BOB MARLEY

“I am on the rock and then I check a stock

I have to run like a fugitive to save the life I live

gonna be Iron like a Lion in Zion”

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“B”

Main Decade:

70's 

Main Ages:

Reggae & Ska (1957-???)

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Key Members:

Bob Marley

Peter Tosh

Bunny Wailer

 

Key Songs:

No Woman No Cry, Iron Lion Zion, Could You Be Loved, Exodus, Is This Love, Three Little Birds, I Shot The Sheriff, One Love, Jammin’, Buffalo Soldier, Redemption Song, Stir It Up, Satisfy My Soul, Waiting In Vain, Get Up Stand Up, I Know A Place, Lively Up Yourself, So Much Trouble In The World, Sun Is Shinning, Turn your Lights Down Love, Rebel Music (3 O’Clock Roadblock), Positive Vibration, Want More.

 

Bob Marley is such a towering figure that he transcended the realm of reggae music. He was a musician with such a strong social, political, and spiritual message that he even transcended rock music to become a cultural icon, a symbol of pacifism and the pursuit of equality, which remains as strong today as it was in the '70s. A friend once told me that if Jesus had been a rock star, he wouldn't have been like Jesus Christ Superstar, but like Bob Marley. After laughing, the only thing I could think of to say was that I doubted he'd have had as many children as Bob, but that joke is a good example of the image and power he still represents. His influence is enormous. Not only was he instrumental in the evolution and spread of ska-rocksteady-reggae, but he's also the center of that universe, a must-see, the rite of passage that almost any band that wants to dedicate themselves to the genre must go through. As I've already mentioned, Bob Marley isn't the whole of reggae; there are many more very good bands; He's not even the creator of the song, so he can't really be considered the Rastafarian Chuck Berry. But he's certainly the Beatles' equivalent, the epicenter of a genre that still moves listeners today, influencing new bands, generating tons of covers and tributes, and playing endlessly on the radio WITHOUT tiring us out. Few people can do that more than 30 years after their death.

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Bob Marley managed to become the voice of his people, the Jamaican people (and the people of the Third World, for that matter), and capture their feelings in his lyrics. That was a unique feat in history. Until then, musicians who cried out for justice and wrote social lyrics were on the "other side," they had Rolls Royces and mansions, and somehow they didn't seem entirely congruent with what they were singing, right Lennon and Dylan? I'm not saying their message wasn't sincere, but they definitely didn't feel it the same way, not being in the trenches, not being part of the oppressed minority. Carlos Santana was another superstar and came from Mexico, but he was never interested in politicizing his lyrics, and his political actions were much more discreet and private, through donations and foundations. Marley was the first "Third World Rock Star," as many call him, seeking unity, not only within his country, but also among races and countries. Many times, his message against racism wasn't directed at whites, but at his own people, those who, resentfully, still clamored for black supremacy. His weapon was his music and his example. Marley was always consistent with his message. As soon as he could, he returned to his home country, just as the crisis in Jamaica became incendiary. He could have stayed in England or gone to live in the Dakotas in New York. Instead, he continued living as usual and gave away thousands or millions to people in need—and I'm not referring to friends or family, but to complete strangers living in desperation. That's why Marley is still considered a kind of Messiah in Jamaica. And because of the conviction and sincerity with which he sang, his music continues to sound fresh, valid, and with impressive resonance.

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He also managed to perfect reggae like few others. Reggae seems very crude to those who aren't (or aren't) used to it, and that's why, at first glance, it all seems the same. However, Bob managed to include an incredible amount of detail, which generally only the black ear can properly appreciate (just like jazz and blues, they're centuries ahead of us). The counterpoints in rhythm, the complex percussion that, beyond the drums, includes congas, bongos, etc., the guitar arrangements, the occasional requinto, the brass sections that come in to play tremendous riffs when you least expect it, the spirituality conveyed by the keyboards, the textures of the voices, the female choirs, and a host of little sounds with local instrumentation that give the songs an incredible groove. Bob Marley never had virtuosos in the traditional sense of the word. He didn't have a Clapton playing his songs, at least not in his band. He didn't have a Bonham or a Billy Preston. But he surrounded himself with very capable people, who knew how to do what they had to do when they had to do it, and that combination generally produced songs with an enormous groove and mystique. That's the magic of Reggae. His songs carry us, through rhythm, vocal melodies, and repetition, to a hypnotic state, to a warm and comforting sensation, and you really don't need Ganja to soar with the music. On the other hand, Bob is perhaps the best creator of vocal melodies in history. And I'm not talking about Reggae, but Rock (take that, McCartney!). He's a damn genius with melody, with hooks, with the perfect modulation to make a song sound desperate, comforting, pessimistic, peaceful, or simply furious with only minimal differences in his voice. When he wants to, he creates a devilish phrasing that's almost impossible to imitate, but his melody is still catchy. You don't have to listen to Legend a thousand times to learn his songs. Once you do this, you'll forever identify any Marley song, whether you've heard it before or not. Ah! So it's not as generic as we thought!

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Robert Nesta Marley was born on February 6, 1945, in the town of Nine Mile, Jamaica, to Cedilla Broker, an 18-year-old Jamaican woman, and Normal Sinclair Marley, a British naval captain. This is crucial, as being mixed-race helped him learn to take sides and seek absolute racial equality, without white or black predominance. Bob himself would say he was neither black nor white, but human. Contrary to popular belief, his father was very supportive and looked after him throughout his life. In the late 1950s, he moved with his mother to Kingston in search of better opportunities, and they settled in the Trenchtown neighborhood. There he made friends his own age and met Neville O'Rilley Livingstone, nicknamed Bunny and later known as Bunny Wailer. Bunny was the one who showed him the first songs coming from the United States from a radio station in New Orleans that broadcast songs by Ray Charles, Fats Domino, Curtis Mayfield and Brook Benton. Bunny also showed him the first Rock & Roll songs that began to reach the island. They learned to play the guitar and at age 14, Bob dropped out of school to dedicate himself fully to music, along with singer Joe Higgs, who taught him to sing. With Joe, he met another boy named Peter McIntosh, known as Peter Tosh. By 1962, he impressed a music producer named Leslie Kong, with whom he recorded his first Ska demos. The songs did not stick at all, but the experience in the semi-professional studio convinced young Bob that he wanted to be a singer and musician, so in 1963 he formed his first band with his friends Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer.

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The group's first name was The Teenagers, which would later change to The Wailing Rudeboys, The Wailing Wailers until it became simply The Wailers in 1966. Alvin Patterson was their first mentor and manager, so to speak. He played the bongos and was their first contact with a Rastafari and everything the movement represented. Patterson introduced them to producer Clement Dodd, who was impressed with the way they took songs from their American idols and transformed them into Ska, and at the end of 1963 they released their first single, “Simmer Down”, an original song that became a hit in Jamaica. The Wailers would become Dodd's favorite group, his protégés, and with his support they recorded a number of singles, many of which appear on the LP The Wailers, released in 1965. Despite the relative success, money was not enough for the band, who had to work in other things to survive. In 1966, his mother, Cedilla, remarried and left for the United States. She sent her son his plane ticket, and he was practically boarding the plane when, just like in a movie, he met Rita Anderson. Love at first sight, he canceled his trip and married her in February 1966. Despite everything, he had to travel to the US, including his new wife, since now he had to earn a living, so they settled in Delaware, where he worked at a Chrysler assembly plant. In reality, Bob worked and saved to finance his true calling: music. So in October, after just eight months, he packed his bags again and returned to Kingston. During his time away, Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia, considered Jah's representative on earth, had visited the island, and the Rastafari movement had exploded.

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Marley, already a strong believer thanks to the teachings of Alvin Patterson, and taking advantage of the fact that his Catholic mother was now far away, adopted the doctrine in early 1966. He reunited the Wailers and, after clashing with Clement Dodd, signed with Lee "Scratch" Perry, with whom they recorded another series of singles that would later make up the 1967 album Keep On Skanking. Bob's new ideology began to filter through in the new recordings, and along the way, the group's evolution toward rocksteady, slightly slower than ska, is noticeable. For many, Keep On Skanking is the Wailers' best album. In 1968, they left Scratch due to recording rights issues, but despite this, they remained friends. Being one of Jamaica's most important bands, they signed with JAD Records. Lee Perry became their producer and refined their sound, and he also began to market them to the United Kingdom. In 1968, with Perry's help, the Wailers recorded several of their best songs, "Soul Rebel," "Duppy Conqueror," "400 Years," and "Small Axe," which became classics and also set the tone for the new evolution of their sound that would eventually be called reggae. Around this time, they also began writing songs for Johnny Nash, who was already a household name in the United States, and with whom "Stir It Up" became a hit in the land of Uncle Sam.

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Between '70 and '71 they recorded the albums Soul Rebels and Soul Revolution, with more of a pop influence thanks to producer Jimmy Norman. The band wasn't happy with the sound and didn't like the record label releasing the albums, as they originally saw them as demos to find a larger distributor, but Norman insisted on softening the group's sound to bring Bob's sound closer to the American market, which at that time was infatuated with Jimmy Cliff. At the end of '71, Bob went on tour with Johnny Nash to Sweden, and during his stopover in London, Bob took the opportunity to sign a contract with CBS. In mid-'72, he moved with Peter, Bunny, and Rita to London. There he met Chris Blackwell, founder of Island Records in Jamaica, one of the main promoters of reggae. Chris couldn't sign the Wailers in England, but he became their promoter and reached an agreement for Island to release them in Jamaica and CBS in England. With this arrangement they achieved a certain creative freedom to distance themselves from pop influences, and at the same time a 4,000 pound budget (the largest budget they had ever had) to record their next album. The Wailers traveled to Jamaica to record Catch A Fire, released in 1973, their first mainstream album and one that began to bring them international recognition, with hits like “Concrete Jungle”, “Stirt It Up” and “Rock It Baby”. It was not an immediate hit, but the album received good reviews and began to filter the Wailers sound to England and the USA.

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The Wailers returned to London in April of '73 for a promotional tour. They were so successful that they were scheduled for a 17-date US tour. Bunny didn't go because he hated the English tour and said that touring wasn't his thing. On the American tour they were supposed to be opening for Sly & The Family Stone, who we all know were a pioneering funk group. Well, the fact is that after 4 dates, Sly Stone told the Wailers to fly because they were better than them and people were going to see the Wailers and not the main group!!!! Hahahahaha. That same year in '73 they released Burnin', which included songs like "I Shot The Sheriff" and "Get Up Syand Up", as well as new versions of old songs like "Duppy Conqueror", "For Instance", "Small Axe" and "Put It On". A guy named Eric Clapton liked the idea of ​​killing the Sheriff and recorded the song in 1974. And as Kevin Arnolds would say, "Then it happened." The Wailers became global stars, and reggae became The Next Big Thing.

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By mid-1974, Bob was deep into recording the next album. For reasons still unknown, Bunny Wailer and Peter Tosh left the group. It's said they were on good terms, and they even remained friends with Bob, but many comments from Tosh, who since then also became an independent cult figure in Jamaica and is still considered the second greatest reggae creator in history, revealed a lot of resentment. Peter would become a protégé of Keith Richards, who had become a fan of the genre, and Rolling Stones Records would help him release his first solo album.

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Although Bob was now practically a solo artist, he continued recording under the name Bob Marley & The Wailers. He added brothers Carlton and Aston Barret to his band on bass and drums, and the I-Threes on backing vocals, including his wife Rita. Natty Dread, from 1975, would be his first solo album, now with complete creative control, and featuring hits like "Talkin' Blues," "No Woman No Cry" (in a studio version VERY different from the one we know live), and "Rebel Music (3 o'clock Roadblock)." Rastaman Vibration, from 1976, would be a hit in the United States, and his fame began to make him one of the most influential figures in Jamaica. Around this time, Jamaican Prime Minister Michael Manley (left) organized a concert for unity on the island, which was in the midst of a deep political, economic, and social crisis. The concert, called Smile Jamaica, would feature Bob Marley as its climax. Two days earlier, an armed group had entered Bob's home and wounded him and his manager, Don Taylor. Edgard Saega, leader of the Conservative Party (JPL), is said to have been the mastermind behind the assassination attempt... and it's also said that, having them at point-blank range, the assassins didn't dare kill Marley and his people. Nevertheless, the attack drove Marley's group into hiding, but Bob stood firm, improvised a band, and gave the concert. Bob would say, "People who are trying to make this world worse don't take a day off, so why should I?" A phrase that has become synonymous with countless people.

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Marley went to the Bahamas in late 1976, more for his wife Rita than by choice. There and in London, he recorded the excellent Exodus, perhaps his best album, with songs like "Exodus," "One Love," "Waiting in Vain," and "Jammin." Kaya in '78 confirmed him as one of the best artists of the '70s, and he returned to Jamaica to give the peace concert, where Prime Minister Manley and a hypocritical Saega joined hands in an act of unity for Jamaica. At the end of '78, he traveled to Africa for the first time, focusing on Ethiopia, the birthplace of the Rastafari movement. Survival in '79 would be a more pessimistic album with much more political emphasis. Around this time, he suffered a fall while playing soccer, which left a bruise on his foot. After a while, as the bruise and the pain didn't subside, he went for a checkup, and the doctors discovered it was melanoma, a cancer that had already advanced to some extent. It is said that the fall caused the cancer, but the truth is that it was simply the reason why it was detected.

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1980’s Uprising, another gem, would be his last album, featuring classics like “Redemption Song,” “Forever Loving Jah,” and “Could You Be Loved.” Because of his Rastafarian beliefs, Bob refused to undergo aggressive cancer treatments, opting instead for an experimental diet-based treatment. The treatment evidently failed. Bob’s health continued to deteriorate, and despite doctors suggesting amputation of his leg, Bob refused. He still embarked on a European tour in 1981, playing for 100,000 people in Milan—the Wailers’ largest concert on record. His condition worsened, and he traveled to Germany for another experimental treatment. When that didn’t work, he flew back to Jamaica in May. Mid-flight, he began to collapse, and they made an emergency landing in Miami to try to save his life. Before his heart stopped, he told his son Ziggy, “All the money in the world can’t buy you life.” They couldn't get him off the dole. On May 21st, he received the largest funeral ever held in Jamaica, leaving behind a legacy of music, rhythm, and a way of seeing the world that few people have been able to convey in the same way, at least not through music.

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Legend was considered the best and most representative album of the 20th century. After my initial annoyance that it wasn't Abbey Road or some Beatles compilation, I began to realize that, for once, those votes, which are usually light years off the mark, had been right on the money. Despite (or because) Legend is a compilation of Bob Marley's best songs and undoubtedly features his best songs, it is an album representative of all humanity, of the Third World, of the oppressed. It is also a song of hope, a gem that combines poetry with music, a song of unity for races and countries... It should have been an album that represented all humanity, and without a doubt, if we had to send a record into space that spoke for all of us, I think only Legend would be labeled the most perfect and representative album of the world and the 20th century.

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That combination of rhythm, melodies, and details with lyrical power is simply explosive. When a musician manages to combine form with substance in this way, they simply achieve immortality. I'll close with a quote from Jann Wenner, when Bob Marley was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: "He was a great rocker at heart, and a great songwriter. He brought the lyrical power of Bob Dylan, the charisma of John Lennon, and the vocal essence of Smokey Robinson into one person."

For me, Bob Marley is so great that I believe that when he died on May 11, 1981, he took with him the last essence of original rock.

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By Corvan   

Sep/23/2013

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