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Bob Marley biography

2007-07-26T22:01:00.000-07:00

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"I love the development of our music, that's what I really dig about the whole thing. How we've tried to develop, y'know? It grows. That's why every day people come forward with new songs. Music goes on forever."
--Bob Marley, August 1979

We remember the brilliant and evocative music Bob Marley gave the world; music that stretches back over nearly two decades and still remains timeless and universal. Marley has been called "the first Third World superstar," "Rasta Prophet," "visionary," and" "revolutionary artist." These accolades were not mere hyperbole. Marley was one of the most charismatic and challenging performers of our time.

Bob Marley's career stretched back over twenty years. During that time Marley's growing style encompassed every aspect in the rise of Jamaican music, from ska to contemporary reggae. That growth was well reflected in the maturity of the Wailers' music.
Bob's first recording attempts came at the beginning of the Sixties. His first two tunes, cut as a solo artist, meant nothing in commercial terms and it wasn't until 1964, as a founding member of a group called the Wailing Wailers, that Bob first hit the Jamaican charts.

The record was "Simmer Down," and over the next few years the Wailing Wailers -- Bob, Peter Mclntosh and Bunny Livingston, the nucleus of the group -- put out some 30 sides that properly established them as one of the hottest groups in Jamaica. Mclntosh later shortened his surname to Tosh while Livingston is now called Bunny Wailer.

Despite their popularity, the economics of keeping the group together proved too much and the two other members, Junior Braithwaite and Beverley Kelso, left the group. At the same time Bob joined his mother in the United States. This marked the end of the Wailing Wailers, Chapter One.

Marley's stay in America was short-lived, however, and he returned to Jamaica to join up again with Peter and Bunny. By the end of the Sixties, with the legendary reggae producer Lee "Scratch" Perry at the mixing desk, The Wailers were again back at the top in Jamaica. The combination of the Wailers and Perry resulted in some of the finest music the band ever made. Tracks like "Soul Rebel," "Duppy Conquerer," "400 Years," and "Small Axe" were not only classics, but they defined the future direction of reggae.

It's difficult to properly understand Bob Marley's music without considering Rastafari. His spiritual beliefs are too well known to necessitate further explanation. It must be stated, however, that Rastafari is at the very core of the Wailers' music.

In 1970 Aston Familyman Barrett and his brother Carlton (bass and drums, respectively) joined the Wailers. They came to the band unchallenged as Jamaica's HARDEST rhythm section; a reputation that was to remain undiminished during the following decade. Meanwhile, the band's own reputation was, at the start of the Seventies, an extraordinary one throughout the Caribbean. However, the band was still unknown internationally.

That was to change in 1972 when the Wailers signed to Island Records. It was a revolutionary move for an international record company and a reggae band. For the first time a reggae band had access to the best recording facilities and were treated in the same way as a rock group. Before the Wailers signed to Island, it was considered that reggae sold only on singles and cheap compilation albums. The Wailer's first album, Catch A Fire broke all the rules: it was beautifully packaged and heavily promoted. And it was the start of a long climb to international fame and recognition.

The Catch A Fire album was followed a year later by Burnin', an LP that included some of the band's older songs, such as "Duppy Conquerer," "Small Axe," and "Put In On," together with tracks like "Get Up Stand Up" and "I Shot The Sheriff" (which was also recorded by Eric Clapton, who had a #1 hit with it in America).

In 1975 Bob Marley & The Wailers released the extraordinary Natty Dread album, and toured Europe that summer. The shows were recorded and the subsequent live album, together with the single, "No Woman No Cry," both made the UK charts. By that time Bunny and Peter had officially left the band to pursue their own solo careers.

Rastaman Vibration, the follow-up album in 1976, cracked the American charts. It was, for many, the clearest exposition yet of Marley's music and beliefs, including such tracks as "Crazy Baldhead," "Johnny Was," "Who The Cap Fit" and, perhaps most significantly of all, "War," the Iyrics of which were taken from a speech by Emperor Haile Selassie.

In 1977 Exodus was released, which established Marley's international superstar status. It remained on the British charts for 56 straight weeks, and netted three UK hit singles, "Exodus," "Waiting In Vain," and "Jamming."
In 1978 the band released Kaya, which hit number four on the UK chart the week of its release. That album saw Marley in a different mood -- Kaya was an album of love songs, and, of course, homages to the power of ganja.

There were two more events in 1978, both of which were of extraordinary significance to Marley. In April that year he returned to Jamaica (he had left in 1976 after the shooting that had almost cost him his life), to play the One Love Peace Concert in front of the Prime Minister Michael Manley, and the then Leader of the Opposition Edward Seaga. And at the end of the year he visited Africa for the first time, going initially to Kenya and then on to Ethiopia, spiritual home of Rastafari.

Marley returned to Africa in 1980 at the official initation of the Government of Zimbabwe to play at that country's Independence Ceremony. It was the greatest honor afforded the band, and one which underlined the Wailers' importance in the Third World.

In 1979 the Survival LP was released. A European tour came the following year: the band broke festival records throughout the continent, including a 100,000 capacity show in Milan. Bob Marley & the Wailers were now the most important band on the road that year and the new Uprising album hit every chart in Europe. It was a period of maximum optimism and plans were being made for an American tour, an opening slot with Stevie Wonder for the following winter.
At the end of the European tour, Bob Marley & The Wailers went to America. Bob played two shows at Madison Square Garden but, immediately afterwards he was seriously ill. Cancer was diagnosed.

Marley fought the disease for eight months. The battle, however, proved to be too much. He died in a Miami Hospital on May 11,1981.

A month before the end Bob was awarded Jamaica's Order of Merit, the nations' third highest honor, in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the country's culture.
On Thursday, May 23,1981, the Honorable Robert Nesta Marley was given an official funeral by the people of Jamaica. Following the funeral -- attended by both the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition -- Bob's body was taken to his birthplace where it now rests in a mausoleum. Bob Marley was 36 years old. His legend lives on.

Bob Marley's Quotes

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Sourced
One love, one heart, let's get together and feel alright.
"One Love" (cowritten with Curtis Mayfield).
Don't worry about a thing, 'cos every little thing is gonna be alright.
"Three Little Birds"
Life is worth much more than gold.
"Jamming"
Emancipate yourself from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our mind. Have no fear for atomic energy, cos none of them can stop the time.
"Redemption Song"
They say: only the fittest of the fittest should survive, stay alive!
"Could you be loved"
Truth is the light / Never give up the fight.
Final jamming of Live at the Roxy
Judge not, before you judge yourself. Judge not, if you're not ready for judgement, whoa oh oh
Judge Not

Disputed
Some famous songs were sung by Marley, but writing credits were actually given to his close friend Vincent Ford.

Good friends we have had, oh good friends we've lost along the way
In this bright future you can't forget your past
So dry your tears I say
No woman, no cry
No woman, no cry
Little darlin' don't shed no tears
No woman, no cry
No Woman, No Cry
Ev'rything's gonna be alright
So, no woman, no cry
No Woman, No Cry
Say you just can't live that negative way
You know what I mean
Make way for the positive day
Cause it's a new day.
"Positive Vibration" a song sung by Marley on the album Rastaman Vibration (1976).
Some people say great God come from the sky take away everything and make everybody feel high, but if you know what life is worth, you will look for yours on earth.

Attributed
A little wine sometimes. Spirits are bad, alcohol wrong. Herb does grow.
All dese governments and dis an' dat, dese people that say they're here to help, why them say you cannot smoke the herb? Herb... herb is a plant, ya know? And when me check it, me can't find no reason. All them say is, 'it make ya rebel'. AGAINST WHAT?
Bob Marley isn't my name. I don't even know my name yet.
Don't gain the world and lose your soul, wisdom is better than silver and gold.
Don't let them fool ya or even try to school ya.
Every man got a right to decide his own destiny.
Every man think his burden is the heaviest, who feels it knows it, lord.
Facts an' facts, an' t'ings an t'ings: dem's all a lotta fuckin' bullshit. Hear me! Dere is no truth but the one truth, an' that is the truth of Jah Rastafari.
He who feels it, knows it more.
Herb is the unifier of the people.
How good and how pleasant it would be before God and man, to see the unification of all Africans.
I believe in freedom for everyone, not just the black man.
I don't have prejudice against myself. My father was a white and my mother was black. Them call me half-caste or whatever. Me don't dip on nobody's side. Me don't dip on the black man's side nor the white man's side. Me dip on God's side, the one who create me and cause me to come from black and white.
I drive a jeep. An old jeep, so nobody will say I'm driving a BMW anymore. I couldn't stand that BMW, ha ha ha! BMW make pure trouble!
I handle fame by not being famous...I'm not famous to me.
I have a BMW. But only because BMW stands for Bob Marley and The Wailers, and not because I need an expensive car.
I have got a running stream of love you see. So no matter what stages.. they put us through, we'll never be blue.
I know what I am and that is a Rastaman.
I love the development of our music, that's what I really dig about the whole thing. How we've tried to develop, y'know? It grows. That's why every day people come forward with new songs. Music goes on forever.
I want to say 'I shot the police' but the government would have made a fuss so I said 'I shot the sheriff' instead... but it's the same idea: justice.
I've been here before and will come again, but I'm not going this trip through.
If I am guilty I will pay.
If you are the big tree, we are the small axe, ready to cut you down.
If you get down and you quarell everyday, you're saying prayers to the devil, I say.
In the abundance of water, the fool is thirsty.
It not we against the system, it the system against we.
Jah show every mon him hand, and Jah has show I mine.
Life and Jah are one in the same. Jah is the gift of existence. I am in some way eternal, I will never be duplicated. The singularity of every man and woman is Jah's gift. What we struggle to make of it is our sole gift to Jah. The process of what that struggle becomes, in time, the Truth.
Life is one big road with lots of signs. So when you riding through the ruts, don't complicate your mind. Flee from hate, mischief and jealousy. Don't bury your thoughts, put your vision to reality.
Love would never leave us alone.
Man is a universe within himself.
Me got no education, me got inspiration. If I was educated I'd be a damn fool.
Me not on the black man's side, me not on the white man's side. Me on God's side
Me only have one ambition, y'know. I only have one thing I would really like to see happen. I'd like to see mankind live together - black, white, Chinese, everyone - that's all.
Money can't buy life
Music and herb go together. It's been a long time now I smoke herb. From 1960s, when I first start singing.
My music fights against the system that teaches to live and die.
My music will go on forever. Maybe it's a fool say that, but when me know facts me can say facts. My music will go on forever.
No man can lead man, we have to have unity.
One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain.
Open your eyes, look within. Are you satisfied with the life you're living?
Overcome the devils with a thing named love.
People want to listen to a message, word from Jah. This could be passed through me or anybody. I am not a leader. Messenger. The words of the songs, not the person, is what attracts people.
Politics no interest me. Dem Devil business. Dem a play with people's minds. Never play with people's minds.
Positive vibrations man. That's what makes it work. That's reggae music. You can't look away because it's real. You listen to what I sing because I mean what I sing, there's no secret, no big deal. Just honesty, that's all. (1977)
Puss and dog, they get together, what's wrong with loving one another?
Rise O fallen fighters, rise and take your stance again, He who fight and run away, Live to fight another day.
Some people got everything, some people got nothing, some people got ways and means, some people got no hope it seems... we're the survivors.
Stand up for your rights.
The good times of today are the sad thoughts of tomorrow.
The more people smoke herb, the more Babylon fall.
They don't want to see us unite. All they want us to do is keep on fussing and fighting, they don't want to see us live together. All they want us to do is keep on killing one another.
To make music is a life that I have to live.
Until the philosophy which hold one race superior and another inferior is finally discredited and abandoned...WAR! So that is prophecy, and everyone know that is truth. And it came out of the mouth of Rastafari.
We should really love each other in peace and harmony, instead we're fussin' n fighting like we ain't supposed to be.
Well, me don't swim too tough so me don't go in the water too deep.
When Bob's talking, have no doubt, seen?
When one door is closed don't you know another is open.
When the race gets hard to run. It means you just can't take the pace.
When you smoke herb it reveals you to yourself. All the wickedness you do is revealed by the herb. It is your conscience and gives you a clearer picture of yourself.
You ain't gonna miss your water until your well runs dry.
You can fool some people sometimes, but you can't fool all the people all the time. ** Usually attributed to Abraham Lincoln or P. T. Barnum)
You mean they can tell God that it's not legal?
When told that it was illegal to grow marijuana, that is created by God.
The lips of the righteous teach many, But fools die for want of wisdom.
Biblical quote

Awards and Honours

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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 third highest honor, the Jamaican Order of Merit
March 1994: Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
1999: Album of the Century for Exodus (Time Magazine)
February 2001: A star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
February 2001: Awarded Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award
2004: Rolling Stone Magazine ranked him #11 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.
2005: Posthumous Achievement Award
"One Love" named song of the millennium by The BBC
Voted as one of the greatest lyricists of all time by a BBC poll.

Discography

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Studio albums
Album Release Date Label
The Wailing Wailers 1966 Studio One
The Best of the Wailers 1970 Beverley's
Soul Rebels 1970 Upsetter/Trojan
Soul Revolution 1971 Upsetter/Trojan
Soul Revolution Part II 1971 Upsetter/Trojan
African Herbsman 1973 Upsetter/Trojan
Rasta Revolution 1974 Upsetter/Trojan
Catch a Fire 1973 Island/Tuff Gong
Burnin' 1973 Island/Tuff Gong
Natty Dread 1974 Island/Tuff Gong
Rastaman Vibration 1976 Island/Tuff Gong
Exodus 1977 Island/Tuff Gong
Kaya 1978 Island/Tuff Gong
Survival 1979 Island/Tuff Gong
Uprising 1980 Island/Tuff Gong
Confrontation (posthumous) 1983 Island/Tuff Gong

Live albums
Album Release Date Label
Live! 1975 Island/Tuff Gong
Babylon by Bus 1978 Island/Tuff Gong
Talkin' Blues (recorded in 1973) 1991 Island/Tuff Gong
Live at the Roxy (recorded in 1976) 2003 Island/Tuff Gong

Compilations
Album Release Date Label
Interviews 1981 Island/Tuff Gong
Legend 1984 Island/Tuff Gong
Rebel Music 1986 Island/Tuff Gong
Songs of Freedom 1992 Island/Tuff Gong
Natural Mystic: The Legend Lives On 1995 Island/Tuff Gong
Bob Marley: Reggae Legend 1999 St. Clair
One Love: The Very Best of Bob Marley & The Wailers 2001 Island/Tuff Gong
Bob Marley and The Wailers: Trenchtown Rock (Anthology '69 - '78) 2002 Trojan Records
Gold 2005 Island/Tuff Gong
Africa Unite: The Singles Collection 2005 Island/Tuff Gong

Compilations of material recorded at Studio One 1963–1966
Album Release Date Label
One Love at Studio One (double CD) 1991 Heartbeat Records
Simmer Down at Studio One (same as disc one of One Love) 1994 Heartbeat Records
Wailing Wailers at Studio One (same as disc two of One Love) 1994 Heartbeat Records
The Toughest – collection of Peter Tosh's Studio One recordings 1996 Heartbeat Records
Destiny: Rare Ska Sides from Studio One 1999 Heartbeat Records
Wailers and Friends 1999 Heartbeat Records
Climb the Ladder 2000 Heartbeat Records
Greatest Hits at Studio One 2003 Heartbeat Records
One Love at Studio One (double CD re-issue) 2006 Heartbeat Records

Compilations of material recorded 1966–1971
Album Release Date Label
Rock to the rock 1999 Jad/Koch International/Universal
Feel Alright 2004 JAD/Universal
Best of the Wailers 2004 JAD/Universal
Soul Rebels 2004 JAD/Universal
Soul Revolution Part II 2004 JAD/Universal
Upsetter Revolution Rhythm 2004 JAD/Universal
Universal Masters Collection 2004 JAD/Universal
Original Cuts 2004 JAD/Universal
127 King Street 2004 JAD/Universal
Ammunition Dub Collection 2004 JAD/Universal
Wail'N Soul'M Singles Selecta 2005 JAD/Universal
Grooving Kingston 12 (3-CD boxset) 2004 JAD/Universal
Fy-Ah, Fy-Ah (3-CD boxset) 2004 JAD/Universal
Man To Man (4-CD boxset) 2005 JAD/Universal

Official albums containing remixes
Album Release Date Label
Chances Are 1981 WEA
Soul Almighty: The Formative Years Vol.1 1996 JAD
Black Progress: The Formative Years Vol.2 1997 JAD
Dreams Of Freedom: Ambient Translations in Dub 1997 Island
Chant Down Babylon 1999 Island
Shakedown: Marley Remix 2001 JAD

Tribute albums containing re-recordings
Album Release Date Label
Like Father Like Son 1996 WEA
Stir It Up: The Music of Bob Marley 1999 Telarc
Kaya N'Gan Daya 2002 WEA
Concrete Jungle: The Music of Bob Marley 2006 Telarc

Notable cover versions
Johnny Nash "Stir It Up" (1972)
Eric Clapton "I Shot the Sheriff" ("461 Ocean Boulevard", 1974)
Shakespear's Sister "Could You Be Loved" (Sacred Heart, 1989)
Lauryn Hill with Bob Marley "Turn the Lights Down Low" (Chant Down Babylon, 1999)
Damian Marley "And Be Loved" (Blue Crush soundtrack, 2002)
Sublime "Trenchtown Rock" (Second-hand Smoke, 1997)

His Children

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More Details about Bob Marley Children

Bob Marley had 17 children: three with his wife Rita, two adopted from Rita's previous relationships, and the remaining eight with separate women His children are, in order of birth:

Imani Carole, born May 22, 1963 to Cheryl Murray
David "Ziggy", born October 17, 1968 to Rita;
Stephen, born April 20, 1972 to Rita;
Robert "Robbie", born May 16, 1972 to Pat Williams;
Rohan, born May 19, 1972 to Janet Hunt;
Robert "Diaz", born June 11, 1973 to Janet Hunt;VALENTINA
Karen, born 1973 to Janet Bowen;
Stephanie, born 1974; according to Cedella Booker she was product from an affair of Rita with a man called Ital, but she was acknowledged as Bob's daughter;
Julian, born June 4, 1975 to Lucy Pounder;
Ky-Mani, born February 26, 1976 to Anita Belnavis;
Rony "Round" Jo, born February 14, 1978 to Anita Belnavis;
Damian, born July 21, 1978 to Cindy Breakspeare;
Sylburn, born March 21, 1981 to Cindy Breakspeare;
Makeda, born May 30, 1981 to Yvette Crichton

More Details about Bob Marley children

His Religion

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Bob Marley was a member of the Rastafari movement, whose culture was a key element in the development of reggae. Bob Marley became the leading proponent of the Rastafari, taking their music out of the socially deprived areas of Jamaica and onto the international music scene.

Now considered a "Rasta" legend, Marley's adoption of the characteristic Rastafari dreadlocks and famous use of cannabis as a sacred sacrament in the late sixties were an integral part of his persona. He is said to have entered every performance proclaiming the divinity of Jah Rastafari.

Many of Marley's songs contained Biblical references, sometimes using wordplay to fuse activism and religion, as in "Revolution" and "Revelation":

“ Revelation, reveals the truth... ”
“ It takes a revolution to make a solution... ”

A few months before his death, Marley was baptised into the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and took the name Berhane Selassie (meaning the Light of the Holy Trinity in Amharic).

Later Years

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Cancer Diagnosis
In July 1977, Marley was found to have malignant melanoma in a football wound on his right hallux (big toe). Marley refused amputation, citing worries that the operation would affect his dancing, as well as the Rastafari belief that the body must be "whole"

“ Rasta no abide amputation. I don't allow a man to be dismantled. ”
—From the biography Catch a Fire

Marley may have seen medical doctors as samfai. True to this belief Marley went against all surgical possibilities and sought out other means that would not break his religious beliefs. He also refused to register a will, based on the Rastafari belief that writing one acknowledged death as inevitable and disregarded the everlasting character of life.

Collapse and treatment
The cancer then spread to Marley's brain, lungs, liver, and stomach. After playing two shows at Madison Square Garden as part of his fall 1980 Uprising Tour, he collapsed while jogging in NYC's Central Park. The remainder of the tour was subsequently cancelled.

Bob Marley played his final concert at the Stanley Theater in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on September 23, 1980. The live version of "Redemption Song" on Songs of Freedom was recorded at this show. Marley afterwards sought medical help from Munich specialist Josef Issels, but his cancer had already progressed to the terminal stage.

Death and posthumous reputation
While flying home from Germany to Jamaica for his final days, Marley became ill, and landed in Miami for immediate medical attention. He died at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital in Miami, Florida on the morning of May 11, 1981 at the age of 36. His final words to his son Ziggy were "Money can't buy life".Marley received a state funeral in Jamaica, which combined elements of Ethiopian Orthodoxy and Rastafari. He was buried in a crypt near his birthplace with his Gibson Les Paul, a soccer ball, a marijuana bud, a ring that he wore everyday that was given to him by the Prince Asfa Wossen of Ethiopia (eldest son of H.I.M), and a Bible. A month before his death, he was awarded the Jamaican Order of Merit.

Bob Marley's music has continuously grown in popularity in the years since his death, providing a stream of revenue for his estate and affording him a mythical status in 20th century music history. He remains enormously popular and well-known all over the world, particularly so in Africa. Marley was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. Time magazine chose Bob Marley & The Wailers' Exodus as the greatest album of the 20th century.

In 2001, the same year that Marley won the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award; a feature-length documentary about his life by Jeremy Marre Rebel Music was nominated for the Best Long Form Music Video documentary at the Grammies. It won various other awards. With contributions from Rita, the Wailers, and Marley's lovers and children, it also tells much of the story in his own words.

In Summer 2006, the City of New York renamed a portion of Church Avenue from Ramsen Avenue to East 98th Street in the East Flatbush Section of Brooklyn Bob Marley Blvd.

Rastafari movement

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Rasta, or the Rastafari movement, is a religion and philosophy that accepts Haile Selassie I, the former (and last) emperor of Ethiopia, as Jah (the Rasta name for God incarnate, from a shortened form of Jehovah found in Psalms 68:4 in the King James Version of the Bible), and part of the Holy Trinity as the messiah promised in the Bible to return. The name Rastafari comes from Ras (Duke or Chief) Tafari Makonnen, the pre-coronation name of Haile Selassie I. The movement emerged in Jamaica among working-class and peasant black people in the early 1930s, arising from an interpretation of Biblical prophecy partly based on Selassie's status as the only African monarch of a fully independent state, and his titles of King of Kings, Lord of Lords, and Conquering Lion of Judah (Revelation 5:5). Other factors leading to its rise include the sacred use of marijuana, and various Afrocentric social and political aspirations, such as the teachings of Jamaican publicist and organiser Marcus Garvey (also often regarded as a prophet), whose political and cultural vision helped inspire a new world view. The movement is called Rastafarianism by some non-Rastas although some Rastas themselves regard that term as improper and offensive.

The Rastafari movement has spread throughout much of the world, largely through interest generated by reggae music—most notably, that of Jamaican-born singer/songwriter Bob Marley. By 2000, there were more than one million Rastafari faithful worldwide. About five to ten percent of Jamaicans identify themselves as Rastafari. Many Rastafari follow an ital diet which essentially means living by the dietary Laws of Leviticus and Deuteronomy in the Old Testament, or vegetarian or vegan by modern standards.

The Wailers

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In 1963, Bob Marley, Bunny Livingston, Peter McIntosh, Junior Braithwaite, Beverley Kelso, and Cherry Smith formed a ska and rocksteady group, calling themselves "The Teenagers". They later changed their name to "The Wailing Rudeboys", then to "The Wailing Wailers", and finally to "The Wailers". By 1966, Braithwaite, Kelso, and Smith had left The Wailers, leaving the core trio of Marley, Livingston, and McIntosh.

Marley took on the role of leader, singer, and main songwriter. Much of The Wailers' early work, including their first single Simmer Down, was produced by Coxsone Dodd at Studio One. Simmer Down topped Jamaican Charts in 1964 and established The Wailers as one of the hottest groups in the country. They followed up with songs such as "Soul Rebel" and "400 Years".

In 1966, Marley married Rita Anderson, and moved near his mother's residence in Wilmington, Delaware for a few months. Upon returning to Jamaica, Marley became a member of the Rastafari movement, and started to wear his trademark dreadlocks. After a conflict with Dodd, Marley and his band teamed up with Lee "Scratch" Perry and his studio band, The Upsetters. Although the alliance lasted less than a year, they recorded what many consider The Wailers' finest work. Marley and Perry split after a dispute regarding the assignment of recording rights, but they would remain friends and work together again.

Between 1968 and 1972, Bob and Rita Marley, Peter McIntosh and Bunny Livingston recut some old tracks with JAD Records in Kingston and London in an attempt to commercialize The Wailers' sound. Livingston later asserted that these songs "should never be released on an album... they were just demos for record companies to listen to".

The Wailers' first album, Catch A Fire, was released worldwide in 1973, and sold well. It was followed a year later by Burnin', which included the songs "Get Up, Stand Up" and "I Shot The Sheriff". Eric Clapton made a hit cover of "I Shot the Sheriff" in 1974, raising Marley's international profile.

The Wailers broke up in 1974 with each of the three main members going on to pursue solo careers. The reason for the breakup is shrouded mystery; some believe that there were disagreements amongst Livingston, McIntosh, and Marley concerning performances, while others claim that Livingston and McIntosh simply preferred solo work. McIntosh began recording under the name Peter Tosh, and Livingston continued on as Bunny Wailer.

Bob Marley & The Wailers
Despite the breakup, Marley continued recording as "Bob Marley & The Wailers". His new backing band included brothers Carlton and Aston "Family Man" Barrett on drums and bass respectively, Junior Marvin and Al Anderson on lead guitar, Tyrone Downie and Earl "Wya" Lindo on keyboards, and Alvin "Seeco" Patterson on percussion. The "I Threes", consisting of Judy Mowatt, Marcia Griffiths, and Marley's wife, Rita, performed backup vocals.

In 1975, Marley had his international breakthrough with his first hit outside Jamaica, "No Woman, No Cry" from the Natty Dread album. This was followed by his breakthrough album in the US, Rastaman Vibration (1976), which spent four weeks on the Billboard charts Top Ten.

In December 1976, two days before "Smile Jamaica", a free concert organized by Jamaican Prime Minister Michael Manley in an attempt to ease tension between two warring political groups, Marley, his wife, and manager Don Taylor were wounded in an assault by unknown gunmen inside Marley's home. Taylor and Marley's wife sustained serious injuries, but later made full recoveries. Bob Marley received only minor injuries in the chest and arm. The shooting was thought to have been politically motivated, as many felt the concert was really a support rally for Manley. Nonetheless, the concert proceeded, and an injured Marley performed as scheduled.

Marley left Jamaica at the end of 1976 for England, where he recorded his Exodus and Kaya albums. Exodus stayed on the British album charts for 56 consecutive weeks. It included four UK hit singles: "Exodus", "Waiting In Vain", "Jamming", and also "One Love", a rendition of Curtis Mayfield's hit, "People Get Ready". It was here that he was arrested and received a conviction for possession of a small quantity of cannabis while travelling in London.

One Love Peace Concert
In 1978, Marley performed at another political concert in Jamaica, the One Love Peace Concert, again in an effort to calm warring parties. Near the end of the performance, by Marley's request, Manley and his political rival, Edward Seaga, joined each other on stage and shook hands.

Survival, a defiant and politically charged album, was released in 1979. Tracks such as "Zimbabwe", "Africa Unite", "Wake Up and Live", and "Survival" reflected Marley's support for the struggles of Africans. In early 1980, he was invited to perform at the April 17 celebration of Zimbabwe's Independence Day.

Uprising (1980) was Bob Marley's final studio album, and is one of his most religious productions, including "Redemption Song" and "Forever Loving Jah". It was in "Redemption Song" that Marley sang the famous lyric,

“ Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery
None but ourselves can free our minds... ”

Confrontation, released posthumously in 1983, contained unreleased material recorded during Marley's lifetime, including the hit "Buffalo Soldier" and new mixes of singles previously only available in Jamaica.

For New Vistors

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Welcome to the online community of "Bob Marley Fans Circle".This blog is specially dedicated for "BOB- The King of reggae music" And for their Fans.

Here you can find various information of photos,lyrics,interviews,tour infomation and much more..

Please visit these blog regulary.beacause we are updating the information regulary.You can expect more rarties of bob marley in comming posts.

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Bob Marley -Notes

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Bob Marley
AKA Robert Nesta Marley

Born: 6-Feb-1945
Birthplace: Nine Miles, Jamaica
Died: 11-May-1981
Location of death: Miami, FL
Cause of death: Cancer - Brain
Remains: Buried, Bob Marley Mausoleum, Nine Mile, Jamaica

Gender: Male
Religion: Rastafarian
Race or Ethnicity: Multiracial
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Singer/Songwriter

Nationality: Jamaica
Executive summary: No Woman No Cry

The first reggae performer to achieve a world-wide audience -- as well as being a significant cutural figure -- Robert Nesta Marley was born in Nine Miles, a small village located in the north Jamaican parish of St. Ann. His father Norval Marley was Jamaican-born but of British decent, having returned to the island following several decades of service in the British Army and married Cedella Booker, an 18-year old native Jamaican woman. Bob's father provided financial support for his family, but had a minimal presence in his son's life as a result of his frequent travelling; this support ended in 1955, however, when Norval died of a heart attack, forcing Bob and his mother to relocate from rural Nine Miles to the dangerous Trench Town slums of Kingston. It was here that he became active in music, inspired both by American R&B and the unique styles developing in Kingston.

At the age of 14 Marley left school to work as a welder's apprentice, while also pursuing his musical interests with friend Neville "Bunny" Livingston (later to be known as Bunny Wailer) and an older Rastafarian singer named Joe Higgs. Sessions with Higgs provided an introduction to fellow aspiring singer Winston "Peter" McIntosh (who subsequently shortened his name to just Peter Tosh), who would complete the collaborative trio within which Marley and Livingston would operate until the mid-1970s. In 1962 Marley recorded his first two singles Judge Not and One Cup of Coffee with producer/Beverly's Records founder Leslie Kong, and although neither song (the latter released under the Kong-invented pseudonym "Bobby Martell") received much attention, Marley remained fully committed to establishing himself as a performer. Marley, Livingston and McIntosh then assembled a six-piece ska group they first named The Teenagers and then The Wailing Rudeboys before settling on The Wailing Wailers in mid-1963.

Kong's questionable accounting practices ultimately brought an end to his association with the group, and so in the summer of 1963 the Wailing Wailers auditioned for Studio One owner Clement Dodd, who produced the two tracks I'm Still Waiting and It Hurts to Be Alone. Manufactured in an edition of 300, the single had a signifcant impact on the streetside "sound system" circuit, prompting Dodd to arrange another session soon afterwards. The group member who had provided lead vocals for It Hurts To Be Alone, Junior Braithwaite, had just moved to the States with his family, and so for the next single Simmer Down the role of principal singer fell to Marley. Released on Dodd's Coxsone label just prior to Christmas, in February 1964 Simmer Down reached the top of the Jamaican charts, attracting national attention to Marley and his bandmates.

In spite of a run of successful singles throughout the next two years (Rude Boy, Rudie, Jailhouse, One Love, Put It On) by the end of 1965 financial difficulties had whittled the Wailing Wailers line-up down to the core trio of Bob, Bunny and Peter. The following year Marley briefly relocated to the U.S., where his mother had recently established a home with her second husband in Delaware; after working for eight months to finance his music career, the singer moved back to Kingston to resume activity with the group -- now simply known as The Wailers. Their recordings had already been gradually evolving from "rude boy" street anthems to more socially-conscious material, but by 1967 the influence of the Rastafarian movement on Marley and his bandmates had become the central concern behind their music.

The shift in Jamaican popular music from ska to rock-steady during the mid-1960s resulted in a significant drop in sales for Dodd, who had not instigated a corresponding shift in his label's output. This -- aggravated by the lack of financial compensation that had plagued the group from the beginning -- prompted the Wailers to leave Coxsone and establish their own Wail'N'Soul'M label and shop based at Marley's home in Trench Town. For each new release, the band (which now also included Marley's wife Rita) would personally bring the records around to Kingston shops; unfortunately, this approach proved much too difficult to maintain, and towards the end of 1967 a lack of resources forced the singer to dissolve the label. The single Bend Down Low b/w Mellow Mood did find it's way into the world prior to this outcome, however, and the latter track would become one of Marley's most frequently covered songs.

For a short while the Wailers continued primarily as songwriters for other artists, but in 1970 the group began working with Lee "Scratch" Perry, an innovate producer who had established his own Upsetter label in 1968. Perry helped to transform their sound -- taking them farther away from the conventional vocal harmonies of their early years and bringing a more contemporary edge to the material -- and in subsequent years, their collaborations with him would come to be widely regarded as the high point of The Wailers' (and Marley's) career. Brothers Aston "Family Man" Barrett and Carlton Barrett from Perry's studio band The Upsetters were brought in to provide the rhythm section for the sessions, utilizing a style developed in the studio with Perry that had helped to define the emerging reggae genre. A large number of single tracks (My Cup, Duppy Conqueror, 400 Years, Small Axe, Soul Rebel amongst them) were recorded during this period, as well as other tracks collected on the full-length albums Soul Rebels (1970) and Soul Revolution (1971). In 1971 Bob Marley travelled to Europe with American vocalist Johnny Nash, where he successfully secured a recording contract with CBS. The next Wailer's single Reggae on Broadway (1972) had little international impact, but while promoting the single in the UK Marley was able to arrange a more lucrative deal with Island Records founder Chris Blackwell; the full-length album Catch a Fire was issued in April of 1973, at last giving the group access to a world-wide audience. Media attention to the record was considerable, and a tour of Britain and the United States (a rare occurrence for a reggae act) was quickly arranged. Bunny Wailer refused to participate in the American leg of the tour, but the remaining band -- with old mentor Joe Higgs serving as Bunny's replacement -- made an enormous impact on U.S. audiences both as headliners and as an opening act for American performers such as Bruce Springsteen and Sly and the Family Stone.

The Wailer's second album for Island, Burnin', was released in October of '73 and featured what would become one of Marley's best-known tracks Get Up, Stand Up. The album also included the song I Shot the Sheriff, which was turned into an international hit via an Eric Clapton cover version the following year. Burnin' also marked the end of the original Wailer's collaboration, as the stress resulting from the band's fame would induce both Bunny Wailer and Peter Tosh to leave by the end of 1974. Marley spent most of the following year in the studio putting together his next album Natty Dread, utilizing a backing band that now included the female vocal trio The I-Threes (comprised of his wife Rita Marley, Marcia Griffiths and Judy Mowatt), guitarist Al Anderson, keyboardist Bernard Touter Harvey and percussionist Alvin Patterson in additon to the Barrett brothers rhythm section. Released in early 1975 and credited to "Bob Marley and the Wailers", Natty Dread helped to extend the singer's international reputation, eventually placing in both the US and UK top 100.

With his next release -- a live collection documenting a performance at London's Lyceum Ballroom during the Natty Dread tour -- Marley once again positioned himself in the charts, the single release of the album's version of No Woman, No Cry even reaching the UK top 40. His popularity made another leap forward after his second post-Wailer's studio effort Rastaman Vibration broke the US top 10 in 1976, confirming the singer as the most visible practitioner of reggae and Rastafarian beliefs in the world. This status carried negative consequences as well, however, and in early December, on the evening before a politically-charged free concert event in Kingston, an unsuccessful attempt was made to assassinate Marley; the attack left the singer and his wife Rita with minor gunshot wounds, while manager Don Taylor and friend Lewis Griffith were seriously injured. Marley still participated in the concert the following day, but left the country for the UK immediately afterwards.

During his 18-month exile in London, Marley recorded the albums Exodus (1977) and Kaya (1978), both of which were given enthusiastic receptions in the UK. Three singles from the first release (Exodus Waiting in Vain and Jammin) and two from the second (Satisfy My Soul and Is This Love) maintained the singer's presence in the charts throughout the final years of the 1970s, while Jammin provided him with his first British top 10 hit. Response in the States was not quite as strong due to the reluctance of commercial radio stations to include reggae as part of their programming, but the singles still managed to find their way into the U.S. R&B charts. In April of 1978 Marley returned to his home in Jamaica and paticipated in the "One Love Peace Concert", organized to encourage the end of violence between the country's two principal political parties. Later in the year he would be invited to New York to receive the Medal of Peace in recognition of his efforts.

At the end of 1978 Marley made his first trip to the African continent, culminating in a visit to Ethiopia, the country from which the Rastafarian religion had originated. Babylon By Bus -- a live collection recorded during his band's European tour earlier in the year -- was issued in Novemeber, once again doing far better in Britain than in the States; this continued to be the case for the next studio album Survival (1979), which entered the UK top 20 but only reached #70 on the US mainstream charts. By this time Marley's following in Europe had grown to enormous proportions, his performances frequently having attendances numbering in the tens of thousands. In early 1980 he was invited to perform at the official ceremony celebrating the transformation of the former British colony Rhodesia into the independent state of Zimbabwe (Marley having already included a tribute to the new country on the Survival album).

The summer of 1980 saw the release of Uprising, the final studio effort by Bob Marley and the Wailers. Both the album and its featured single Could You Be Loved were an immediate hit in the UK and throughout most of Europe, as well as having more of an impact in the States than his previous few efforts. An extensive European tour was launched in the second half of the year, following which a US tour was organized; after completing the first two performances at New York's Madison Square Garden, however, Marley collapsed while jogging and needed to be rushed to the hospital. It was discovered that a cancerous growth identified in his toe in 1977 had been slowly spreading through his vital organs and was now infecting his brain (Marley had refused treatment after the initial diagnosis, since the amputation necessary to remove the growth was in conflict with his Rastafarian beliefs). A final performance was undertaken in Pittsburgh, but the advanced state of his illness forced the singer to cancel the rest of the tour; he was subsequently transported to Bavarian clinic to undergo an experimental, non-toxic treatment. A brief remission was achieved, but in May of 1981 the disease claimed the singer's life in Miami while he was travelling back to his home in Kingston.

Father: Norval Sinclair Marley (British military officer, d. 1955)
Mother: Cedella Booker
Girlfriend: Cheryl Murray
Daughter: Imani Carole (b. 1963)
Wife: Rita Marley (Alpharita Constantia Anderson or Ganette Mander, m. 10-Feb-1966)
Daughter: Sharon Marley Prendergast (musician, b. 1964) (step-daughter, adopted)
Daughter: Cedella Marley (musician, b. 1967)
Son: David Nesta Marley (Ziggy Marley) (musician, b. 1968)
Son: Stephen Robert Nesta "Ragga" Marley (musician, b. 1972)
Daughter: Stephanie Marley
Girlfriend: Pat Williams
Son: Robert Marley (b. 1972)
Girlfriend: Janet Hunt (or Dunn)
Son: Rohan Anthony Marley (football player, b. 1972)
Girlfriend: Janet Bowen
Daughter: Karen (b. 1973)
Girlfriend: Lucy Pounder
Son: Julian Ricardo Marley (musician, b. 1975)
Girlfriend: Anita Belnavis (tennis player)
Son: Ky-Mani Marley (musician, b. 1976)
Girlfriend: Cindy Breakspear (Miss World 1976)
Son: Damian Marley (musician, b. 1978)
Girlfriend: Yvette Crichton
Daughter: Makeda (b. 1981)
Girlfriend: Esther Anderson

The Wailers Vocalist/Guitarist 1963-74
Bob Marley and the Wailers Vocalist/Guitarist 1974-81
Hollywood Walk of Fame 7080 Hollywood Blvd (recordings)
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (posthumous) Jan-1994
Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (2001)
Grammy Hall of Fame Award, for Get Up, Stand Up (1999)
Grammy Hall of Fame Award, for No Woman No Cry (2005)
Grammy Hall of Fame Award, for Exodus (2006)
Assassination Attempt 3-Dec-1976
Shot 3-Dec-1976
Drug Possession: Marijuana 1977
Converted to Christianity Ethiopian Orthodox Church, baptised (4-Nov-1980)
Jamaican Ancestry Maternal
English Ancestry Paternal
Risk Factors: Marijuana, Smoking

Bob Marley -Timeline

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TIMELINE

February 6, 1945: Bob Marley is born in St. Ann’s Parish in Jamaica.

1962: Bob Marley records his first single, “Judge Not,” at Federal Studios in Kingston, Jamaica.

February 10, 1966: Bob Marley and Alpharita (“Rita”) Constantia Anderson get married.

October 24, 1966: After eight months spent living in America with his mother, Bob Marley returns to Jamaica.

August 23, 1970: The Wailers begin recording a series of classic recordings with producer Lee “Scratch” Perry in what would be a classic lineup: Bob Marley, Bunny Wailer, Peter Tosh and brothers Aston and Carlton Barrett.

December 30, 1971: Bob Marley visits Island Records’ head Chris Blackwell at his London office. The resulting association will make a superstar of Marley and establish Island as THE reggae label.

December 13, 1972: ‘Catch a Fire,’ by the Wailers, is released in the U.K. Heralded as “the first genuine reggae album in history,” it comes out in the U.S. the following year.

September 14, 1974: Eric Clapton’s version of the Wailers’ “I Shot the Sheriff,” written by head Wailer Bob Marley, hits #1 and helps generate interest in reggae.

May 10, 1975: Though Bob Marley has been recording prolifically in his native Jamaica since 1962, Natty Dread is the first album by Marley and the Wailers to make the U.S. charts, reaching #92.

July 18, 1975: Bob Marley and the Wailers perform at the Lyceum in London. The concert is released in Britain as the album ‘Live!.’ After selling briskly as an import, it is released in the U.S. in October 1976.

May 13, 1976: ‘Rastaman Vibration,’ by Bob Marley and the Wailers – and featuring an American, Don Kinsey, on lead guitar – is released. It becomes Marley’s highest-charting album, reaching #8 in the U.S. and #15 in the U.K.

December 3, 1976: Bob Marley and his entourage are attacked by gunman. A wounded but undeterred Marley electrifies a crowd two nights later at a free “Smile Jamaica” concert.

January 17, 1977: Bob Marley and the Wailers cut new material in London, marking the first time they’ve recorded outside of Jamaica in six years. Of more than 20 songs recorded, ten turn up on ‘Exodus’ (1977) and ten on ‘Kaya’ (1978).

April 12, 1978: Bob Marley orchestrates a Peace Concert in Jamaica that features key reggae acts, including the Wailers, in an attempt to cool down the violent conflicts that are tearing Jamaica apart.

October 8, 1979: ‘Survival,’ a militant new album by Bob Marley and the Wailers, is released as a 47-date tour kicks off at Harlem’s Apollo Theatre.

June 8, 1980: A month after the release of the African-themed ‘Uprising,’ Bob Marley and the Wailers kick off the Tuff Gong Uprising tour, during which they’ll perform for a million people in 12 countries.

September 20, 1980: Bob Marley suffers a stroke while jogging in Central Park. X-rays reveal a brain tumor.

September 21, 1980: Bob Marley performs the final show of his career, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The tour’s remaining dates are canceled as Marley seeks treatment for his spreading cancers.

October 4, 1980: Stevie Wonder’s tribute to Bob Marley, the reggaefied “Master Blaster (Jammin’),” enters the singles charts. It will top the R&B chart for seven weeks and peak at #5 on the pop chart.

May 11, 1981: Bob Marley dies of brain, lung and stomach cancer at 11:45 a.m. in Miami, Florida.

May 21, 1981: Bob Marley is given a state funeral in Jamaica and buried at Nine Miles in St. Ann’s Parish, beside the house in which he was born.

January 19, 1994: Bob Marley is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at the ninth annual induction dinner. Bono of U2 is his presenter, and Rita Marley accepts the award on behalf of her late husband.

April 7, 1999: ‘Legend,’ Bob Marley and the Wailers’ greatest-hits collection, receives its 10th platinum certification, signifying sales of more than 10 million copies.

Bob Marley -His life

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Robert "Bob" Nesta Marley OM (February 6, 1945 – May 11, 1981) was a Jamaican singer, songwriter, guitarist, and activist. He is the most widely known performer of reggae music. A faithful Rastafari, Marley is regarded by many as a prophet of the religion.[1]

Marley is best known for his reggae songs, which include the hits "I Shot the Sheriff", "No Woman, No Cry", "Three Little Birds", "Exodus", "Could You Be Loved", "Jammin", "Redemption Song", and "One Love".[2] His posthumous compilation album Legend (1984) is the best-selling reggae album ever, with sales of more than 12 million copies.[2]

Early life and career
Marley was born in the small village of Nine Mile in the Saint Ann Parish, Jamaica. His father, Norval Sinclair Marley born in 1895, was a white Jamaican of English descent, with parents from Sussex. Norval was a Marine officer and captain, as well as a plantation overseer, when he married Cedella Booker, then an eighteen-year-old black Jamaican. Norval provided financial support for his wife and child, but seldom saw them, as he was often away on trips. Marley was ten years old when his father died of a heart attack in 1955 at age 60.

Marley suffered racial prejudice as a youth, because of his mixed racial origins,[3] and faced questions about his own racial identity throughout his life. He once reflected:

I don't have prejudice against myself. My father was a white and my mother was black. Them call me half-caste or whatever. Me don't dip on nobody's side. Me don't dip on the black man's side nor the white man's side. Me dip on God's side, the one who create me and cause me to come from black and white.

Marley and his mother moved to Kingston's Trenchtown slum after Norval's death. He was forced to learn self-defense, as he became the target of bullying because of his racial makeup and small stature (5'4" or 163 cm tall)[citation needed]. He gained a reputation for his physical strength, which earned him the nickname "Tuff Gong".

Marley became friends with Neville "Bunny" Livingston (later known as Bunny Wailer), with whom he started to play music. He left school at the age of 14 and started as an apprentice at a local welder's shop. In his free time, he and Livingston made music with Joe Higgs, a local singer and devout Rastafari who is regarded by many as Marley's mentor. It was at a jam session with Higgs and Livingston that Marley met Peter McIntosh (later known as Peter Tosh), who had similar musical ambitions.

In 1962, Marley recorded his first two singles, "Judge Not" and "One Cup of Coffee", with local music producer Leslie Kong. These songs, released on the Beverley's label under the pseudonym of Bobby Martell,[4] attracted little attention. The songs were later re-released on the album Songs of Freedom, a posthumous collection of Marley's songs.

Musical career

The Wailers

The Wailers in the mid-1960s. From left to right: Bunny Wailer, Bob Marley, Peter Tosh.In 1963, Bob Marley, Bunny Livingston, Peter McIntosh, Junior Braithwaite, Beverley Kelso, and Cherry Smith formed a ska and rocksteady group, calling themselves "The Teenagers". They later changed their name to "The Wailing Rudeboys", then to "The Wailing Wailers", and finally to "The Wailers". By 1966, Braithwaite, Kelso, and Smith had left The Wailers, leaving the core trio of Marley, Livingston, and McIntosh.

Marley took on the role of leader, singer, and main songwriter. Much of The Wailers' early work, including their first single Simmer Down, was produced by Coxsone Dodd at Studio One. Simmer Down topped Jamaican Charts in 1964 and established The Wailers as one of the hottest groups in the country. They followed up with songs such as "Soul Rebel" and "400 Years".

In 1966, Marley married Rita Anderson, and moved near his mother's residence in Wilmington, Delaware for a few months. Upon returning to Jamaica, Marley became a member of the Rastafari movement, and started to wear his trademark dreadlocks (see the religion section for more on Marley's religious views).

After a conflict with Dodd, Marley and his band teamed up with Lee "Scratch" Perry and his studio band, The Upsetters. Although the alliance lasted less than a year, they recorded what many consider The Wailers' finest work. Marley and Perry split after a dispute regarding the assignment of recording rights, but they would remain friends and work together again.

Between 1968 and 1972, Bob and Rita Marley, Peter McIntosh and Bunny Livingston re-cut some old tracks with JAD Records in Kingston and London in an attempt to commercialize The Wailers' sound. Livingston later asserted that these songs "should never be released on an album … they were just demos for record companies to listen to."

The Wailers' first album, Catch A Fire, was released worldwide in 1973, and sold well. It was followed a year later by Burnin', which included the songs "Get Up, Stand Up" and "I Shot The Sheriff". Eric Clapton made a hit cover of "I Shot the Sheriff" in 1974, raising Marley's international profile.

The Wailers broke up in 1974 with each of the three main members going on to pursue solo careers. The reason for the breakup is shrouded in conjecture; some believe that there were disagreements amongst Livingston, McIntosh, and Marley concerning performances, while others claim that Livingston and McIntosh simply preferred solo work. McIntosh began recording under the name Peter Tosh, and Livingston continued as Bunny Wailer.

Bob Marley & The Wailers
Despite the breakup, Marley continued recording as "Bob Marley & The Wailers". His new backing band included brothers Carlton and Aston "Family Man" Barrett on drums and bass respectively, Junior Marvin and Al Anderson on lead guitar, Tyrone Downie and Earl "Wya" Lindo on keyboards, and Alvin "Seeco" Patterson on percussion. The "I Threes", consisting of Judy Mowatt, Marcia Griffiths, and Marley's wife, Rita, provided backing vocals.

In 1975, Marley had his international breakthrough with his first hit outside Jamaica, "No Woman, No Cry" from the Natty Dread album. This was followed by his breakthrough album in the US, Rastaman Vibration (1976), which spent four weeks on the Billboard charts Top Ten.

In December 1976, two days before "Smile Jamaica", a free concert organized by the Jamaican Prime Minister Michael Manley in an attempt to ease tension between two warring political groups, Marley, his wife, and manager Don Taylor were wounded in an assault by unknown gunmen inside Marley's home. Taylor and Marley's wife sustained serious injuries, but later made full recoveries. Bob Marley received only minor injuries in the chest and arm. The shooting was thought to have been politically motivated, as many felt the concert was really a support rally for Manley. Nonetheless, the concert proceeded, and an injured Marley performed as scheduled.

Marley left Jamaica at the end of 1976 for England, where he recorded his Exodus and Kaya albums. Exodus stayed on the British album charts for 56 consecutive weeks. It included four UK hit singles: "Exodus", "Waiting In Vain", "Jamming", "One Love", and a rendition of Curtis Mayfield's hit, "People Get Ready". It was here that he was arrested and received a conviction for possession of a small quantity of cannabis while traveling in London.

Main article: One Love Peace Concert
In 1978, Marley performed at another political concert in Jamaica, the One Love Peace Concert, again in an effort to calm warring parties. Near the end of the performance, by Marley's request, Manley and his political rival, Edward Seaga, joined each other on stage and shook hands.

Survival, a defiant and politically charged album, was released in 1979. Tracks such as "Zimbabwe", "Africa Unite", "Wake Up and Live", and "Survival" reflected Marley's support for the struggles of Africans. In early 1980, he was invited to perform at the April 17 celebration of Zimbabwe's Independence Day.

Uprising (1980) was Bob Marley's final studio album, and is one of his most religious productions, including "Redemption Song" and "Forever Loving Jah". It was in "Redemption Song" that Marley sang the famous lyric,

“ Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery
None but ourselves can free our minds… ”

Confrontation, released posthumously in 1983, contained unreleased material recorded during Marley's lifetime, including the hit "Buffalo Soldier" and new mixes of singles previously only available in Jamaica.

Later years
Cancer diagnosis
In July 1977, Marley was found to have malignant melanoma in a football wound on his right hallux (big toe). Marley refused amputation, citing worries that the operation would affect his dancing, as well as the Rastafari belief that the body must be "whole":

“ Rasta no abide amputation. I don't allow a man to be dismantled. ”
—From the biography Catch a Fire

Marley may have seen medical doctors as samfai (tricksters, deceivers). True to this belief Marley went against all surgical possibilities and sought out other means that would not break his religious beliefs. He also refused to register a will, based on the Rastafari belief that writing a will is acknowledging death as inevitable, thus disregarding the everlasting character of life.

Collapse and treatment
The cancer then spread to Marley's brain, lungs, liver, and stomach. After playing two shows at Madison Square Garden as part of his fall 1980 Uprising Tour, he collapsed while jogging in NYC's Central Park. The remainder of the tour was subsequently cancelled.

Bob Marley played his final concert at the Stanley Theater in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on September 23, 1980. The live version of "Redemption Song" on Songs of Freedom was recorded at this show.[5] Marley afterwards sought medical help from Munich specialist Josef Issels, but his cancer had already progressed to the terminal stage.

Death and posthumous reputation
While flying home from Germany to Jamaica for his final days, Marley became ill, and landed in Miami for immediate medical attention. He died at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital in Miami, Florida on the morning of May 11, 1981 at the age of 36. His final words to his son Ziggy were "Money can't buy life."[6] Marley received a state funeral in Jamaica, which combined elements of Ethiopian Orthodoxy and Rastafari tradition. He was buried in a crypt near his birthplace with his Gibson Les Paul, a soccer ball, a marijuana bud, a ring that he wore every day that was given to him by the Prince Asfa Wossen of Ethiopia (eldest son of HIM), and a Bible. A month before his death, he was awarded the Jamaican Order of Merit.

Bob Marley's music has continuously grown in popularity in the years since his death, providing a stream of revenue for his estate and affording him a mythical status in 20th century music history. He remains enormously popular and well-known all over the world, particularly so in Africa. Marley was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. Time magazine chose Bob Marley & The Wailers' Exodus as the greatest album of the 20th century.

In 2001, the same year that Marley was posthumously awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, a feature-length documentary about his life, Rebel Music, was nominated for Best Long Form Music Video documentary at the Grammys. It won various other awards. With contributions from Rita, the Wailers, and Marley's lovers and children, it also tells much of the story in his own words.

In Summer 2006, the City of New York renamed a portion of Church Avenue from Ramsen Avenue to East 98th Street in the East Flatbush Section of Brooklyn Bob Marley Blvd.[7]

Religion
Bob Marley was a member of the Rastafari movement, whose culture was a key element in the development of reggae. Bob Marley became the leading proponent of the Rastafari, taking their music out of the socially deprived areas of Jamaica and onto the international music scene.

Now considered a "Rasta" legend, Marley's adoption of the characteristic Rastafari dreadlocks and famous use of cannabis as a sacred sacrament in the late sixties were an integral part of his persona. He is said to have entered every performance proclaiming the divinity of Jah Rastafari.

Many of Marley's songs contained Biblical references, sometimes using wordplay to fuse activism and religion, as in "Revolution" and "Revelation":

“ Revelation reveals the truth … ”
“ It takes a revolution to make a solution … ”

After his travels to Ethiopia, Bob Marley became a convert to Orthodox Christianity after receiving the sacrament of baptism. Marley died an Orthodox Christian.

Children
Bob Marley had 13 children: three with his wife Rita, two adopted from Rita's previous relationships, and the remaining eight with separate women.[8] His children are, in order of birth:

Imani Carole, born May 22, 1963, to Cheryl Murray;
Sharon, born November 23, 1964, to Rita in previous relationship;
Cedella Marley born August 23, 1967, to Rita;
David "Ziggy", born October 17, 1968, to Rita;
Stephen, born April 20, 1972, to Rita;
Robert "Robbie", born May 16, 1972, to Pat Williams;
Rohan, born May 19, 1972, to Janet Hunt;
Karen, born 1973 to Janet Bowen;
Stephanie, born August 17, 1974; according to Cedella Booker she was the daughter of Rita and a man called Ital with whom Rita had an affair; nonetheless she was acknowledged as Bob's daughter;
Julian, born June 4, 1975, to Lucy Pounder;
Ky-Mani, born February 26, 1976, to Anita Belnavis;
Damian, born July 21, 1978, to Cindy Breakspeare;
Makeda, born May 30, 1981, to Yvette Crichton;

Discography
For a detailed listing of albums by Bob Marley & the Wailers, see Bob Marley & The Wailers discography.

Tours
Apr-Jul 1973: Catch a Fire Tour (England, USA)
Oct-Nov 1973: Burnin' Tour (USA, England)
Jun-Jul 1975: Natty Dread Tour (USA, Canada, England)
Apr-Jul 1976: Rastaman Vibration Tour (USA, Canada, Germany, Sweden, Netherlands, France, England, Wales)
May-Jun 1977: Exodus Tour (France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, England)
May-Aug 1978: Kaya Tour (USA, Canada, England, France, Spain, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Netherlands, Belgium)
Apr-May 1979: Babylon by Bus Tour (Japan, New Zealand, Australia, Hawaii)
Oct-Dec 1979: Survival Tour (USA, Canada, Trinidad/Tobago, Bahamas)
Apr 1980: Zimbabwe Tour
May-Sep 1980: Uprising Tour (Switzerland, Germany, France, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Belgium, Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Ireland, England, Scotland, Wales, USA)

Awards and honors

Marley's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame1976: 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 third highest honor, the Jamaican Order of Merit
March 1994: Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
1999: Album of the Century for Exodus (Time Magazine)
February 2001: A star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
February 2001: Awarded Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award
2004: Rolling Stone Magazine ranked him #11 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.[9]
"One Love" named song of the millennium by The BBC
Voted as one of the greatest lyricists of all time by a BBC poll.[10]