GEOFF BENNETT: Finally tonight: Reggae# legend Jimmy Cliff has died.

His family## says the cause was complications# following a seizure and pneumonia.

A native son of Jamaica, a two-time Grammy winner# and a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame,## Cliff carried his country's music from# the streets of Kingston to audiences## around the world, turning# reggae into a global sound.

He was considered the first international star# of reggae and, for a time, Jimmy Cliff was the## genre's greatest ambassador.

He personified# the music of Jamaica, building a career## that spanned nearly seven decades and a# fan base that reached across the world.

Cliff rose to prominence in the early 1960s,# paving the way for another giant of the genre,## Bob Marley, just as Jamaica was# gaining its independents from Britain.## He said his music and the early sounds of reggae# itself were changing right along with his country.

JIMMY CLIFF, Musician: Music# doesn't really stay the same.## I mean.

Especially popular music# keeps changing.

So reggae music,## we know that is coming from, like you say,# what was called ska, then to rocksteady,## which was the bridge to reggae.

And then, when it# became known as reggae, that name kind of stuck.

GEOFF BENNETT: He sang in a lilting tenor voice# and performed with a charismatic upbeat persona,## outward joy on stage that so often belied the# seriousness and social consciousness of his music.

JIMMY CLIFF: The people# don't want another Vietnam!

(CHEERING) GEOFF BENNETT: Cliff's s.. like his anti-war anthem "Vietnam."

He# said music could give people purpose.

JIMMY CLIFF: Music can highlight# awareness.

And from that awareness,## people can take some kind of# action to better the situation.

I think that's the role music has# played through the ages.

And I think## it's the role that it is playing now.

And# I think that is the role that it can play.

You want to go and beg work for $10 a week# for the rest of my life?

I would rather die.

GEOFF BENNETT: A gifted actor, as well as# musician, Cliff starred in the 1972 crime## drama "The Harder They Come," a groundbreaking# Jamaican film.

He won acclaim for his lead role## as Ivan Martin, an aspiring reggae musician# turned criminal.

He also wrote much of the## film's soundtrack, which helped to bring reggae# to a wider audience, especially in the U.S.

After a period when his star had noticeably# dimmed, he reemerged, perhaps most memorably## with his unmistakable modern take on Johnny# Nash's "I Can See Clearly Now," recorded for## the soundtrack of "Cool Runnings," the 1993 hit# film about the Jamaican Olympic bobsled team.

Nominated for seven Grammys, he# won twice for best reggae album.## In 2003, Cliff received Jamaica's Order# of Merit, the country's highest honor## for those in the arts and sciences.

And, in# 2010, he was inducted into the Rock and Hall## of Fame.

One of reggae music's greatest# pioneers, Jimmy Cliff, was 81 years old.