More about: Bob Marley

On 3 December 1976, two days before Robert Nesta Marley was due to perform at ‘Smile Jamaica’, a free concert organised by Jamaican prime minister Michael Manley in an attempt to resolve major factional and political turmoil throughout Jamaica at the time - Bob Marley, his wife and his manager were wounded by gunmen in what is thought to be a politically-motivated attack. Fortunately, all three survived the attempted assassination with Bob only sustaining minor injuries. Despite an attempt on his life two days earlier, Bob Marley still played the ‘Smile Jamaica’ concert. When asked why, he responded with words that sum up his colossal legacy: “The people who are trying to make this world worse aren't taking a day off. How can I?”

The reggae iconic was born on this day, 6 February, in 1945 in a small rural Jamaican village called Nine Mile. His father was a white man, Capt. Norval Marley, a superintendent of lands for the British government, which had colonized Jamaica in the 1660s. Marley’s mother, Cedella, was a young Black woman, descended from the Cromantee tribe, who as slaves had staged the bloodiest uprisings in the island’s plantation era. Capt. Marley seduced Cedella, age seventeen, promising her marriage, as he re-enacted an age-old scenario of white privilege over Black service. When Cedella became pregnant, the captain kept his promise - until the next day when he left never to be seen again.

Cedella lived in fear throughout Marley’s childhood. Mixed-race couplings were frowned upon in late 40s Jamaica despite being fairly common, but that’s white colonialism for you. Sadly, it was the children of mixed-race couples who suffered the most. Despite this, Marley’s inheritance gave him a valuable perspective. Though he became increasingly devoted in his life to the cause of speaking to the Black diaspora — that population throughout the world that had been scattered or colonized as the result of the slave trade and imperialism — he never expressed hatred for white people but rather hatred for one peoples' undeserved power to subjugate another people. Throughout his life, he developed that sentiment for peace and unity which is now known to the world as ‘One Love’. 

In 1963, the same year the likes of The Beatles and Bob Dylan broke down established musical barricades, Bob Marley began to find his feet is the music business after recording 4 songs at Federal Records – the first recording studio in Jamaica. On top of that, he banded with Bunny Wailer, Peter Tosh, Junior Braithwaite, Beverly Kelso and Cherry Smith who called themselves The Teenagers. They later changed their name to Wailing Rudeboys, then to the Wailing Wailers, at which point they were discovered by record producer Coxsone Dodd, and finally to The Wailers. Their single for the Coxsone label ‘Simmer Down’ became Jamaican number one in February 1964 selling around 70,000 copies. The only way was up from there. 

Throughout the rise of his musical career in the 60s, Bob Marley married Rita Anderson and moved to the US for a short time. Despite being raised as a Catholic, Bob converted to Rastafarian beliefs upon his return to Jamaica and grew dreadlocks - this proved to be the birth of his iconic cultural image. Rasta beliefs are based on a specific interpretation of the Bible, a monotheistic belief in a single God referred to as ‘Jah’ who is deemed to reside within each individual. The principal ritual of Rastafari is smoking cannabis, something which Marley himself is arguably known for as much as his music. Rastas call it ‘The Holy Herb’ and smoking it is considered a sacrament. They regard it for having healing properties, inducing feelings of “peace and love” and claim it cultivates a form of personal introspection that allows smokers to discover their inner divinity.

By the 1970s, Bob Marley’s musical iconography truly began as reggae took a new form during the new decade. His music became more commercialised, leading him to strike a deal with Island Records from which he began to receive international attention. The Wailers' 1973 Island Records debut album Catch a Fire marked the first time a reggae band had access to state-of-the-art studio technology and were held in the same regard as their rock and roll peers by the record company. The follow-up album Burnin’ included the song ‘I Shot the Sheriff’ which was later a number one hit thanks to Eric Clapton’s 1975 cover. 

The original line-up of The Wailers sadly disbanded in 1974, but this was a minor inconvenience for Marley as his career only continued to level up afterwards. He continued recording under the name Bob Marley and The Wailers with a new line-up and had continued success with the international hit ‘No Woman, No Cry’ and his US top 50 1976 album ‘Rastaman Vibration’. 

Then the past of his politically divided and corrupt county came back to haunt him as he was shot two days before his performance at ‘Smile Jamaica’.

After the concert, Marley spent two years of self-imposed exile in London where he recorded his 1977 record Exodus – regarded as one of the greatest albums of all time. After being inspired by British rock and roll, blues and soul, Marley began to incorporate those elements to his reggae sound creating an amalgamation of overwhelming beauty. Exodus’includes some of Bob Marley’s most iconic hits including ‘Jamming’, ‘Three Little Birds’, ‘One Love’ and ‘Waiting in Vain’. The album is split into two halves with the first side lyrically focusing on politics and religion whilst the second side focusing more on themes of sex and keeping faith. The album was a critical and commercial success and remained in the UK album charts for 56 consecutive weeks. 

After recording his successful Exodus follow-up Kaya whilst in his London exile, Marley returned to Jamaica in 1978 and performed another political concert called ‘One Love Peace’. Again, this was an effort to calm political unrest that was ravaging through Jamaica with the two leading political parties being practically at war. During the concert, Bob Marley requested that prime-minister Michael Manley and his political rival Edward Seaga join him on stage to shake hands. Reluctantly, the two enemies shook hands in a monumental display of peace and understanding - all thanks to Bob. Sadly, political violence still continued across Jamaica after Marley’s plea for peace – but it proves his determination to end war and bring peace was on a cosmic scale.

After two successful politically charged and thematically religious albums, 1979’s Survival and 1980’s Uprising – Bob Marley sadly passed away on the 11 May 1981 due to malignant melanoma, a form of pigmented skin cancer that he discovered under his toe in 1977. From the day he died to today, Marley’s legacy has only grown. A posthumous album Confrontation came out in 1983 which included the smash hit ‘Buffalo Soldier’. In 1984, a compilation album appropriately titled Legend released. As of today, it is the highest selling reggae album of all time with an estimated 25 million copies sold globally and is universally regarded as one of the greatest compilation albums ever.

Marley’s legacy was so profound, he is usually the first person one thinks of when considering the not only the most iconic Jamaicans and reggae musicians but also the best-known stoners and peace activists. He inspired peace not just to Jamaicans, but to the entire planet. His message of separating oneself from the transnational capitalistic mess of a planet and focusing on your own consciousness and path in life is still relevant today, now more than ever. Bob’s son Ziggy stood in for his father with The Wailers after his death and has since formed a successful reggae band of his own alongside his brother Stephen Marley. Bob’s younger son Damian has also been heavily involved in music throughout his life and has subsequently formed his own genre he calls “dancehall reggae” which fuses together reggae and hip-hop. All of their music is a credit to their father as they continue his message of ‘One Love’.

Four decades without Bob Marley has seen a lot of change, there are fresh raging and deadly arguments about who is the oppressed and who is the oppressor in the world today, and there are not going to be any easy ways out (just look at the state of the USA’s political climate). How does Marley’s music count in the knowledge of all this? ‘One Love’ offers an answer; its scariness and its sorrow are perfect for now and will be until we have peace on Earth. In a sense, ‘One Love’ could be seen as a prophecy that is yet to be fulfilled – but there is hope it one day will be, and we will have the Marley legacy to thank on that day. 

More about: Bob Marley