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 Powered
by his Rastafarian faith, his love for pop music, and his transparently
honest political convictions, Bob Marley was the one and only universal
ambassador of Jamaica's renowned reggae music, his songs of resolution,
rebellion and justice finding audiences the world over. As a
platinum-selling superstar and a semi-religious icon, Marley's
pro-active work in promoting peace, justice and brotherhood nearly
outweighed the brilliance of his music.
Born of a middle-age white father and a teenage black mother, Robert
Nesta Marley grew up poor in Trenchtown, Jamaica. Marley began singing
professionally at 16 with two friends, Bunny Livingston (a.k.a. Bunny
Wailer) and Peter McIntosh (AKA "Tosh"). He made his first record,
"Judge Not," in 1962 with the Teenagers. A few years later, as the
Wailers, Marley and associates had begun mixing political content with
unusual covers ("And I Love Her," "What's New Pussycat?"), slowing the
quick, prevalent ska beat down and calling it "rude boy music."
Bob Marley Links
It
wasn't until 1973 that Marley made his first professional recording.
That album, Catch A Fire introduced the reggae idiom to an international
audience. With the Wailers--one of the greatest back-up bands of all
time--behind him, the freshness gave rock fans something new to dance to
and a powerfully compelling brand of lyrical consciousness to hear. In
1974, after Tosh and Livingston exited, and a female vocal trio the
I-Threes (which included his wife Rita) was added, Marley released the
formidable, moralistic Natty Dread, an album featuring classics "No
Woman, No Cry" and "Lively Up Yourself." In the late '70s, Marley
continued to enjoy worldwide hits with songs like "Exodus" (1977),
"Waiting In Vain" (1977), "Jamming"(1977), and "Is This Love" (1978),
and albums Rastaman Vibration and Exodus.
On a European tour in 1977, Marley & the Wailers played an informal
soccer game (his other passion) against a team of French journalists. In
the process, Marley injured his foot. Treatment revealed cancerous
cells, but he refused surgery. In 1980, again on tour, Marley collapsed
while jogging in New York's Central Park. The cancer had spread to his
brain, lungs and liver, and he died eight months later. The music world
had lost one of its true and potent activists, a man who had grown up
from the ghettos of Trenchtown to become a musical ambassador the world
over. |
