ENTITY · RECORDING
"Many Rivers to Cross" — Jimmy Cliff
Well supported
"Many Rivers to Cross" is a Jimmy Cliff song from around 1969-1970 that became central to "The Harder They Come" (1972), the Jamaican film and soundtrack that introduced reggae to a wide international audience; the song's gospel-tinged ballad style, distinct from the album's more upbeat tracks, has made it one of Cliff's most enduringly covered recordings.
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- Well supported
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commentary
Official audio is still discovery-only
Official label and artist uploads make a recording findable and let a claim be checked against the thing itself. They are still someone else's property: linking to a video is not the same as holding a licence to it, and an archive that blurs the two is making a promise about rights it has no standing to make.
Stance: reference linking vs media ownership
debate
Crossover: gateway or dilution?
International reggae hits created new audiences and revenue, but critics have often argued over whether rock overdubs, soundtrack packaging, remixes and pop-video promotion softened local context for export. The atlas presents this as a recurring reception debate rather than a settled verdict.
Stance: global access vs loss of local context