The Rasta Prophet
"I love the development of our music.
How we've tried to develop, y'know?
It grows. That's why ever day people come
forward with songs. Music goes on
forever" - Bob Marley
In 1944 a 50 year old white quartermaster,
Captain Norval Marley, married an eighteen year old black girl called Cedella
Booker. They shortly had a son, Robert Nesta
Marley, who was born at two thirty
on a Wednesday morning, February 6, 1945 in his grandfather Omerias house.
The captain however, seldom saw his son although he provided financial
support. In the late fifties, Bob Marley and his mother moved from St.
Ann to Trench Town in Kingston. Bob
spent most his time with his friend Bunny, and together they went to Joe
Higgsos (a famous singer in Kingston) music class. It was there they met
Peter McIntosh. In 1962 Marley auditioned
for Leslie Kong, who took the young singer into the studio to record his
first single "Judge Not". The following year Bob formed the Wailing Wailers
together with Peter and Bunny. The three men were introduced to Clement
Dodd, a producer of the record company Coxsone. On this label the Wailing
Wailers released their first single, "Simmer Down", that was a big sensation
in Jamaica. At this time three more members had joined the group: Junior
Braithwaite, Beverly Kelso and Cherry Smith.
The
Wailing Wailers began recording regularly and released some music that
established the group in Jamaica. As Junior, Beverly and Cherry left the
group it was back as i ts original trio. At that time, Bob joined his mother
in the United States, but right before he left he married Rita Anderson.
In America he worked just enough to finance his music and then left for
Jamaica again. As Bob came back to his home country, he, Bunny and Peter
reformed the group as the Wailers. Since Jamaican music style was changing
the group changed as well. That brought them into conflict with Coxsone
Dodd and the group formed the record label Wail 'N' Soul. The label folded
however but when they Lee Perry, the group got back on their feet again.
Lee Perry and the Wailers produced great tracks like "Soul Rebel", "Duppy
Conqueror", "400 years" and "Small Axe".In 1970 Aston "Family Man" Barrett
and his brother Carlton joined the Wailers. The band was, at the start
of the seventies, internationally unknown but famous throughout the Caribbean.
Johnny Nash was 1971 accompanied by Bob on his trip to Sweden and London.
While in London, Marley recorded "Reggae on Broadway" which later was released
by CBS. When all the Wailers got to London to promote that single, they
found themselves stranded there. With no other way out, Bob Marley stepped
right into Basing Street studios of Island records and asked to see the
boss, Chris Blackwell. He knew of the Wailers and offered to record them.
The band were advanced a couple of thousand pounds so that they could return
to Jamaica and record their first album for Island records. Now the Wailers
had access to great recording facilities and for the first time, a reggae
group could compete with the already established rock groups.
The
album was called "Catch a fire" and was released in December 1972. It didn't
catch on at first but the reviews were excellent in England and good in
America. In April 1973 the Wailers came to London and started a three month
tour in Britain. After that they returned to Jamaica where Bunny decided
not to go on tour with the Wailers again. He was replaced by Joe Higgs.
On their American tour they even supported Bruce Springsteen for a weekend.
Later the Wailers were about to support Sly & The Family Stone for
seventeen dates. But after only four shows they were fired because they
were too good. The band was left in Las Vegas without manager nor money.
Somehow though, they managed to get to San Francisco were they did a live
concert broadcast for the radio station KSAN-FM.
Their
second album "Burning", was released in 1973. That included some older
songs like "Duppy Conqueror", "Small Axe" and "Put It On" together with
"Get Up Stand Up" and "I Shot The Sheriff". In the beginning of 1975 the
group released the "Natty Dread" album that contained for example "Talking
Blues", "No Woman No Cry" and "Revolution". During that period Bunny and
Peter left the group to go solo (as Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer) while
the band was renamed Bob Marley and the Wailers. Bunny and Peter were replaced
by the I-Threes, Rita Marley, Marcia Griffiths and Judy Mowatt, and these
girls did a great job. When the band performed at the Lyceum the show was
recorded and later released as "Live!". In a concert by Stevie Wonder on
behalf of the Jamaican Institute for the blind, Bob, Bunny and Peter did
the song "Rude Boy".
It
was the last time the original Wailers ever performed together. "Rastaman
Vibration" was released in 1976 and boosted into the charts in England
and the United States. "Rat Race", "Johnny Was" and "War" are a few of
the tracks that made the album so popular. Bob Marley decided to hold a
free concert at Kingston's National Heroes Park on December 5 1976. The
idea of the concert was to work for peace among the warring factions of
Jamaica and to thank the people of the country. The government called an
election for about two weeks after the concert and that was a signal for
renewed ghetto war. Gunmen broke into Marley's house two days before the
concert and shot Bob, Rita and some of their friends. Miraculous enough
nobody got killed although most of the wounds were fatal. Bob was safely
hidden at Strawberry Hill and had a hard time deciding whether he was going
to do the show or not. Eventually he decided to go on and it was a show
to remember. Except the fact that it was Marley's last performance in Jamaica
in over a year, it also included Rita singing in only a night-gown and
her hospital robe. The crowd even got to hear an amazing version of "So
Jah Seh". Bob left Jamaica right after the concert, and in 1977 the whole
group moved to London to record and later release the album "Exodus". "Exodus"
went to number one in England and Germany and the singles "Exodus", Waiting
In Vain" and "Jammin" sold massive. The band toured Europe and also did
a week of concerts at London's Rainbow Theater. At the beginning of the
tour Bob hurt a toe during a football game and later the diagnose was cancer.
In
1978 Bob Marley and the Wailers released "Kaya", of which Bob was accused
of going soft and selling out. Two singles went into the charts: "Satisfy
My Soul" and "Is This Love". In April the band played the One Love Peace
Concert in Jamaica in front of the prime minister Manley and the opposition
leader Seaga. Bob even made the two leaders shake hands. On June 15, Bob
received the Third World Peace Medal by all the African delegations to
the United Nations. Bob also made his first visit in Africa that year and
went to Kenya and Ethiopia. While in Ethiopia he started to work on a song
called "Zimbabwe". The earlier tour in Europe was recorded as a ground
to the bands second live album "Babylon By Bus".
As
"Survival" was released in 1979 it included "Zimbabwe", "So Much Trouble
In The World", "Ambush In The Night" and "Africa Unite" amongst other great
tracks. With the message of black survival, the album was almost covered
with flags of every African nation. These were divided by a diagram that
shows how the Africans were packed like sardines on a slave ship bound
for West Indies. In the beginning of 1980 Bob Marley and the Wailers flew
to Gabon to make their African debut. It was here Bob found out that Don
Taylor (Bobs manager) defrauded him on money. Bob got so angry that he
almost beat Don to death and then fired him. The government of Zimbabwe
invited the group to play at the country's Independence Ceremony in April
the same year. That was a triumph for Bob Marley and maybe even the greatest
moment of his life.
The
bands last album "Uprising" received mixed criticism. That record featured
songs like "Could You Be Loved", "Coming In From The Cold", "Work" and
the impressive ballad "Redemption Songs". The group went on an European
tour that included a Milan concert with over one hundred thousand Italians.
The new album did well and plans were made for an American tour that would
later intersect with Stevie Wonder. Bob started at Madison Square Garden
and continued to the Stanley Theater in Pittsburgh, which would be his
last performance. At this point the cancer had spread out throughout his
body to the stomach, lungs and unfortunately even to the head. With the
treatment of Dr. Joseph Isles Bob lived longer than expected. But then,
he had to be given the final news: He had two weeks to live at most. Then,
on his way home to Jamaica, Bob died in a Miami hospital May 11 1981. Marley
was put to his final rest ten days after his death. Bob was then 36 years
old. His funeral was placed at Nine Miles and was attended by both the
Prime Minister and the leader of the opposition..
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