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Bob Marley
Background information
Birth name Robert Nesta Marley
Also known as Tuff Gong
Born February 6, 1945
Flag of Jamaica Nine Mile, Saint Ann Parish, Jamaica
Died May 11, 1981 (aged 36)
Flag of United States Miami, Florida, USA
Genre(s) Reggae
Occupation(s) Singer, songwriter, guitarist
Instrument(s) Guitar
Vocals
Percussion
Years active 1962 - 1981
Label(s) Studio One
Beverley's
Upsetter/Trojan
Island/Tuff Gong
Associated
acts The Wailers Band
The Wailers
Website www.bobmarley.com
Robert "Bob" Nesta Marley OM (February 6, 1945 – May 11, 1981) was a
Jamaican singer, songwriter, guitarist, and activist. He is the most widely
known performer of reggae music. A faithful Rastafari, Marley is regarded by
many as a prophet of the religion.[1]
Marley is best known for his reggae songs, which include the hits "I Shot
the Sheriff", "No Woman, No Cry", "Three Little Birds", "Exodus", "Could You
Be Loved", "Jammin", "Redemption Song", and "One Love".[2] His posthumous
compilation album Legend (1984) is the best-selling reggae album ever, with
sales of more than 12 million copies.[2]
Early life and career
Marley was born in the small village of Nine Mile in the Saint Ann Parish,
Jamaica. His father, Norval Sinclair Marley born in 1895, was a white
Jamaican of English descent, with parents from Sussex. Norval was a Marine
officer and captain, as well as a plantation overseer, when he married
Cedella Booker, then an eighteen-year-old black Jamaican. Norval provided
financial support for his wife and child, but seldom saw them, as he was
often away on trips. Marley was ten years old when his father died of a
heart attack in 1955 at age 60.
Marley suffered racial prejudice as a youth, because of his mixed racial
origins,[3] and faced questions about his own racial identity throughout his
life. He once reflected:
I don't have prejudice against myself. My father was a white and my mother
was black. Them call me half-caste or whatever. Me don't dip on nobody's
side. Me don't dip on the black man's side nor the white man's side. Me dip
on God's side, the one who create me and cause me to come from black and
white.
Marley and his mother moved to Kingston's Trenchtown slum after Norval's
death. He was forced to learn self-defense, as he became the target of
bullying because of his racial makeup and small stature (5'4" or 163 cm
tall). He gained a reputation for his physical strength,
which earned him the nickname "Tuff Gong".
Marley became friends with Neville "Bunny" Livingston (later known as Bunny
Wailer), with whom he started to play music. He left school at the age of 14
and started as an apprentice at a local welder's shop. In his free time, he
and Livingston made music with Joe Higgs, a local singer and devout
Rastafari who is regarded by many as Marley's mentor. It was at a jam
session with Higgs and Livingston that Marley met Peter McIntosh (later
known as Peter Tosh), who had similar musical ambitions.
In 1962, Marley recorded his first two singles, "Judge Not" and "One Cup of
Coffee", with local music producer Leslie Kong. These songs, released on the
Beverley's label under the pseudonym of Bobby Martell,[4] attracted little
attention. The songs were later re-released on the album Songs of Freedom, a
posthumous collection of Marley's songs.
Musical career
The Wailers
In 1963, Bob Marley, Bunny Livingston, Peter McIntosh, Junior Braithwaite,
Beverley Kelso, and Cherry Smith formed a ska and rocksteady group, calling
themselves "The Teenagers". They later changed their name to "The Wailing
Rudeboys", then to "The Wailing Wailers", and finally to "The Wailers". By
1966, Braithwaite, Kelso, and Smith had left The Wailers, leaving the core
trio of Marley, Livingston, and McIntosh.
Marley took on the role of leader, singer, and main songwriter. Much of The
Wailers' early work, including their first single Simmer Down, was produced
by Coxsone Dodd at Studio One. Simmer Down topped Jamaican Charts in 1964
and established The Wailers as one of the hottest groups in the country.
They followed up with songs such as "Soul Rebel" and "400 Years".
In 1966, Marley married Rita Anderson, and moved near his mother's residence
in Wilmington, Delaware for a few months. Upon returning to Jamaica, Marley
became a member of the Rastafari movement, and started to wear his trademark
dreadlocks (see the religion section for more on Marley's religious views).
After a conflict with Dodd, Marley and his band teamed up with Lee "Scratch"
Perry and his studio band, The Upsetters. Although the alliance lasted less
than a year, they recorded what many consider The Wailers' finest work.
Marley and Perry split after a dispute regarding the assignment of recording
rights, but they would remain friends and work together again.
Between 1968 and 1972, Bob and Rita Marley, Peter McIntosh and Bunny
Livingston re-cut some old tracks with JAD Records in Kingston and London in
an attempt to commercialize The Wailers' sound. Livingston later asserted
that these songs "should never be released on an album … they were just
demos for record companies to listen to."
The Wailers' first album, Catch A Fire, was released worldwide in 1973, and
sold well. It was followed a year later by Burnin', which included the songs
"Get Up, Stand Up" and "I Shot The Sheriff". Eric Clapton made a hit cover
of "I Shot the Sheriff" in 1974, raising Marley's international profile.
The Wailers broke up in 1974 with each of the three main members going on to
pursue solo careers. The reason for the breakup is shrouded in conjecture;
some believe that there were disagreements amongst Livingston, McIntosh, and
Marley concerning performances, while others claim that Livingston and
McIntosh simply preferred solo work. McIntosh began recording under the name
Peter Tosh, and Livingston continued as Bunny Wailer.
Bob Marley & The Wailers
Despite the breakup, Marley continued recording as "Bob Marley & The
Wailers". His new backing band included brothers Carlton and Aston "Family
Man" Barrett on drums and bass respectively, Junior Marvin and Al Anderson
on lead guitar, Tyrone Downie and Earl "Wya" Lindo on keyboards, and Alvin "Seeco"
Patterson on percussion. The "I Threes", consisting of Judy Mowatt, Marcia
Griffiths, and Marley's wife, Rita, provided backing vocals.
In 1975, Marley had his international breakthrough with his first hit
outside Jamaica, "No Woman, No Cry" from the Natty Dread album. This was
followed by his breakthrough album in the US, Rastaman Vibration (1976),
which spent four weeks on the Billboard charts Top Ten.
In December 1976, two days before "Smile Jamaica", a free concert organized
by the Jamaican Prime Minister Michael Manley in an attempt to ease tension
between two warring political groups, Marley, his wife, and manager Don
Taylor were wounded in an assault by unknown gunmen inside Marley's home.
Taylor and Marley's wife sustained serious injuries, but later made full
recoveries. Bob Marley received only minor injuries in the chest and arm.
The shooting was thought to have been politically motivated, as many felt
the concert was really a support rally for Manley. Nonetheless, the concert
proceeded, and an injured Marley performed as scheduled.
Marley left Jamaica at the end of 1976 for England, where he recorded his
Exodus and Kaya albums. Exodus stayed on the British album charts for 56
consecutive weeks. It included four UK hit singles: "Exodus", "Waiting In
Vain", "Jamming", "One Love", and a rendition of Curtis Mayfield's hit,
"People Get Ready". It was here that he was arrested and received a
conviction for possession of a small quantity of cannabis while traveling in
London.
Main article: One Love Peace Concert
In 1978, Marley performed at another political concert in Jamaica, the One
Love Peace Concert, again in an effort to calm warring parties. Near the end
of the performance, by Marley's request, Manley and his political rival,
Edward Seaga, joined each other on stage and shook hands.
Survival, a defiant and politically charged album, was released in 1979.
Tracks such as "Zimbabwe", "Africa Unite", "Wake Up and Live", and
"Survival" reflected Marley's support for the struggles of Africans. In
early 1980, he was invited to perform at the April 17 celebration of
Zimbabwe's Independence Day.
Uprising (1980) was Bob Marley's final studio album, and is one of his most
religious productions, including "Redemption Song" and "Forever Loving Jah".
It was in "Redemption Song" that Marley sang the famous lyric,
“ Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery
None but ourselves can free our minds… ”
Confrontation, released posthumously in 1983, contained unreleased material
recorded during Marley's lifetime, including the hit "Buffalo Soldier" and
new mixes of singles previously only available in Jamaica.
Later years
Cancer diagnosis
In July 1977, Marley was found to have malignant melanoma in a football
wound on his right hallux (big toe). Marley refused amputation, citing
worries that the operation would affect his dancing, as well as the
Rastafari belief that the body must be "whole":
“ Rasta no abide amputation. I don't allow a man to be dismantled. ”
—From the biography Catch a Fire
Marley may have seen medical doctors as samfai (tricksters, deceivers). True
to this belief Marley went against all surgical possibilities and sought out
other means that would not break his religious beliefs. He also refused to
register a will, based on the Rastafari belief that writing a will is
acknowledging death as inevitable, thus disregarding the everlasting
character of life.
Collapse and treatment
The cancer then spread to Marley's brain, lungs, liver, and stomach. After
playing two shows at Madison Square Garden as part of his fall 1980 Uprising
Tour, he collapsed while jogging in NYC's Central Park. The remainder of the
tour was subsequently cancelled.
Bob Marley played his final concert at the Stanley Theater in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania on September 23, 1980. The live version of "Redemption Song" on
Songs of Freedom was recorded at this show.[5] Marley afterwards sought
medical help from Munich specialist Josef Issels, but his cancer had already
progressed to the terminal stage.
Death and posthumous reputation
While flying home from Germany to Jamaica for his final days, Marley became
ill, and landed in Miami for immediate medical attention. He died at Cedars
of Lebanon Hospital in Miami, Florida on the morning of May 11, 1981 at the
age of 36. His final words to his son Ziggy were "Money can't buy life."[6]
Marley received a state funeral in Jamaica, which combined elements of
Ethiopian Orthodoxy and Rastafari tradition. He was buried in a crypt near
his birthplace with his Gibson Les Paul, a soccer ball, a marijuana bud, a
ring that he wore every day that was given to him by the Prince Asfa Wossen
of Ethiopia (eldest son of HIM), and a Bible. A month before his death, he
was awarded the Jamaican Order of Merit.
Bob Marley's music has continuously grown in popularity in the years since
his death, providing a stream of revenue for his estate and affording him a
mythical status in 20th century music history. He remains enormously popular
and well-known all over the world, particularly so in Africa. Marley was
inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. Time magazine chose
Bob Marley & The Wailers' Exodus as the greatest album of the 20th century.
In 2001, the same year that Marley was posthumously awarded the Grammy
Lifetime Achievement Award, a feature-length documentary about his life,
Rebel Music, was nominated for Best Long Form Music Video documentary at the
Grammys. It won various other awards. With contributions from Rita, the
Wailers, and Marley's lovers and children, it also tells much of the story
in his own words.
In Summer 2006, the City of New York renamed a portion of Church Avenue from
Ramsen Avenue to East 98th Street in the East Flatbush Section of Brooklyn
Bob Marley Blvd.[7]
Religion
Bob Marley was a member of the Rastafari movement, whose culture was a key
element in the development of reggae. Bob Marley became the leading
proponent of the Rastafari, taking their music out of the socially deprived
areas of Jamaica and onto the international music scene.
Now considered a "Rasta" legend, Marley's adoption of the characteristic
Rastafari dreadlocks and famous use of cannabis as a sacred sacrament in the
late sixties were an integral part of his persona. He is said to have
entered every performance proclaiming the divinity of Jah Rastafari.
Many of Marley's songs contained Biblical references, sometimes using
wordplay to fuse activism and religion, as in "Revolution" and "Revelation":
“ Revelation reveals the truth … ”
“ It takes a revolution to make a solution … ”
After his travels to Ethiopia, Bob Marley became a convert to Orthodox
Christianity after receiving the sacrament of baptism. Marley died an
Orthodox Christian.
Children
Bob Marley had 13 children: three with his wife Rita, two adopted from
Rita's previous relationships, and the remaining eight with separate
women.[8] His children are, in order of birth:
1. Imani Carole, born May 22, 1963, to Cheryl Murray;
2. Sharon, born November 23, 1964, to Rita in previous relationship;
3. Cedella Marley born August 23, 1967, to Rita;
4. David "Ziggy", born October 17, 1968, to Rita;
5. Stephen, born April 20, 1972, to Rita;
6. Robert "Robbie", born May 16, 1972, to Pat Williams;
7. Rohan, born May 19, 1972, to Janet Hunt;
8. Karen, born 1973 to Janet Bowen;
9. Stephanie, born August 17, 1974; according to Cedella Booker she was the
daughter of Rita and a man called Ital with whom Rita had an affair;
nonetheless she was acknowledged as Bob's daughter;
10. Julian, born June 4, 1975, to Lucy Pounder;
11. Ky-Mani, born February 26, 1976, to Anita Belnavis;
12. Damian, born July 21, 1978, to Cindy Breakspeare;
13. Makeda, born May 30, 1981, to Yvette Crichton;
Discography
Tours
* Apr-Jul 1973: Catch a Fire Tour (England, USA)
* Oct-Nov 1973: Burnin' Tour (USA, England)
* Jun-Jul 1975: Natty Dread Tour (USA, Canada, England)
* Apr-Jul 1976: Rastaman Vibration Tour (USA, Canada, Germany, Sweden,
Netherlands, France, England, Wales)
* May-Jun 1977: Exodus Tour (France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Sweden,
Denmark, England)
* May-Aug 1978: Kaya Tour (USA, Canada, England, France, Spain, Sweden,
Denmark, Norway, Netherlands, Belgium)
* Apr-May 1979: Babylon by Bus Tour (Japan, New Zealand, Australia, Hawaii)
* Oct-Dec 1979: Survival Tour (USA, Canada, Trinidad/Tobago, Bahamas)
* Apr 1980: Zimbabwe Tour
* May-Sep 1980: Uprising Tour (Switzerland, Germany, France, Norway, Sweden,
Denmark, Belgium, Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Ireland, England, Scotland,
Wales, USA)
Awards and honors
* 1976: Band of the Year (Rolling Stone)
* June 1978: Awarded the Peace Medal of the Third World from the United
Nations
* February 1981: Awarded Jamaica's third highest honor, the Jamaican Order
of Merit
* March 1994: Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
* 1999: Album of the Century for Exodus (Time Magazine)
* February 2001: A star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
* February 2001: Awarded Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award
* 2004: Rolling Stone Magazine ranked him #11 on their list of the 100
Greatest Artists of All Time.[9]
* "One Love" named song of the millennium by The BBC
* Voted as one of the greatest lyricists of all time by a BBC poll.[10]
Sound samples
* "Simmer Down" (1964) (help·info)
* "Soul Rebel" (1970) (help·info)
Notes
1. ^ Smith, W. Alan, Songs of Freedom: The Music of Bob Marley as
Transformative Education
2. ^ a b "Bob Marley," Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2006.
3. ^ UVM.edu
4. ^ The Beverley Label and Leslie Kong: Music Business at bobmarley.com
5. ^ http://www.bobmarley.com/songs/songs.cgi?redemption
6. ^ Steffens, Roger. Bob Marley Chronology 1945-1981. Retrieved on
2006-10-26.
7. ^ Brooklyn Street Renamed Bob Marley Boulevard
8. ^ Dixon, Meredith."Lovers and Children of the Natural Mystic: The Story
of Bob Marley, Women and their Children" The Dread Library (Accessed 21 June
2007)
9. ^ The Immortals: The First Fifty. Rolling Stone Issue 946. Rolling Stone.
10. ^ "Who is the greatest lyricist of all time", BBC, May 23, 2001
References
* ISBN 1-4000-5286-6 Vivien Goldman, The Book of Exodus: The Making and
Meaning of Bob Marley and the Wailers' Album of the Century
* ISBN 0-06-053991-7 Christopher John Farley, Before the Legend: The Rise of
Bob Marley, Amistad/Harpercollins
* ISBN 0-8118-5036-6 James Henke, Marley Legend: An Illustrated Life of Bob
Marley, Chronicle Books
* ISBN 0-7868-6867-8 Rita Marley, Hettie Jones, No Woman No Cry: My Life
with Bob Marley
* ISBN 0-8050-6009-X Timothy White, Catch a Fire: The Life of Bob Marley
read the copyright
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