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Booyaka! Reggae has a new reason to big up its chest. It has a new entrant into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Singer Jimmy Cliff has just been inducted and will be presented alongside this year’s other inductees ABBA, Genesis, The Hollies and The Stooges with the award at a ceremony taking place inside the Waldorf Astoria in New York City on March 15, 2010.

Cliff, who has already been “knighted” with the Order of Merit, his native Jamaica’s highest honour, becomes only the third reggae personality to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The first was reggae legend Bob Marley in 1994, followed by Island Record’s Chris Blackwell in 2001. But, it was Cliff who first popularised reggae internationally.

Cliff did this primarily through his acting performance in the film “The Harder They Come” which introduced reggae to a worldwide audience and changed the image of the genre from cruise ship soundtrack to music of rebellion and inspiration. Hit records like “Sitting in Limbo,” “The Harder They Come,” “You Can Get It If You Really Want,” and “Many Rivers to Cross” cemented his reputation and made him the first international reggae superstar, simultaneously creating the model that Bob Marley would soon follow.

In announcing the inductees Joel Peresman, President & CEO of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation said: “We are very happy to present this year’s inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as they represent a great cross-section of artists that define the broad spectrum and history of rock and roll and people that have contributed immeasurably to our business.”

Cliff will be inducted at next week’s ceremony by longtime admirer and friend Wyclef Jean of the Fugees.

The induction comes on the eve of “Existence”, a new album by Cliff and his first major US tour in five years which will include dates at Bonnaroo and the Hollywood Bowl, this summer.

Photo: Copyright Boomshots