Earle - File
While researching the career of Jimmy Cliff a year ago, Charles Earle was surprised that the reggae superstar was not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. For him, it was a wrong that needed to be corrected.
The 42-year-old Birmingham, Alabama, native started his campaign to get Cliff inducted two weeks ago, when he launched the jimmycliffforthehall blog. It contains popular Cliff trivia, such as his starring role in the 1972 landmark movie, The Harder They Come, but Earle also posted notes on superstars who have covered his songs to show Cliff's influence on pop culture.
Something to work towards
In an interview with Tidbits Thursday, Earle said it is remarkable Cliff has not been recognised by the judges of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which is located in Cleveland, Ohio.
"When I saw he wasn't in there I felt that was something I wanted to work towards. His contribution to pop music certainly deserves a place in the 'Hall'," Earle said.
Bob Marley, a contemporary of Cliff's, is the only reggae act in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He was inducted in 1994 alongside R&B legends the Isley Brothers and guitar maestro Jimi Hendrix.
Inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame are selected by a nominating committee made up of rock music historians. They send their list to an international voting body of more than 500 experts who choose the persons getting the most votes.
As many as seven performers are inducted into the 'Hall' each year.
Cliff, 61, certainly has the credentials for induction. Performers are eligible for nomination 25 years after recording their first album. The selection committee also looks at the "influence and significance of their contribution to the development and perpetuation of rock and roll".
Earle says response to his blog, to date, has been "extremely positive" and believes it can gather enough steam to get the attention of Hall of Fame judges.
"I'm gonna work this from whatever angle that I can and get the word out," he said. "If we were to get someone like Bruce Springsteen behind this idea, that would be tremendous momentum."
Springsteen has performed the Cliff original Trapped in concert for nearly 30 years.
Introduced to Cliff
Jimmy Cliff - File
Like many Americans, Earle said he was introduced to Cliff through, The Harder They Come. He first saw the film during the 1980s while he was a student at the University of Alabama, where he majored in journalism.
Although he listened to reggae on Alabama radio stations, he wrote mainly about country music during six years at Nashville In Review, a weekly newspaper in Tennessee. While there, he was one of several journalists who lobbied for singer Porter Wagoner's induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Wagoner, best known as Dolly Parton's mentor, was eventually inducted. Earle hopes a similar effort will get Jimmy Cliff into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Jimmy Cliff cover notes
Sitting In Limbo, from The Harder They Come soundtrack, has been covered by the Neville Brothers.
Many Rivers to Cross, another track from The Harder They Come, has been done by several top acts including Bruce Springsteen, Joe Cocker, Linda Ronstadt, UB40 and Elvis Costello.
The Jerry Garcia Band and Jamiroquai are among the artistes who have put their spin on The Harder They Come.
Trivia
The Harder They Come and Many Rivers to Cross are on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll.
The Harder They Come soundtrack is listed at number 119 on Rolling Stone magazine's 500 Greatest Albums of all Time.
Jimmy Cliff won the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album in 1985, for Cliff Hanger.
Is arguably the most popular reggae act in Brazil.
Some of Jamaica's top musicians, including drummer Desi Jones, guitarists Wayne Armond and Maurice Gordon, and bass players Glen Browne and Benjy Myaz, have toured as members of Cliff's band.