Bob Marley was born on 6 February 1945, in Nine Miles, Saint Ann, Jamaica, to Norval Marley and Cedella Booker. His father was a Jamaican of English descent. His mother was a black teenager. The couple planned to get married but Norval left Kingston before this could happen. Norval died in 1955, seeing his son only once.

Bob Marley started his career with the Wailers, a group he formed with Peter Tosh and Bunny Livingston in 1963. Marley married Rita Marley in February 1966, and it was she who introduced him to Rastafarianism. By 1969 Bob, Tosh and Livingston had fully embraced Rastafarianism, which greatly influenced reggae music in general and Marley’s music in particular. The Wailers collaborated with Lee Scratch Perry, resulting in some of the Wailers’ finest tracks like “Soul Rebel”, “Duppy Conquerer”, “400 Years” and “Small Axe.” This collaboration ended bitterly when the Wailers found that Perry, thinking the records were his, sold them in England without their consent. However, this brought the Wailers’ music to the attention of Chris Blackwell, the owner of Island Records.

Blackwell immediately signed the Wailers and produced their first album, “Catch a Fire”. This was followed by “Burnin'”, featuring tracks as “Get Up Stand Up” and “I Shot the Sheriff.” Eric Clapton’s cover of that song reached #1 in the US. In 1974 Tosh and Livingston left the Wailers to start solo careers. Marley later formed the band “Bob Marley and the Wailers”, with his wife Rita as one of three backup singers called the I-Trees. This period saw the release of some groundbreaking albums, such as “Natty Dread” and “Rastaman Vibration”.

In 1976, during a period of spiralling political violence in Jamaica, an attempt was made on Marley’s life. Marley left for England, where he lived in self-exile for two years. In England “Exodus” was produced, and it remained on the British charts for 56 straight weeks. This was followed by another successful album, “Kaya.” These successes introduced reggae music to the western world for the first time, and established the beginning of Marley’s international status.

In 1977 Marley consulted with a doctor when a wound in his big toe would not heal. More tests revealed malignant melanoma. He refused to have his toe amputated as his doctors recommended, claiming it contradicted his Rastafarian beliefs. Others, however, claim that the main reason behind his refusal was the possible negative impact on his dancing skills. The cancer was kept secret from the general public while Bob continued working.

Returning to Jamaica in 1978, he continued work and released “Survival” in 1979 which was followed by a successful European tour. Uprising (1980) was Bob Marley’s final studio album, and is one of his most religious productions; it includes “Redemption Song” and “Forever Loving Jah”. In 1980 he was the only foreign artist to participated in the independence ceremony of Zimbabwe. It was a time of great success for Marley, and he started an American tour to reach blacks in the US.

He played two shows at Madison Square Garden, but collapsed while jogging in NYC’s Central Park on 21 September 1980. The cancer diagnosed earlier had spread to his brain, lungs and stomach. Bob Marley died in a Miami hospital on 11 May 1981. He was 36 years old.

Marley received a state funeral in Jamaica on 21 May 1981, which combined elements of Ethiopian Orthodoxy and Rastafari tradition. He was buried in a chapel near his birthplace with his guitar.

Jamaican Prime Minister Edward Seaga delivered the final funeral eulogy to Marley, declaring:

“His voice was an omnipresent cry in our electronic world. His sharp features, majestic looks, and prancing style a vivid etching on the landscape of our minds. Bob Marley was never seen. He was an experience which left an indelible imprint with each encounter. Such a man cannot be erased from the mind. He is part of the collective consciousness of the nation.”

The album 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.

A brilliant musician.

Keith.

Bob Marley – Legend

Bob Marley – Live