Bob Marley

Born Robert Nesta Marley on 6 February 1945 in Nine Miles Sait Ann Jamaica to Norval Marley and Cedella Booker, Bob Marley was a Jamaican singer and songwriter. His professional music career began in 1963 after he formed a group ‘Bob Marley and the Wailers’ with his two friends Peter Tosh and Bunny Livingston.

They released their first debut studio album in 1965 named ‘The Wailing Wailers’ and is comprised of the popular song ‘One Love’. The song went viral worldwide and this put the group on the international map. The group was later on joined by vocalist Junior Braithwaite and backup singers  Beverly Kelso and Cherry Green. In 1966, Marley got married to Rita Marley who introduced him to Rastafarianism and he and his friends Tosh and Livingston embraced it.

they collaborated with Lee Scratch Perry and this collaboration resulted in some of their finest songs including ‘Soul Rebel’, ‘Dappy Conquerer’, ‘400 years’, and ‘ Small Axe’. Blackwell, owner of Island Records signed the Wailers and produced their album ‘Catch a fire’ followed by ‘Burnin’ which featured songs such as ‘Get up stand up’ and ‘Shot the Sheriff’.

In 1974 Tosh and Bunny left the Wailers to pursue solo careers and Marley continued to record under ‘Bob Marley ad The Wailers’. In 1976, political violence erupted in Jamaica and there was an attempt on Marley’s life which resulted in him fleeing to England where he lived in exile for 2 years. While he was there, he produced and released the album ‘Exodus’  which stayed on the British charts for a straight 56 weeks and this is when reggae began to get acceptance in the western world and at the same time Marley being recognised internationally.

He returned to Jamaica in 1978 and in 1979 he released ‘Survuival’ which was a politically inspired album including tracks such as ‘Zimbabwe’, ‘Africa unite and ‘Survival. In 1980 Bob Marley was the only international artist to perform at the independence celebrations in Zimbabwe. He died on 11 May 1981 in a hospital in Miami and he died from cancer which ha spread to his brain, lungs and stomach. He died at 36.