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Bob Marley

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This article is about the reggae musician. For the comedian, see Bob Marley (comedian).
Bob Marley

Robert "Bob" Nesta Marley OM (February 6, 1945 – May 11 1981) was a Jamaican singer, songwriter, guitarist, and Rastafarian. He was the lead singer, songwriter and guitarist for the ska, rocksteady and reggae bands: The Wailers (1964 – 1974) and Bob Marley & the Wailers (1974 – 1981). In spite of dying nearly three decades ago he is the most widely known performer of ska/reggae music, and is credited for helping spread Jamaican music to the worldwide audience.[1]

Marley's best known hits includes "I Shot the Sheriff", "No Woman, No Cry", "Exodus", "Could You Be Loved", "Stir It Up", "Jamming", "Redemption Song", "One Love" and, together with The Wailers, ""Three Little Birds".[2], as well as the posthumous releases "Buffalo Soldier" and "Iron Lion Zion". The compilation album, Legend, released in 1984, three years after Marley's death, is the best-selling reggae album ever (10 times platinum[3]), with sales of more than 12 million copies.[2]

Early life and career

Marley was born in the small village of Nine Mile in Saint Ann Parish, Jamaica as Nesta Robert Marley. A Jamaican passport official would later swap his first and middle names. His father, Norval Sinclair Marley, (born in 1895), was a white Jamaican of English descent, who lived in Liverpool. Norval was a Marine officer and captain, as well as a plantation overseer, when he married Cedella Booker, a black Jamaican then eighteen years old. Norval provided financial support for his wife and child, but seldom saw them, as he was often away on trips. In 1955, when Marley was 10 years old, his father died of a heart attack at age 60. Marley suffered racial prejudice as a youth, because of his mixed racial origins and faced questions about his own racial identity throughout his life. He once reflected:

I don't have prejudice against himself. 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) [citation needed]. 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. 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 box set, Songs of Freedom, a posthumous collection of Marley's work.

Musical career

The Wailers

Main article: The Wailers (reggae band)
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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", at which point they were discovered by record producer Coxsone Dodd, and finally to "The Wailers". By 1966, Braithwaite, Kelso, and Smith had left The Wailers, leaving the core trio of Marley, Livingston, and McIntosh.

In 1966, Marley married Rita Anderson, and moved near his mother's residence in Wilmington, Delaware in the United States for a short time, during which he worked as a DuPont lab assistant and on the assembly line at a Chrysler plant, under the alias Donald Marley.[5] 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."

File:JAD bob resized.jpg

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

Main article: 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 serious 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.

File:Bob Marley Live-Painting by Steve Brogdon1992.jpg
Bob Marley Live a painting by Steve Brogdon 1992

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.

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.

Babylon by Bus, a double live album with 13 tracks, was released in 1978 to critical acclaim. This album, and specifically the final track "Jammin'" with the audience in a frenzy, captured the intensity of Marley's live performances.

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. His appearance at the Amandla Festival in Boston in July 1979 showed his strong opposition to South African apartheid, which he already had shown in his song "War" in 1976. 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 soccer wound on his right hallux (big toe). Marley refused amputation, because of 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 (or everliving, as Rastas say) character of life.

Collapse and treatment

The cancer then metastasized 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.[6] 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 April 20, 1981 at the age of 36. Hense the creation of "420".The spread of melanoma to his lungs and brain caused his death. His final words to his son Ziggy were "Money can't buy life."[7] Marley received a state funeral in Jamaica on May 21, 1981 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 Cannabis 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 2004, a cover of "Three Little Birds" by Ziggy Marley and Sean Paul was used as the title song for the film Shark Tale. Oscar (Will Smith) attempts to sing it, and a jellyfish (Ziggy) zaps him.

In Summer 2006, the City of New York renamed a portion of Church Avenue from Remsen Avenue to East 98th Street in the East Flatbush section of Brooklyn "Bob Marley Boulevard".[8]

In the 2007 film I Am Legend, also starring Will Smith as a survivor of a deadly virus that almost wipes out the human race, Smith's character, Dr. Robert Neville, cites Bob Marley as an influence on his life philosophy. Neville's respect for Marley comes out of Marley's belief that violence and racism could be fought with music and love. Dr. Robert Neville sings the lyrics to "Three Little Birds" and "I Shot the Sheriff" throughout the film. "Redemption Song" is used as the theme during the closing credits.

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, famous use of cannabis as a sacred sacrament, and an ital food diet, which were an integral part of his persona. He is said to have entered every performance proclaiming the divinity of Jah Rastafari (in reality Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia).

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 …

He was criticized for singing

and I feel like bombing a church …

now that you know that the preacher is lying …

on the song "Talkin' Blues" on the Natty Dread album.

Bob Marley was baptized by the Archbishop of the Ethiopian Orthodox Christian Church in Kingston, Jamaica on November 4 1980. [9][10]

Wife and 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.[11] 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 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

For a detailed listing of albums by Bob Marley & the Wailers, see Bob Marley and the Wailers 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)
  • May–Sep 1980: Uprising Tour (Switzerland, Germany, France, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Belgium, Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Ireland, England, Scotland, Wales, USA)

Awards and honors

Marley's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

Film adaptation

In February 2008, renowned director Martin Scorsese announced his intention to produce a documentary movie on Marley, similar to his documentary Shine a Light on The Rolling Stones. The film is set to be released on February 6, 2010, what would have been Marley's 65th birthday.[14]

In March 2008, The Weinstein Company announced its plans to produce a biopic of Bob Marley, based on the book No Woman No Cry: My Life With Bob Marley by Rita Marley. The projects will be theatrically released sometime in late 2009. Rita stated there had been numerous offers and creative teams who tried to purchase the film rights of the book, but they didn't satisfy her. Rudy Langlais will produce the script by Lizzie Borden and Rita Marley will exec produce.[15]

Sound samples

See also

Notes

  1. ^ EMP|SFM: 2007 Pop Conference Bios/Abstracts
  2. ^ a b "Bob Marley," Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2006
  3. ^ Doug Miller, "Concert Series: 'No Woman, No Cry'", BobMarley.com, February 26, 2007
  4. ^ The Beverley Label and Leslie Kong: Music Business at bobmarley.com
  5. ^ Timothy White, Bob Marley: 1945-1981, Rolling Stone, June 25, 1981
  6. ^ http://www.bobmarley.com/songs/songs.cgi?redemption
  7. ^ Steffens, Roger. "Bob Marley Chronology 1945-1981". Retrieved 2006-10-26.
  8. ^ Brooklyn Street Renamed Bob Marley Boulevard
  9. ^ "The Ethiopian Orthodox Church & Bob Marley's Baptism And The Church". Jamaicans.com.
  10. ^ "Bob Marley's Baptism in Ethiopian Orthodox Church". Rastafarispeaks.com. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  11. ^ 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)
  12. ^ "The Immortals: The First Fifty". Rolling Stone Issue 946. Rolling Stone.
  13. ^ "Who is the greatest lyricist of all time", BBC, May 23, 2001
  14. ^ Winter Miller (2008-02-17). "Scorsese to make Marley documentary". Ireland On-Line. Retrieved 2008-03-06. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  15. ^ Winter Miller (2008-03-03). "Weinstein Co. options Marley". Variety. Retrieved 2008-03-03. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

Further reading

  • Farley, Christopher (2007). Before the Legend: The Rise of Bob Marley, Amistad Press ISBN 0060539925
  • Goldman, Vivien (2006). The Book of Exodus: The Making and Meaning of Bob Marley and the Wailers' Album of the Century, Aurum Press ISBN 1845132106
  • Henke, James (2006). Marley Legend: An Illustrated Life of Bob Marley, Simon & Schuster Ltd ISBN 0743285514
  • Marley, Rita; Jones, Hettie (2004) No Woman No Cry: My Life with Bob Marley Hyperion Books ISBN 0786887559
  • Masouri, John (2007) Wailing Blues: The Story of Bob Marley's "Wailers" Wise Publications ISBN 1846096898
  • White, Timothy (2006). Catch a Fire: The Life of Bob Marley Owl Books ISBN 0805080864
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