian Hunter, Airto Moreira, Tom Scott, Flora Purim, Cockrell & Santos, Michel Colombier, Manolo Badrena, Michel Polnareff, Bob Mintzer, Brian Melvin, Jimmy Cliff, Brian Melvin Trio, and Mike Stern. In 2006 Pastorius was voted “The Greatest Bass Player Who Has Ever Lived” by readers in Bass Guitar magazine, and was inducted in the Down Beat “Hall of Fame”. During his lifetime Pastorius released four albums as a leader.
The Walkmen: Pussy Cats Starring the Walkmen
On October 24, 2006, “Record Collection” label released “Pussy Cats Starring the Walkmen”, the fourth Walkmen (The) studio album. It is song cover of the 1974 Harry Nilsson album “Pussy Cats” which was produced by John Lennon.
Personnel:
- Matt Barrick– conga, drums, maracas, tambourine, cowbell, wood block
- Peter Bauer– organ, farfisa organ, Vox Continental
- Hamilton Leithauser– vocals, acoustic guitar, glockenspiel, electric guitar, handwriting
- Walter Martin– acoustic guitar, bass, kazoo, maracas, organ, piano, tambourine, triangle, vibraslap, cowbell, fuzz bass, slide whistle
- Quentin Stoltzfus– vocals
- Alex Waterman– cello, string arrangements
- Dana Lyn– viola
- Rob Moose – violin
- Paul Maroon– piano, electric guitar
- Chris Colbert, Kevin McMahon– engineer, mixing
- Elijah Thomson– engineer assistant, mixing assistant
Track listing:
- Many Rivers to Cross – Jimmy Cliff
- Subterranean Homesick Blues – Bob Dylan
- Don’t Forget Me – Harry Nilsson
- All My Life – Harry Nilsson
- Old Forgotten Soldier- Harry Nilsson
- Save the Last Dance – Doc Pomus, Mort Shuman
- Mucho Mungo/Mt. Elga – John Lennon, Harry Nilsson
- Loop De Loop – Ted Vann
- Black Sails – Harry Nilsson
- Rock Around the Clock – Jimmy DeKnight, Max C. Freedman
The Animals: Before We Were So Rudely Interrupted
In August 1977, “Barn Records” label released “Before We Were So Rudely Interrupted”, the eleventh Animals (The) album. It was a reunion album from The Animals, billed The Original Animals. It was recorded in 1977, at “Rolling Stones Mobile Studio” in Goulds Farm, and was produced by Chas Chandler.
Personnel:
- Eric Burdon– vocals
- Hilton Valentine– guitar
- Alan Price– keyboards
- Chas Chandler– bass
- Alan O’Duffy – engineer
- Paul Hardiman – mixing
- Jo Mirowski – design
- Terry O’Neill- photography
Track listing:
- Brother Bill (The Last Clean Shirt) – Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller, Clyde Otis
- It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue – Bob Dylan
- Fire on the Sun – Shaky Jake aka James D. Harris
- As the Crow Flies – Jimmy Reed
- Please Send Me Someone to Love – Percy Mayfield
- Many Rivers to Cross – Jimmy Cliff
- Just a Little Bit – John Thornton, Ralph Bass, Earl Washington, Piney Brown
- Riverside County – Eric Burdon, Alan Price, Hilton Valentine, Chas Chandler, John Steel
- Lonely Avenue – Doc Pomus
- The Fool – Lee Hazlewood
Al Kooper: A Possible Projection of the Future / Childhood’s End
In April 1972, “Columbia” label released “A Possible Projection of the Future / Childhood’s End”, the fifth Al Kooper album. It was recorded in 1972, and was produced by Al Kooper.
Personnel:
- Al Kooper – vocals, acoustic and electric pianos, organ, guitars, ARP, VCS3 and Moog synthesizers, Mellotron, tambourine, sitar
- Alan Parker – acoustic guitar
- Harvey Brooks – electric bass
- Herbie Flowers – electric bass
- Bobby West – electric bass
- Paul Humphrey – drums
- Bobbye Hall Porter – percussion
- Barry Morgan – drums
- Claudia Lennear, Linda Lewis, Michael Gately, Robert John – backing vocals
- Clydie King, Venetta Fields, Oma Drake, Edna Wright – backing vocals
- John Punter- spoken introduction, engineer
Track listing:
All tracks by Al Kooper; except where noted
- A Possible Projection of the Future
- The Man in Me – Bob Dylan
- Fly On
- Please Tell Me Why – Guilly Bright, Jimmy Cliff
- The Monkey Time – Curtis Mayfield
- Let Your Love Shine
- Swept for You Baby – Smokey Robinson
- Bended Knees (Please Don’t Leave Me Now)
- Love Trap
- Childhood’s End
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