C hristian
08-08-2003, 09:01 AM
KINGSTON, Jamaica (Reuters) - Reggae star Jimmy Cliff has been awarded Jamaica's Order of Merit, the Caribbean island's third highest honor, according to a list of national award winners published on Thursday.
Cliff, whose real name is James Chambers, has released 30 albums in a career spanning 40 years and ranks behind only the late Bob Marley as a champion of reggae, the Jamaican music that has enjoyed international acclaim since the 1960s.
Jamaica's Order of Merit ranks behind National Hero and the Order of the Nation, which is usually reserved for prime ministers and governors general. The honors are announced around Independence Day, Aug. 6, and are handed out at a ceremony on National Heroes Day, Oct. 20.
Cliff, 55, starred in the local hit movie "The Harder They Come" released in the United States in the mid 1970s and co-starred with Robin Williams (news) and Peter O'Toole (news) in the movie "Club Paradise" and with Steven Seagal (news) in "Marked for Death."
Reuters/VNU
Cliff, whose real name is James Chambers, has released 30 albums in a career spanning 40 years and ranks behind only the late Bob Marley as a champion of reggae, the Jamaican music that has enjoyed international acclaim since the 1960s.
Jamaica's Order of Merit ranks behind National Hero and the Order of the Nation, which is usually reserved for prime ministers and governors general. The honors are announced around Independence Day, Aug. 6, and are handed out at a ceremony on National Heroes Day, Oct. 20.
Cliff, 55, starred in the local hit movie "The Harder They Come" released in the United States in the mid 1970s and co-starred with Robin Williams (news) and Peter O'Toole (news) in the movie "Club Paradise" and with Steven Seagal (news) in "Marked for Death."
Reuters/VNU