'Robert Nesta Marley (February 6, 1945 - May 11, 1981), better known as Bob Marley, was a singer, guitarist, and songwriter from Saint Ann, Jamaica. He was one of the widest known reggae musicians of all time, famous for popularising the genre outside of Jamaica. Much of his work deals with the struggles of the impoverished and/or powerless. He has been called the Charles Wesley of the Rastafarian faith for the way in which he spread Rastafarianism through his music. He was the husband of Rita Anderson Marley, who regularly performed with Bob Marley as a member of his back-up singers the I Threes. She had 4 of his 9 children, including David Ziggy Marley and Stephen Marley who together continue their father's musical legacy in their band the Melody Makers. Another of his sons, Damian Marley (aka "Jr Gong"), has also started a career in music. Political and religious convictions Bob Marley Catch a fire Marley was well known for his devotion to the Rastafarian religion. It was his wife Rita who first inspired him in his faith, and he then received teachings from Mortimer Planner. He served as a de facto missionary for the faith (his actions and lyrics suggest that this was intentional) and brought it to global attention. Through his music he preached brotherhood and peace for all of mankind. Towards the end of his life he was also baptised into the Ethiopia Orthodox Church with the name Berhane Selassie. As a Rasta, Bob Marley was a great defender of cannabis which he used as a sacrament. On the cover of Catch a Fire he is seen smoking a big spliff (marijuana cigarette), and the spiritual use of cannabis is mentioned in many of his songs. Marley was known to have connections with the Twelve Tribes of Israel sect of Rastafari, and he expressed this with a biblical quote about Joseph, son of Jacob on the album cover of Rastaman Vibration. The tribe of Joseph is Aquarius. Marley also makes many references to Judah and his tribe, in reference to Haile Selassie, God incarnate of the Rastafarians. Early life Bob Marley was born on February 6, 1945 in Jamaica to Norval Marley, a middle-aged white plantation overseer from England, and Cedella Booker, a black teenager from the north country. Cedella and Norval were to be married on June 9th, 1944. Approximately a week before the wedding, however, Norval informed Cedella that his chronic hernia had begun to trouble him and as a result he would be changing jobs and moving to Kingston. Norval never really knew his son because of the white upper class' disdain for mixed race relationships. As a person of mixed race, Bob Marley may have been rejected and even the object of bitter ridicule by both white and black Jamaicans for his mixed heritage. Musical career Early career Marley started his musical experimentation in ska and gravitated towards reggae as the music evolved, playing, teaching and singing for a long period in the 1970s and 1980s. Marley is perhaps best-known for work with his reggae group "The Wailers", which included two other celebrated reggae musicians, Bunny Livingstone and Peter Tosh. Livingstone and Tosh later left the group and went on to become successful solo artists. Much of Marley's early work was produced by Coxsone Dodd at Studio One. That relationship later deteriorated due to financial pressure, and in the early 1970s he produced what is believed by many to be his finest work with Lee Perry. This pair also split apart, this time over the assignment of recording rights. They did work together again in London, though, and remained friends until Marley's death. Marley's work was largely responsible for the mainstream cultural acceptance of reggae music outside of Jamaica. He signed to Chris Blackwell's Island Records label in 1971, at the time a highly influential and innovative label. Island Records boasted a retinue of successful and diverse artists including Genesis, John Martyn and Nick Drake. Though many people believe that Blackwell interfered with what Marley wanted to do with his own music, others think that the knowledge this producer brought to the scene was critical in Marley's wish to bring reggae to the world. It was his 1975 hit No Woman, No Cry that first gained him fame on a wider level. Shot in election violence In 1976, just two days before a scheduled free concert that Marley and the then Jamaican PM Michael Manley had organized in the run up to the general election, Marley, his wife Rita and manager Don Taylor, were shot inside the star's 56 Hope Road home. Marley received minor injuries in the arm and chest. Don Taylor took most of the bullets in his legs and torso as he accidentally walked in the line of fire. He was registered in serious condition after he was rushed to the hospital but fully recovered later. Rita also recovered of the head wound she received that night. It is generally believed that this shooting was politically motivated. Jamaican politics being somewhat violent at the time, especially when close to elections time as it was then. The concert was seen as being in support of the progressive prime minister of Jamaica, Michael Manley. It is widely held that he was shot by supporters of the conservative political party of Jamaica, the Jamaica Labour Party. However, there is little evidence to support this. Though the police never caught the gunmen, Marley devotees later "caught up" with them on the streets of Kingston. Later career Bob Marley live in concert at the Hallenstadion in Zurich, Switzerland on May 30, 1980 Bob Marley left Jamaica at the end of 1976, and went to England, where he recorded both Exodus and Kaya, and where he was famously arrested for possession of a joint of marijuana. He released "Africa Unite" on the Survival album in 1979, and was then invited to perform at the Zimbabwe Independence Day celebrations on April 17th 1980. Rastaman Vibration made big waves in the US charts on its release. The success got reggae and Marley more mileage besides a recognition for his peace efforts. “War” brought the message of H.I.M. Haile Selassie loud and clear to the young generation. Steve Wonder in the album Hotter than July paid a rich tribute to Bob Marley with the hit track Master Blaster (Jammin). Battle with cancer Diagnosis In July 1977, Marley was found to have a wound on his right big toe, which he thought was from a soccer injury. The wound would not completely heal, and his toenail later fell off during a soccer game. It was then that the correct diagnosis was made. Marley actually had a form of skin cancer, malignant melanoma, which grew under his toenail. He was advised to get his toe amputated, but he refused because of the Rastafarian belief that doctors are samfai, confidence men who cheat the gullible by pretending to have the power of witchcraft. He also was concerned about the impact the operation would have on his dancing; amputation would profoundly affect his career at a time when greater success was close at hand. Still, Marley based this refusal on his Rastafarian beliefs, saying, "Rasta no abide amputation. I and I don't allow a mon ta be dismantled." [Catch a Fire, Timothy White] He did have surgery to try to excise the cancer cells. The cancer was kept a secret from the wider public. Collapse and treatment The cancer spread to his brain, his lungs and his stomach. While on tour in the summer of 1980 trying to break into the US market, he collapsed jogging in NYC's Central Park. This was after a series of shows in England and at Madison Square Garden. The illness made him unable to continue with the large tour planned. Marley sought help, and decided to go to Munich in order to receive treatment from controversial cancer specialist Josef Issels for several months, but it was to no avail. Death A month before his death, he was awarded Jamaica's Order of Merit. He wanted to spend his final days in Jamaica but he became too ill on the flight home from Germany and had to land in Miami. He passed away at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital in Miami, Florida on May 11, 1981. His funeral in Jamaica was a dignified affair with combined elements of Ethiopian Orthodoxy and Rastafarianism. He is buried in a crypt at Nine Miles, near his birthplace. Posthumous reputation Bob Marley's music and legend have gone from strength to strength in the years since his early death and continues to produce a huge stream of revenue for his estate, and has brought him nearly mythic status in music history similar to that of Elvis Presley, John Lennon, and Bob Dylan. He remains enormously popular and well known all over the world, and particularly so in Africa. In 1993, Marley was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Controversy over burial place In January 2005, it was reported that Rita Marley is planning to have her late husband's remains exhumed and reburied in Shashamane, Ethiopia. In announcing the decision to move Marley's remains to Ethiopia, Rita Marley said: "Bob's whole life is about Africa, it is not Jamaica." There is as lot of resistance to this proposal in Jamaica. The birthday celebrations for what would have been his 60th birthday on February 6th 2005 were celebrated in Shashamane for the first time, having previously always been held in Jamaica. Rewards 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 highest honor, the Order of Merit 1999 - Album of the Century (Time Magazine) for Exodus) February 2001 - A star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame February 2001 - Awarded Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award
Zion train is coming our way; The Zion train is coming our way; Oh, people, get on board! (you better get on board!) Thank the Lord (praise Fari) - I gotta catch a train, ´cause there is no other station; Then you going in the same direction (ooh-ooh). Zion´s train is coming our way; The Zion´s train is coming our way. Which man can save his brother´s soul? (save your brother´s soul) Oh man, it´s just self control. (oo-hoo-oo!) Don´t gain the world and lose your soul (just don´t lose your soul) Wisdom is better than silver and gold - To the bridge (ooh-ooh!) Oh, where there´s a will, There´s always a way. Where there´s a will, There´s always a way (way, way, way, way), Soul train is coming our way; er! Zion train is coming our way. Two thousand years of history (history) Could not be wiped away so easily. Two thousand years of history (Black history) Could not be wiped so easily (could not be wiped so easily). Oh, children, Zion train is comin´ our way; get on board now! They said the Zion train is comin´ our way; you got a ticket, so thank the Lord! Zion´s train is - Zion´s train is - Zion´s train is - Zion´s train - They said the soul train is coming our way; They said the soul train is coming our way.
Redemption Song Old pirates, yes, they rob i; Sold I to the merchant ships, Minutes after they took i From the bottomless pit. But my hand was made strong By the ’and of the almighty. We forward in this generation Triumphantly. Won’t you help to sing These songs of freedom? - ’cause all I ever have: Redemption songs; Redemption songs. Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery; None but ourselves can free our minds. Have no fear for atomic energy, ’cause none of them can stop the time. How long shall they kill our prophets, While we stand aside and look? ooh! Some say it’s just a part of it: We’ve got to fulfil de book. Won’t you help to sing These songs of freedom? - ’cause all I ever have: Redemption songs; Redemption songs; Redemption songs. --- /guitar break/ --- Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery; None but ourselves can free our mind. Wo! have no fear for atomic energy, ’cause none of them-a can-a stop-a the time. How long shall they kill our prophets, While we stand aside and look? Yes, some say it’s just a part of it: We’ve got to fulfil de book. Won’t you help to sing Dese songs of freedom? - ’cause all I ever had: Redemption songs - All I ever had: Redemption songs: These songs of freedom, Songs of freedom.
What I always saw in marley (and I remember his music from when he was alive...) was a class act (all the adultery aside). He did the Jamaica Smile show and brought the two feuding politicians together. I remember footage of him chanting Jah Rastifari- one love and clenching the men's hands above his head. They towered over him. but he looked like a crazed minor diety...flush with his own vision.
o, man. i wish i could have been alive back in the 70s. i would have loved to have seen that man in concert. he was an amazing musician and a wonderful muy. he really did bring reggae to the rest of the world and i'm so glad he did. i love reggae music. peace & love.
God... Marley was the greatest man of all time.... and that still might be an understatement.... but his music just fills you with so much joy and happiness.... its music that when you hear it you wanna scream it at the top of your lungs... til you almost shed a tear(and sometimes do) for the man..... also just seeing pictures of him... and that huge smile just brightens your day that much more... no matter how shitty of a day you may have.... I dont think there could ever be a more loving person in the world... i mean for christ sake... he saw the man who shot him and let it be no more than in the end he will be judged accordingly..... Theres a girl i work with that says she hates marley and im like how can you hate a man such as marley... almost brings a tear to my eye when she says that... Jah Love!!!! WE ALL MISS YOU MARLEY!!!!!!
He provided us with some of the greatest diverse thoughts and music of the 20th century... too bad it was for such a short time, but c'est la vie... also makes for a nice soundtrack to light up to.
