Jamaican ska legend Jimmy Cliff was born James Chambers in St. Catherine, Jamaica, in 1948. At 18 he changed his name to Jimmy Cliff and moved to Kingston, where he recorded his first single, "Hurricane Hattie." Cliff worked more on the ska side of Jamaican music, with its upbeat brass and boundless energy. He recorded several indie-label singles full of his social ideals and romantic musings before being picked up by Island Records. Island put out a number of Cliff's ska hits like "Miss Jamaica," King of Kings," "One Eyed Jacks," and "Pride and Passion."

But Cliff was - and remains - an innovator, an instigator, an explorer. He mixed in music from outside influences and sent it all out via his bright and beautiful tenor. Not seeing this as commercially viable, Island re-focused its attention on Bob Marley. It looked like Cliff's race had been run, until the release of the cult classic movie "The Harder They Come" (1972), in which Cliff played the lead character, Ivan Martin, and recorded the soundtrack, including the sensational title cut.

Cliff's music has had a profound effect on numerous bands and artists, especially those a little outside the ska/rocksteady/reggae wheelhouse. Artists like Keith Richards, Madness, Joe Strummer, Joe Jackson, Cher, Willie Nelson, Widespread Panic, Harry Nilsson, Bruce Springsteen, Lenny Kravitz, New Order, and Annie Lennox have all performed or recorded Cliff's music. Cliff was also inducted in the Rock 'n' Roll Hall Of Fame this year.

Cliff continues to tour and record. He's working on some scripts as well. He now lives in Paris, where I rang him up to parlez vous. An edited transcript of our conversation follows.

CITY: It seems you've always gone beyond Jamaican shores with your music. It sounds like there's some Cuban and Latin in there, maybe a little r&b, too. What were some of your early influences?

Jimmy Cliff: All of those. When I had access to hear a radio, all of those. Cuban music, American music from New Orleans and Miami - which was easier to pick up at night - r&b, jazz...

Didn't some of the earlier ska artists draw from Motown?

Well, ska developed before Motown. So it was more from r&b and boogie woogie; people like Professor Longhair, Fats Domino - that New Orleans sound - and some rock 'n' roll, too. They were jazz musicians, too. And we, as the artists who composed the songs, we were influenced by the music that was indigenous to Jamaica.

What drew you to the musician's life?

There was nothing else I really liked doing. Art is what I've always loved, whether it was acting - which was my first love - or singing. I still think I'm a better actor than singer.

So are you an actor who sings or a singer who acts?

I'm an actor and I'm a singer and I combine both of them. And that's really where my power lies. When I do one I'm a little unbalanced, but when I do them both together like I did in "The Harder They Come," that's where my power lies.

That movie brought you into the limelight and essentially made your career.

Absolutely, that's what propelled me to the world and propelled the music that I play - Jamaican music - to the world.

You once said Jamaican music really began to flourish after Jamaica won her independence from Britain in 1962. How specifically?

The mood of the people at the time, the spirit of the people at the time, was like, "Oh, we're independent." So the music became very upbeat, like what ska is. A few years late they were questioning, "What is this independence?" And the music slowed down to what we call rocksteady. The questioning continued and it came to what we call reggae today.

Do you think Jamaican music and its influences is more authentic played by Jamaicans than it does when played by non-Jamaican artists?

No, I wouldn't say it was more authentic, because look at the music: The Beatles, The Stones, U2 all play rock 'n' roll. The Police, they play rock 'n' roll. And then you listen to Chuck Berry or Fats Domino or Elvis Presley, it's another type of rock ‘n' roll. When you originate something, that's the root of it; when other people do it, they incorporate their environment, their experiences into it. And you can't knock that.

What are you up to now?

I am working on a few scripts at the moment. One is a sequel to "The Harder They Come." Hopefully it will go into production next year.

Any new records in the works?

I just finished a new album called "Existence," and it should be released in the fall. It's about our existence on this planet as human beings - everything that exists on this planet, as a matter of fact - ecologically, spiritually, politically, economically. I try to put a positive spin on it.

What is the legacy of Jimmy Cliff?

I was the innovator, the one who was always pushing the envelope. Though I had my influences in Jamaica and what I listened to on the radio, I was still reaching out to incorporate other things in the music. I always had this kind of revolutionary way of thinking - I want to make a difference in the world.