Bob Marley

• Born: February 6, 1945
• Birthplace: Nine Mile, St. Ann Parish, Jamaica
• Died: May 11, 1981
• Place of death: Miami, Florida

Jamaican reggae singer, guitarist, and songwriter

Marley and his group, the Wailers, allowed local Jamaican artists to transcend the island sound of ska and move toward the globally recognized genre of reggae.

Member of Bob Marley and the Wailers

The Life

Robert Nesta Marley (MAHR-lee) was born to Norval Sinclair Marley, a white Jamaican, and Cedella Booker, a black Jamaican. Marley’s father was a plantation overseer, but he was rarely at home. To some extent, he did support his family financially. When Marley was ten years old, his father died, and his mother moved with her son to Kingston to find work. Marley was often teased because of his mixed racial parentage; this would play a part in his music later.

At fourteen, Marley left school to become an apprentice welder. It was at this time that he began pursuing music. During this period, Marley met Jimmy Cliff, and Marley was introduced to Cliff’s record producer, Leslie Kong. Marley recorded his first record with Kong, but he soon split with Kong. He changed his musical style from ska to reggae with his band the Wailers. Originally the Wailing Wailers, they signed with Coxsone Dodd’s label, and the group topped the charts in Jamaica in 1964.

In 1966 Marley married Rita Anderson, and in that same year he converted to Rastafarianism. Although the Wailers had started a record label, Tuff Gong (after Marley’s nickname), they primarily recorded with JAD Records until 1974, when the band broke up. Marley went on to record under the name Bob Marley and the Wailers, but the band was composed of different members.

By 1975 Marley had topped the Billboard charts in the United States, and he was a success internationally as well. In 1976 Marley became more political. He agreed to play at the Smile Jamaica Concert, which was designed to unite the violently feuding political parties of Jamaica. Two nights before the concert, Marley, his wife, and his bassist were shot. Despite his injuries, Marley did perform the concert. Marley returned to Jamaica for another political peace concert in 1978 after being charged with possession of marijuana while recording in England. In 1979 Marley worked to raise awareness of the plight of Africans with his music and support.

Marley’s health began to fail in 1977. Diagnosed with skin cancer, he refused to have his affected toe amputated. Stating Rastafarian religious beliefs for his refusal, Marley went untreated until after he collapsed while jogging in 1980. By the time Marley had decided to be treated, the cancer had spread throughout his body. His last concert was played in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in September of 1980. Marley was awarded the Jamaican Order of Merit in April of 1981. A month later, he was hospitalized in Miami, where he succumbed to cancer.

The Music

Marley began his musical career in Kingston, teaming with Neville “Bunny” Livingston and Peter McIntosh. He began in the music industry as a solo act, recording for Kong. His first recording featured the song “Judge Not,” which was released on the Beverley Records label. After the rest of the recordings he had made for Kong failed to get airtime, Marley moved back to working with a group. McIntosh and Livingston joined him to create the Wailing Wailers.

The Wailing Wailers. The Wailing Wailers were introduced to Dodd, a prestigious sound system man, by drummer Alvin Patterson. Sir Coxsone, as Dodd was called, auditioned the group, and he eventually produced their single “Simmer Down,” accompanied by ska greats the Skatelites, on his Coxsone’s Studio One label. The song held its position at the top of the Jamaican charts for the first two months of 1964. At the time, the Wailing Wailers consisted of Marley, McIntosh, Livingston, Junior Braithwaite, Cherry Smith, and Beverly Kelso. The group’s early ska influence led it to release about thirty tracks during its Studio One years, 1964 to 1967. The songs were musically and lyrically influenced by the Rude Boy (American gangster film imitators and hooligans of the Jamaican streets) and dancehall cultures.

Rastafarianism. The important turning point for Marley musically, and perhaps the downfall of the ska genre, occurred in 1966. When Marley returned to Jamaica after visiting his mother, who had moved to Delaware, the Rastafarian movement was flourishing. Marley was soon swept up in the fervor. Marley, McIntosh, and Livingston re-formed as the Wailers; they moved their sound toward the slower reggae beat. With this move, they ran into a conflict with Dodd, who was still supporting the ska sound and Rude Boy culture anthems.

The Wailers’ new sound was significant in converting popular music from ska to rocksteady and later to reggae. Along with the beat, the topics of the group’s songs began to change. Without Rude Boy culture, Marley moved to songs about social conflict and unity, and this would eventually make him famous. Adding Aston and Carleton Barrett as the rhythm section, the Wailers produced such songs as “400 Years,” “Small Axe,” and “Soul Rebel” in this style with the recording expertise of producer Lee “Scratch” Perry.

Beyond Jamaica. Marley became a writer for popular American singer Johnny Nash. This led to Marley’s first success outside Jamaica, when Nash covered his song, “Stir It Up,” in 1972. In 1972 Marley signed with Chris Blackwell of Island Records. Blackwell recognized Marley’s unique ability to bring reggae out of the backwaters of Jamaican music and into the global market. He funded the group’s next album, Catch a Fire, in 1973. Blackwell also sent the Wailers on tour in England and the United States. However, Livingston became disillusioned with the touring lifestyle, and he refused to go on the U.S. tour. The group would record its last album, Burnin’, before McIntosh and Livingston would leave the group the next year. Marley and McIntosh had written and recorded “I Shot the Sheriff” on Burnin’, which Eric Clapton covered in 1974. The success of the song would help promote Marley’s next album.

Natty Dread.After the loss of two core members, Marley reformed the Wailers as Bob Marley and the Wailers. He added the I-Threes as the backup vocalists, one of which was his wife Rita. In 1974 they recorded Natty Dread; an album that marks Marley’s departure from his former bandmates and his coming completely into his own style. Natty Dread ran the gambit of topics, and the title track itself is an ode to the Rastafarian movement. Perhaps the most famous song on the album is “No Woman, No Cry,” which speaks about the harsh life of the Kingston ghettos. Marley also provided political commentary on the album, with such songs as “Them Belly Full (But We Are Hungry)” and “Revolution.” Natty Dread was significant because it showcased Marley as a solo performer and defined him as one of the best songwriters of his generation.

Rastaman Vibration.Marley’s next album was his most successful album at release, climbing into the Top 10 of the Billboard 200 charts in 1976. Notable songs from this album include “Roots, Rock, Reggae” and “War,” which quotes Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie I. His next album, Exodus, includes perhaps the most famous and influential reggae song ever recorded, the powerful “One Love/ People Get Ready.” It has gone on to become an unofficial theme song for supporters of peace and unity causes. Kaya, which was recorded at the same time as Exodus, was released the next year. Both albums feature songs from the Studio One years.

Survival.Marley’s next album was meant to be the first of a trilogy. Survival was a politically charged album in which Marley pleads for African unity. Many of its songs, such as “Africa Unite,” became important anthems to African independence movements at the time. Uprising, Marley’s last album released before his death, was a spiritual endeavor. It ended with the folk tune “Redemption Song,” a statement of Marley’s mortality. The posthumously released Confrontation includes works that were unreleased by Marley during his lifetime. Its most famous song is “Buffalo Soldier,” about the African American cavalry units of the nineteenth century American West.

Musical Legacy

Marley was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. In 1998 Time proclaimed Exodus the album of the century. Rolling Stone lists Catch a Fire, Burnin’, Exodus, Natty Dread, and Legend (a compilation released in 1984) in its 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Numerous covers have been made of Marley’s songs, many in his genres of ska and reggae. However, his music transcends categories, and it has influenced artists in genres from hip-hop to country. Marley was a foundational contributor to reggae, which was defined in his confrontational although encouraging words. He helped transform Jamaican music into world music.

Marley’s heartfelt lyrics and voice—encouraging people to set aside their differences—led to his immense popularity. He continues to be popular today because his songs bring out the best of the human experience. Marley influenced such diverse musicians and groups as Rancid, OutKast, Eric Clapton, and U2.

Perhaps Marley’s most significant legacy is the bridges he built between musical genres, encouraging other artists to be wide-ranging in their work. The musical connections between rock and punk, punk and ska, and hip-hop and rock can be traced to Marley’s transcending of traditional genres. Without Marley, it is doubtful that such mixed-pedigree bands as No Doubt could have risen to popularity. Marley made dreadlocks a popular statement, and he was one of the first to become an activist, with his politically empowering songs.

Principal Recordings

albums (with the Wailers): Soul Rebel, 1971; African Herbsman, 1973; Burnin’, 1973; Catch a Fire, 1973; Natty Dread, 1974; Rasta Revolution, 1974; Birth of a Legend, 1976; Rastaman Vibration, 1976; Exodus, 1977; Reflection, 1977; Babylon by Bus, 1978; Kaya, 1978; Bob Marley and the Wailers, 1979; In the Beginning, 1979; Survival, 1979; Uprising, 1980; Confrontation, 1983.

Bibliography

Boot, Adrian. Bob Marley: Songs of Freedom. New York: Viking Studio Books, 1995. This is one of the few sources of information sanctioned by the Marley estate. It has a good collection of photographs and covers his life from beginning to end.

Farley, Christopher John. Before the Legend: The Rise of Bob Marley. New York: Amistad, 2006. This book primarily talks about the early years of Marley’s life. It concentrates on the beginnings of his musical career, and it covers the period of Marley’s transition between ska and reggae.

Marley, Rita. No Woman, No Cry. New York: Hyperion, 2004. Written by his wife, this book takes a more critical look at Marley and his lifestyle while he lived with her. Primarily her own story, this work covers some of the tribulations of Marley during his career, and it offers a firsthand account of his life.

Moskowitz, David. The Words and Music of Bob Marley. Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 2007. This book goes through the lyrics and history behind Marley’s songs. It presents a good timeline, so readers may put Marley’s expressions in a chronological order and match them with current events at the time.

White, Timothy. Catch a Fire: The Life of Bob Marley. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1983. This well-researched biography accurately explains the roots of Rastafarianism, the Kingston ghettos, and the problems of Africa, which Marley often sang about. This book gives the reader a sense of where Marley was coming from in his songwriting.