In 1969 when Perry Henzell met Jimmy Cliff at Dynamic Records in Kingston, the singer knew nothing about the fledgling film-maker. Henzell was looking to record songs for the soundtrack to his first movie, and he thought the artiste would be perfect to write and sing them.

“After di [recording] session finish I saw this bearded white man, an’ he said: ‘I’m making a movie. Do you think you can write some songs for it?’ I say, ‘How yuh mean if mi think?! Mi can do anything!’ ” Cliff recalled in a 2021 interview with the Jamaica Observer.

Cliff — who died from pneumonia on November 24 at age 81 — would not only perform most of the songs for the 1972 movie, known as
The Harder They Come, he played the lead role of Ivan, which made him a superstar.

Justine Henzell, Perry’s daughter, told the Observer that: “Jimmy Cliff was family, having been close to the Henzells for over 50 years.”

She added that Jimmy Cliff and her father, who died in 2006, shared a special bond.

“Perry always said that working with Jimmy as an actor was a gift because once the scene was set and the characters motivation for that scene determined, Jimmy would ad lib and there was no need to write dialogue for him. He embodied the character as envisioned and then added nuance.

“Perry was an actor’s director and valued authenticity above all else. Their combined talents led to a brilliant collaboration and a lasting relationship based on mutual respect,” she said.

The Harder They Come was inspired by the criminal exploits of Ivanhoe “Rhyging” Martin, who terrorised sections of Kingston in 1948. He was killed by police that year.

At the time, Perry Henzell lived on the Caymanas Estates, where his father was a manager. Rhyging hid out in its swamps and he read daily about the police trying to capture him.

In a 2004 interview with the Observer, Perry Henzell said while he had been making a good living as an advertising executive, he was tired of that job, and was determined to make a film recalling Rhyging’s reign of terror.

At the time of Jimmy Cliff and the elder Henzell’s initial meeting, the artiste (born James Chambers in Somerton, St James), was an established singer with producer Leslie Kong’s Beverley’s Records. By the second time he saw Henzell, the director had changed his tune.

“He said, ‘Yuh know, I think you’re a better actor than singer.’ Mi say to myself, ‘Him rude! But him right, ’cause a acting mi used to do inna school. No play neva miss mi,” he recalled in the 2021 interview.

Cliff performed five of the songs on The Harder They Come soundtrack — the title track; Many Rivers to Cross; Wonderful World, Beautiful People; You Can Get if You Really Want; and Sitting in Limbo.

Justine last spoke to Jimmy Cliff in July when he celebrated his birthday.

“My mother Sally and I called Jimmy to wish him happy birthday and had a wonderful conversation catching up on what was happening in everyone’s life,” she said.

Jimmy Cliff won two Grammy Awards, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and was a recipient of the Order of Merit, Jamaica’s third-highest honour.

Jimmy Cliff (left) and Perry Henzell on the set of The Harder They Come