Visit these Bob Marley sites after you read the bio.
BORN: February 6, 1945, St. Ann, Jamaica
DIED: May 11, 1981, Miami, FL
Reggae's most transcendent and iconic figure, Bob Marley was the first Jamaican artist to achieve international superstardom, in the process introducing the music of his native island nation to the far-flung corners of the globe. Marley's music gave voice to the day-to-day struggles of the Jamaican experience, vividly capturing not only the plight of the country's impoverished and oppressed but also the devout spirituality which remains their source of strength. His songs of faith, devotion and revolution created a legacy which continues to live on not only through the music of his extended family but also through generations of artists the world over touched by his genius.
Robert Nesta Marley was born February 6, 1945 in rural St. Ann's Parish, Jamaica; the son of a middle-aged white father and teenaged black mother, he left home at 14 to pursue a music career in Kingston, becoming a pupil of local singer and devout Rastafarian Joe Higgs. He cut his first single "Judge Not" in 1962 for Leslie Kong, severing ties with the famed producer soon after over a monetary dispute. In 1963 Marley teamed with fellow singers Peter Tosh, Bunny Livingstone, Junior Braithwaite, Beverly Kelso and Cherry Smith to form the vocal group the Teenagers; later rechristened The Wailing Rudeboys and later simply the Wailers, they signed on with producer Coxsone Dodd's legendary Studio One and recorded their debut "I'm Still Waiting." When Braithwaite and Smith exited the Wailers, Marley assumed lead vocal duties, and in early 1964 the group's follow-up "Simmer Down" topped the Jamaican charts. A series of singles including "Let Him Go (Rude Boy Get Gail), " "Dancing Shoes, " "Jerk in Time, " "Who Feels It Knows It" and "What Am I to Do" followed, and in all, the Wailers recorded some 70 tracks for Dodd before disbanding in 1966. On February 10 of that year, Marley married Rita Anderson, a singer in the group the Soulettes; she later enjoyed success as a member of the vocal trio the I-Threes. Marley then spent the better part of the year working in a factory in Newark, DE, the home of his mother since 1963.
Upon returning to Jamaica that October, Marley reformed the Wailers with Livingstone and Tosh, releasing "Bend Down Low" on their own short-lived Wail 'N' Soul 'M label; at this time all three members began devoting themselves to the teachings of the Rastafari faith, a cornerstone of Marley's life and music until his death.
Beginning in 1968, the Wailers recorded a wealth of new material for producer Danny Sims before teaming the following year with producer Lee "Scratch" Perry; backed by Perry's house band the Upsetters, the trio cut a number of classics, including "My Cup, " "Duppy Conqueror, " "Soul Almighty" and "Small Axe, " which fused powerful vocals, ingenious rhythms and visionary production to lay the groundwork for much of the Jamaican music in its wake. Upsetters bassist Aston "Family Man" Barrett and his drummer brother Carlton soon joined the Wailers full-time, and in 1971 the group founded another independent label, Tuff Gong, releasing a handful of singles before signing to Chris Blackwell's Island Records a year later. 1973's Catch a Fire, the Wailers' Island debut, was the first of their albums released outside of Jamaica, and immediately earned worldwide acclaim; the follow-up, Burnin', launched the track "I Shot the Sheriff, " a Top Ten hit for Eric Clapton in 1974. With the Wailers poised for stardom, however, both Livingstone and Tosh quit the group to pursue solo careers; Marley then brought in the I-Threes, which in addition to Rita Marley consisted of singers Marcia Griffiths and Judy Mowatt. The new line-up proceeded to tour the world prior to releasing their 1975 breakthrough album Natty Dread, scoring their first UK Top 40 hit with the classic "No Woman, No Cry." Sellout shows at the London Lyceum, where Marley played to racially-mixed crowds, yielded the superb Live! later that year, and with the success of 1976's Rastaman Vibration, which hit the Top Ten in the U.S., it became increasingly clear that his music had carved its own niche within the pop mainstream.
As great as Marley's fame had grown outside of Jamaica, at home he was viewed as a figure of almost mystical proportions, a poet and prophet whose every word had the nation's collective ear. His power was perceived as a threat in some quarters, and on December 3, 1976 he was wounded in an assassination attempt; the ordeal forced Marley to leave Jamaica for over a year. 1977's Exodus was his biggest record to date, generating the hits "Jamming, " "Waiting in Vain" and "One Love/People Get Ready"; Kaya was another smash, highlighted by the gorgeous "Is This Love" and "Satisfy My Soul." Another classic live date, Babylon by Bus, preceded the release of 1979's Survival. 1980 loomed as Marley's biggest year yet, kicked off by a concert in the newly-liberated Zimbabwe; a tour of the U.S. was announced, but while jogging in New York's Central Park he collapsed, and it was discovered he suffered from cancer which had spread to his brain, lungs and liver. Uprising was the final album released in Marley's lifetime -- he died May 11, 1981 at age 36.
Posthumous efforts including 1983's Redemption and the best-selling 1984 retrospective Legend kept Marley's music alive, and his renown continued growing in the years following his death -- even decades after the fact, he remains synonymous with reggae's worldwide popularity. In the wake of her husband's passing Rita Marley scored a solo hit with "One Draw, " but despite the subsequent success of the singles "Many Are Called" and "Play Play, " by the mid-1980 she largely withdrew from performing to focus on raising her children. Oldest son David, better known as Ziggy, went on to score considerable pop success as the leader of the Melody Makers, a Marley family group comprised of siblings Cedelia, Stephen and Sharon; their 1988 single "Tomorrow People" was a Top 40 U.S. hit, a feat even Bob himself never accomplished. Three other Marley children -- Damian, Julian and Ky-Mani -- pursued careers in music as well. ~~~~~~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide, cdnow.com
Reggae singer, guitarist, and composer. Born Robert Nesta Marley, on February 6, 1945, in Nine Miles, Saint Ann, Jamaica. Raised mostly in Trenchtown, a poor section of Kingston, Jamaica’s capital, Marley began singing with his friends Bunny Livingston and Peter Mackintosh (later shortened to Tosh) when he was a teenager. Marley’s first single, “Judge Not,” was released in 1963, but made little impact commercially. In 1964, the trio became the nucleus of a band known as the Wailing Wailers. The group experimented with slowing down the quick dance rhythms of Jamaican “ska” music and scored hits with “Simmer Down” and “Love and Affection.” Despite its early success, the group disbanded in 1966. Shortly thereafter, Marley lived briefly in the United States, where his mother, Cedella Marley Booker, had moved in 1963. While in the U.S., Marley worked at a series of jobs, including a stint as a forklift driver, a lab assistant, and an assembly line worker at the Chrysler plant in Wilmington, Delaware. He returned to Jamaica later that same year and rejoined his new wife, Rita Anderson, as well as Livingston and Tosh, with whom he formed a new trio called simply the Wailers.
By the late 1960s, the Wailers began recording with prominent reggae producer Lee “Scratch” Perry and had gained a great measure of prominence in Jamaica. Moving from ska to the somewhat slower, so-called “rude boy” music to an innovative brand of reggae, the group had a number of hits, including “Soul Rebel,” “400 Years,” and “Small Axe.” In 1970, bassist Aston Barrett and his brother Carlton, a drummer, joined the band, which further deepened the Wailers’ thumping rhythms. From the mid-1960s, Marley and his fellow Wailers devoted themselves to a faith in Rastafarianism, a religious sect centered around the belief that Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie I (now deceased) was a divine being who would lead oppressed blacks to an African homeland. A crucial part of the Rastafarian faith was the use of marijuana, or “ganja,” as a kind of holy herb that would bring enlightenment. The Wailers’ music was imbued with this faith, which represented a spiritual alternative to the frequent violence of ghetto life for many poor Jamaicans.
In 1972, the Wailers signed a recording contract with a London-based record label, Island Records, founded by the half-Irish, half-Jamaican music entrepreneur Chris Blackwell. Catch a Fire, their first album to be marketed outside Jamaica, brought the band’s artless lyricism and infectious rhythms to a wider audience and included such future reggae classics as “Stir it Up” and “Stop That Train.” The Wailers embarked on their first overseas tour in 1974. The band gained even more international recognition in 1974, when the popular singer-guitarist Eric Clapton covered “I Shot the Sheriff”—a song from their second Island album, Burnin’ (1973)—and scored a No. 1 pop hit in 1974.
That same year, Tosh and Livingston (who later had his last name legally changed to “Wailer”) left the group to pursue solo careers. With their departure, the band became known as Bob Marley and the Wailers, reflecting Marley’s undeniable prominence in both songwriting and performing. Marley soon released an album, Natty Dread with backing vocals provided by the I-Threes, a female trio that included his wife, Rita. Natty Dread was a critical and popular success, and featured songs such as “Lively Up Yourself” and “No Woman No Cry.”
Rastaman Vibration, released in 1976, was an even bigger international hit. In addition to increasing his already formidable reputation in the music world, the album’s politically charged message catapulted Marley into the forefront of a steadily worsening political situation in Jamaica. Marley’s iconic status in his native country had reached astonishing heights—one reporter commented in Time magazine that he “rivals the government as a political force.” On December 3, 1976, Marley was injured in an attack on his home by several gunmen, suspected to be linked with Jamaica’s right-wing Labor Party. The attack was allegedly carried out in order to prevent Marley from performing at a concert rally for then-Prime Minister Michael Manley, the leader of the socialist People’s National Party. Marley still performed in the scheduled concert (which was attended by 80,000 people) but subsequently left Jamaica for a long period of self-imposed exile.
During the late 1970s, Marley toured extensively in the U.S., Europe, and Africa and recorded another sensational album, Exodus (1977). The album remained on the British charts for 56 consecutive weeks, and contained several huge commercial hits, including the title track, “Waiting in Vain,” and “Jamming.” With the 1978 release of Kaya, Marley and the Wailers favored a somewhat gentler sound and found an equal measure of success, especially with hit songs like “Is This Love,” and “Satisfy My Soul.” The band’s packed touring schedule in 1978 included a sold-out show at New York City’s Madison Square Garden, which was recorded and released as the highly acclaimed live album Babylon By Bus. Another album, entitled Survivor, was released in 1979.
While Marley was being treated for a foot injury in 1977, doctors discovered cancerous cells in his toe. Refusing to have surgery because of his Rasta beliefs, Marley continued to tour throughout the next several years. In 1980, Marley collapsed while jogging in New York’s Central Park. By that time, the cancer had spread throughout his lungs and brain. Over the next eight months, he underwent radiation therapy and holistic treatments, but his health continued to deteriorate. In April 1981, an ailing Marley was awarded the prestigious Order of Merit by the Jamaican government. Marley died in a Miami hospital, on May 11, 1981, at the age of 36. Ten days later, he was given a state funeral in Jamaica, attended by more than 100,000 people, and his body was taken to his hometown of Nine Miles and placed in a mausoleum.
In the years following Marley’s death, controversy raged over his estate, which was worth an estimated $30 million at the time of his death. As Marley had not left a will, by Jamaican law half of his estate was given to his widow while the remainder was to be divided equally among his children. After a 10-year battle with the court-appointed executor of her husband’s estate, Rita Marley finally won control for herself and her four children with Marley, as well as Marley’s seven other legally recognized children from liaisons with other women. As Marley recorded such a volume of work, previously unreleased material continued to appear on the market years after his death. In 1992, a 78-song album set entitled Songs of Freedom was released, featuring a retrospective of his work from his first single to his final concert performance in 1980. By a little more than a decade after his death, the annual royalty income for Marley’s music had increased to an estimated $2.5 million, ranking him among the largest-selling recording artists of all time. In 1994, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
In addition to the large volume of recordings of his work, Marley’s extraordinary musical legacy lives on in The Melody Makers, a popular modern reggae band formed by Marley himself years ago; the band is now led by his eldest son, Ziggy, and features several more of his children. Rita Marley continues to live in Jamaica, running the family’s record label, Tuff Gong. -------Biography.com
Back to the Reggae Central Home Page
Back to the Bio's
Bob Marley Links
Bob Marley Albums
A 13 minute documentary video of
List to Bob Marley's set at Reggae Sunsplash in Montego Bay, Jamaica, 7-7-79
Bob Marley Lyrics
