The star is best known for songs such as Many Rivers to Cross and You Can get It If You Really Want - and for recording an officially sanctioned cover version of Hakuna Matata, from Disney's The Lion King.
Many of his songs were covered by musical royalty including Cher, UB40, Annie Lennox and Madness; he also became well known for his covers of Cat Stevens' Wild World and I Can See Clearly Now by Johnny Nash - the latter recorded for the 1993 comedy film Cool Runnings.
Cliff, who won Grammy awards for albums Cliff Hanger and Rebirth, also built a career as an actor. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010.
His wife Latifa Chambers confirmed his passing on social media.
She wrote: 'It's with profound sadness that I share that my husband, Jimmy Cliff, has crossed over due to a seizure followed by pneumonia.
'I am thankful for his family, friends, fellow artists and coworkers who have shared his journey with him.
To all his fans around the world, please know that your support was his strength throughout his whole career. He really appreciated each and every fan for their love.
'Jimmy, my darling, may you rest in peace. I will follow your wishes.'
He was born in the midst of a hurricane - and Hurricane Hattie, among his first songs released while still a teenager, was an instant hit, elevating him to fame.
He went on to record over 30 albums and performed across the world, playing shows in Paris, Brazil and at New York's 1964 World's Fair; more recently, he performed at music festivals and at the 2015 Singapore Formula 1 Grand Prix.
In 1965, he was invited to the UK to work with Island Records producer Chris Blackwell, who launched Bob Marley and the Wailers, and moved to London.
Throughout his career, he advocated for humanitarian causes in his songwriting with songs such as Wonderful World, Beautiful People - which namechecked then US President Richard Nixon and British Prime Minister Harold Wilson.
Protest song Vietnam, which came in 1970 at the peak of the war, was described by Bob Dylan as the best he had ever heard.
However, he would later disavow any interest in politics when You Can Get It If You Really Want was used by David Cameron's Conservative Party for their 2007 party conference.
Asked about it at the time, he told the Independent: 'I've never voted in my life. But I'm from the lower class of society and I tend to support them rather than the upper class.
'I can't stop them using the song, but I'm not a supporter of politics. I have heard of Cameron, but I'm not a supporter. I don't support any politician. I just believe in right or wrong.'
Cliff - a long-term advocate for cannabis use - later added he did not support Britain's ongoing ban of the drug.
Despite his disinterest in politics, he would continue to write songs about the issues of the day, contributing to Steven van Zandt's protest song Sun City, recorded to convey opposition to apartheid in South Africa.
Cliff later moved into acting, starring as Ivan in 1972's The Harder They Come, since hailed as one of the most important films to come out of the Caribbean. It is still credited as the movie that introduced reggae to a global audience.
Inspired by Vincent 'Ivanhoe' Martin, a notorious gangster who went by the name 'Rhyging', it showed a grittier side to the island previously unseen in the media, with scenes featuring drugs and graphic knife fights.
The film was recently adapted into a musical at London's Theatre Royal Stratford East, which received rave reviews.
He would also star in 1986's Club Paradise, as part of an ensemble cast that included Robin Williams, the model Twiggy, Peter O'Toole and Rick Moranis.
He would then appear on primetime US television, performing on Saturday Night Live. Over the years he would work with some of the biggest names in music including The Rolling Stones, Elvis Costello, Annie Lennox and Paul Simon.
Sometime in the 1970s, Cliff - who had been raised Christian - converted to Islam, taking on the name El Hadj Naïm Bachir.
He would later say it 'didn't satisfy my soul', and he would go on to study Hinduism and Buddhism before declaring: 'I believe in science.'
He received the Order of Merit from Jamaica, the country's highest honour, in 2003.
Despite later suffering health problems including ailing eyesight, Cliff continued to record and perform live; his penultimate album, 2012's Rebirth, was recorded with punk rock musician Tim Armstrong and topped the US reggae charts.
His last single, Human Touch, was released in 2021; final album Refugees followed a year later.
In 2022, he performed alongside Shaggy at Homeward Bound: A Grammy Salute to the Songs of Paul Simon, paying tribute to the Graceland star.
'When I've achieved all my ambitions, then I guess that I will have done it and I can just say "great",' he said in a 2019 interview.
'But I'm still hungry. I want it. I've still got the burning fire that burns brightly inside of me – like I just said to you. I still have many rivers to cross.'
He is survived by his wife and their two children, Lilty and Aken. He is also the father of Brazilian actress and singer Nabiyah Be.
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