Some artists entertain. And then, there are other special ones who inspire, educate, and shape everything you do without you even realizing it. For Jamaican-born, New York-based entertainment publicist Anthony \u201cER Guru\u201d Turner, Jimmy Cliff was \u201cone of the special ones.\u201d<\/p>\n
The reggae singer, songwriter, actor and philanthropist was born in Somerton District, St. James, Jamaica on Jul. 30, 1944. On Nov. 24, 2025, 81 years later, he chose Zion.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Turner told Caribbean Life on Monday, Dec. 8, that Cliff \u201cmay not be physically here with us in the flesh, but he lives on in every melody he gifted us in songs like “Harder They Come,” “Many Rivers To Cross,” “Rebel In Me,” and others.<\/p>\n \u201cJimmy’s music was the soundtrack to generations of Jamaicans at home and in the Diaspora,\u201d he said, noting that \u201cYou Can Get It If You Really Want,\u201d which first captured global attention in the 1972 film \u201cThe Harder They Come,\u201d \u201cfound new life when it was featured in ‘Speed 2,’ in the Will Smith film \u2018Hitch,’ in the animated hit \u2018The Pirates Band of Misfits,\u2019 and on the album \u2018Sebastian from The Little Mermaid.\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Turner disclosed that he \u201chad the pleasure to work with Jimmy Cliff twice.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI first met Jimmy in 2010 when he became only the second Jamaican reggae artist alongside Bob Marley to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame,\u201d he said. \u201cI was asked to arrange a press junket in Manhattan by his management for about 30 media outlets, including The New York Times, Vibe Magazine, Forever Reggae TV, CLM TV and others at the Waldorf Astoria that welcomed him to New York.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cJimmy spoke about the roots of his music and delved into the oppression from which he rose to become a global superstar,\u201d Turner added. \u201cHe spoke about opening gates so others could pass through. His humility and his charming smile filled the room.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI watched him work,\u201d he continued. \u201cI watched him connect with the rooms full of journalists who listened intently and held on to every word the reggae icon delivered.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Turner recalled when Cliff asked him to hold his Rock & Roll Hall of Fame trophy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt may have seemed like a small gesture to some. For me, it was holding a piece of history, a cherished piece of Jamaica that I may never get that opportunity again,\u201d he said. \u201cThis was Jimmy’s story, as well as a piece of my own story.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Turner said he and Cliff\u2019s paths crossed again in 2012 at Groovin\u2019 In The Park in Jamaica, Queens.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cJimmy was booked as a headline performer alongside R&B heavyweights Gladys Knight and Boyz II Men, reggae crooner Beres Hammond, and dancehall doctor Beenie Man,\u201d he said. \u201cWatching him command the Roy Wilkins Park stage was nostalgic and reminded me once again why the world loved this \u2018son of the soil.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cJimmy transformed the stage and took thousands of reggae lovers on a musical odyssey, and made them family,\u201d Turner reminisced.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI give you gratitude, Jimmy, for the songs that raised an entire generation,\u201d he added. \u201cYou were a bridge between generations.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThank you for walking with us for so long,\u201d Turner continued. \u201cYour voice may have been silenced, but your songs will forever live in our hearts.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Some artists entertain. And then, there are other special ones who inspire, educate, and shape everything you do without you even realizing it. For Jamaican-born, New York-based entertainment publicist Anthony \u201cER Guru\u201d Turner, Jimmy Cliff was \u201cone of the special ones.\u201d The reggae singer, songwriter, actor and philanthropist was born in Somerton District, St. James, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5880","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-latest-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/islandflavaradio.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5880","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/islandflavaradio.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/islandflavaradio.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/islandflavaradio.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/islandflavaradio.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5880"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/islandflavaradio.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5880\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/islandflavaradio.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5880"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/islandflavaradio.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5880"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/islandflavaradio.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5880"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}