Wonderful World, Beautiful People

Recorded in Jamaica with Jimmy Cliff and Leslie Kong overseeing the session, then reworked with orchestral parts in New York in early October 1969. The single emerged from Cliff’s Jamaican period and was issued after the album version reached the market. The song became Jimmy Cliff’s breakout UK hit and gave Trojan Records its first major chart success. It helped establish Cliff as one of reggae’s first international crossover stars. It has remained one of Cliff’s signature recordings and has been covered by artists including Amazulu, Claude François, Kai Warner, and the Top of the Poppers. Its reach helped carry Jamaican popular music into mainstream pop culture well beyond its original release era.