 Robert Nesta Bob Marley, OM was a Jamaican singer-songwriter, musician and guitarist who achieved international fame and acclaim, blending mostly reggae, ska and rocksteady in his compositions. Starting out in 1963 with the group The Whalers, he forged a distinctive songwriter and vocal style that would later resonate with audiences worldwide. The Whalers would go on to release some of the earliest reggae records with producer Lee Scratch Perry. After The Whalers disbanded in 1974, Marley pursued a solo career upon his relocation to England that culminated in the release of the album Exodus in 1977, which established his worldwide reputation and produced his status as one of the world's best-selling artists of all time, with sales of more than 75 million records. Exodus stayed on the British album charts for 56 consecutive weeks. It included four UK hit singles, Exodus, Waiting in Vane, Jemming, and One Love. In 1978 he released the album Kaya, which included the hit singles is This Love and Satisfy My Soul. Diagnosed with Acral Lentogenous Melanoma in 1977, Marley died on May 11, 1981 in Miami at age 36. He was a committed Rastafari who infused his music with a sense of spirituality. He is considered one of the most influential musicians of all time and credited with popularizing reggae music around the world, as well as serving as a symbol of Jamaican culture and identity. Marley has also evolved into a global symbol and inspired numerous items of merchandise. Early Life and Career Bob Marley was born February 6, 1945 on the farm of his maternal grandfather in Nine Mile, St. Anne Parish, Jamaica, to Norval Sinclair Marley, 1885-1955, and Sadella Booker, 1926-2008. Norval Marley was a white Jamaican originally from Sussex, England, whose family claimed Syrian-Jewish origins. Norval claimed to have been a captain in the Royal Marines, at the time of his marriage to Sadella Booker, an Afro-Jamaican then 18 years old, he was employed as a plantation overseer.Bob Marley's full name is Robert Nesta Marley, though some sources give his birth name as Nesta Robert Marley, with the story that when Marley was still a boy a Jamaican passport official reversed his first and middle names because Nesta sounded like a girl's name. Norval provided financial support for his wife and child but seldom saw them as he was often away. Bob Marley attended Stepney Primary and Junior High School which serves the catchment area of St. Anne. In 1955, when Bob Marley was 10 years old, his father died of a heart attack at the age of 70. Marley's mother went on to marry Edward Booker, an American civil servant. The relationship brought Marley two American brothers, Richard and Anthony. Marley and Neville Livingston, later known as Bunny Whaler, had been childhood friends in Nine Mile. They had started to play music together while at Stepney Primary and Junior High School. Marley left Nine Mile with his mother when he was 12 and moved to Trenchtown, Kingston. Sedella Booker and Thaddeus Livingston, Bunny Whaler's father, had a daughter together whom they named Claudette Pearl, who was a younger sister to both Bob and Bunny. Now that Marley and Livingston were living together in the same house in Trenchtown, their musical explorations deepened to include the latest rand B from American radio stations whose broadcasts reached Jamaica, and the new ska music. The move to Trenchtown was proving to be fortuitous, and Marley soon found himself in a vocal group with Bunny Whaler, Peter Tosh, Beverly Kelso and Junior Braithwaite. Joe Higgs, who was part of the successful vocal act Higgs and Wilson, resided on 3rd St, and his singing partner Roy Wilson had been raised by the grandmother of Junior Braithwaite. Higgs and Wilson would rehearse at the back of the houses between 2nd and 3rd streets, and it wasn't long before Marley, now residing on 2nd St. Junior Braithwaite and the others were congregating around this successful duo. Marley and the others didn't play any instruments at this time, and were more interested in being a vocal harmony group. Higgs was glad to help them develop their vocal harmonies, although more importantly, he had started to teach Marley how to play guitar thereby creating the bedrock that would later allow Marley to construct some of the biggest selling reggae songs in the history of the genre. Musical Career 1962-72, Early Years In February 1962, Marley recorded four songs, Judge Not, One Cup of Coffee, Do You Still Love Me?, and Terror, at Federal Studio for Local Music Producer Leslie Kong. Three of the songs were released on Beverly's With One Cup of Coffee being released under the pseudonym Bobby Martell. In 1963, Bob Marley, Bunny Whaler, Peter Tosh, Junior Braithwaite, Beverly Kelso, and Cherry Smith were called the Teenagers. They later changed the name to the Whaling Rude Boys, then to the Whaling Whalers, at which point they were discovered by record producer Coxone Dodd, and finally to the Whalers. Their single simmer down for the Coxone label became a Jamaican number one in February 1964 selling an estimated 70,000 copies. The Whalers, now regularly recording for Studio One, found themselves working with established Jamaican musicians such as Ernest Wranglin, a ranger it hurts to be alone, the keyboardist Jackie Mitu and saxophonist Roland Alfonso. By 1966, Braithwaite, Kelso, and Smith had left the Whalers, leaving the core trio of Bob Marley, Bunny Whaler, and Peter Tosh. In 1966, Marley married Rita Anderson, and moved near his mother's residence in Wilmington, Delaware in the United States for a short time, during which he worked as a Dupont lab assistant and on the assembly line at a Chrysler plant, under the alias Donald Marley. Though raised as a Catholic, Marley became interested in Rastafari beliefs in the 1960s, when away from his mother's influence. After returning to Jamaica, Marley formally converted to Rastafari and began to grow dreadlocks. The Rastafari prescription against cutting hair is based on the Biblical Samson, who as a Nazi rite, was expected to make certain religious vows, including the ritual treatment of his hair as described in Chapter 6 of the Book of Numbers. All the days of the vow of his separation there shall no razor come upon his head, until the days be fulfilled, in the which he separateth himself unto the Lord, he shall be holy, and shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow. NUMBER 6, 5KJV After a financial disagreement 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 whalers finest work. Marley and Perry split after a dispute regarding the assignment of recording rites, but they would remain friends and work together again. 1969 brought another change to Jamaican popular music in which the beat slowed down even further. The new beat was a slow, steady, ticking rhythm that was first heard on the Maidals song Do the Reggae. Marley approached producer Leslie Kong, who was regarded as one of the major developers of the reggae sound. For the recordings, Kong combined the whalers with his studio musicians called Beverly's All-Stars, which consisted of the bassists Lloyd Parks and Jackie Jackson, the drummer Paul Douglas, the keyboard players Gladstone Anderson and Winston Wright, and the guitarists Rad Brian, Lynn Tate and Hux Brown. As David Moskovitz writes, the tracks recorded in this session illustrated the whalers' earliest efforts in the new reggae style. Gone are the Scott trumpets and saxophones of the earlier songs, with instrumental breaks now being played by the electric guitar. The songs recorded would be released as the album the best of the whalers, including tracks Soul Shake Down Party, Stop That Train, Caution, Go Tell It On The Mountain, Soon Come, Can't You See, Soul Captives, Cheer Up, Back Out, and Do It Twice. Between 1968 and 1972, Bob and Rita Marley, Peter Tosh and Bunny Whaler recut some old tracks with jad records in Kingston and London in an attempt to commercialise the whalers' sound. Bunny later asserted that these songs should never be released on an album, they were just demos for record companies to listen to. In 1968, Bob and Rita visited songwriter Jimmy Norman at his apartment in the Bronx. Norman had written the extended lyrics for Kai Winding's Time Is On My Side, covered by the Rolling Stones, and had also written for Johnny Nash and Jimmy Hendricks. A three-day jam session with Norman and others, including Norman's CEO writer Al Piefrem, resulted in a 24-minute tape of Marley performing several of his own and Norman Piefrem's compositions. This tape is, according to reggae archivist Roger Stephens, rare in that it was influenced by pop rather than reggae, as part of an effort to break Marley into the American charts. According to an article in The New York Times, Marley experimented on the tape with different sounds, adopting a doo-wop style on Stay With Me and The Slow Love Song style of 1960s artists on Splish for My Splash. He got an artist yet to establish himself outside his native Jamaica, Marley lived in R.I.D.G. Mount, Gardens, Bloomsbury, during 1972. 1972-74, Moved to Island Records In 1972, Bob Marley signed with CBS Records in London and embarked on a UK tour with American soul singer Johnny Nash. While in London the Whalers asked their road manager Brent Clark to introduce them to Chris Blackwell, who had licensed some of their coxone releases for his Island Records. The Whalers intended to discuss the royalties associated with these releases, instead the meeting resulted in the offer of an advance of £4,000 to record an album. Since Jimmy Cliff, Island's top reggae star, had recently left the label, Blackwell was primed for a replacement. In Marley, Blackwell recognized the elements needed to snare the rock audience, I was dealing with rock music, which was really rebel music. I felt that would really be the way to break Jamaican music. But you needed someone who could be that image. When Bob walked in he really was that image. The Whalers returned to Jamaica to record at Harry J.S. in Kingston, which resulted in the album Catch a Fire. Primarily recorded on an eight track, Catch a Fire marked the first time a reggae band had access to a state-of-the-art studio and were recorded the same care as their rock and roll peers.Blackwell desired to create more of a drifting, hypnotic type feel than a reggae rhythm, and restructured Marley's mixes and arrangements. Marley travelled to London to supervise Blackwell's overdubbing of the album which included tempering the mix from the bass heavy sound of Jamaican music and omitting two tracks. The Whalers' first album for Island, Catch a Fire, was released worldwide in April 1973, packaged like a rock record with a unique zippo lighter lift top. Initially selling 14,000 units, it didn't make Marley a star, but received a positive critical reception.It was followed later that year by the album Burnon which included the song I Shot the Sheriff. Eric Clapton was given the album by his guitarist George Terry in the hope that he would enjoy it. Clapton was suitably impressed and chose to record a cover version of I Shot the Sheriff which became his first US hit since Layla two years earlier and reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on September 14, 1974. Many Jamaicans were not keen on the new reggae sound on Catch a Fire, but the trench town style of Burnon found fans across both reggae and rock audiences. During this period, Blackwell gifted his Kingston residence and company headquarters at 56 Hope Road, then known as Island House, to Marley. Housing Tough Gong Studios, the property became not only Marley's office, but also his home. The Whalers were scheduled to open 17 shows in the US for Sly and the Family Stone. After four shows, the band was fired because they were more popular than the acts they were opening for. The Whalers disbanded in 1974, with each of the three main members pursuing a solo career. The reason for the breakup is shrouded in conjecture, some believe that there were disagreements amongst Bunny Whaler, Peter Tosh and Marley concerning performances, while others claim that Whaler and Tosh simply preferred solo work. 1974-76, line-up changes and shooting. Despite the breakup, Marley continued recording as Bob Marley and the Whalers. 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 Downey and Earl Wailindo on keyboards, and Alvin Seco Patterson on percussion. The i3s, consisting of Judy Mallett, 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 United States, Rostamon Vibration, 1976, which reached the top 50 of the Billboard Soul charts. On December 3, 1976, two days before Smile Jamaica, a free concert organised 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 gunman inside Marley's home. Taylor and Marley's wife sustained serious injuries, but later made full recoveries. Bob Marley received minor wounds in the chest and arm. The attempt on his life 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, two days after the attempt. When asked why, Marley responded, The people who are trying to make this world worse aren't taking a day off. How can I? The members of the group Zapp-Pow played as Bob Marley's backup band before a festival crowd of 80,000 while members of the Whalers were still missing or in hiding. 1976-79, relocation to England Marley left Jamaica at the end of 1976, and after a month-long recovery and writing sojourn at the site of Chris Blackwell's Compass Point Studios in Nassau, Bahamas, arrived in England, where he spent two years in self-imposed exile. Wildston England, he recorded the albums Exodus and Kaia. Exodus stayed on the British album charts for 56 consecutive weeks. It included four UK hit singles, Exodus, Waiting in Vein, Gemming, and One Love, a rendition of Curtis Mayfield's hit, People Get Ready. During his time in London, he was arrested and received a conviction for possession of a small quantity of cannabis. In 1978, Marley returned to Jamaica and performed at another political concert, the One Love Peace Concert, again in an effort to calm warring parties. Near the end of the performance, by Marley's request, Michael Manley, leader of then-ruling People's National Party, and his political rival Edward Sega, leader of the opposing Jamaica Labour Party, joined each other on stage and shook hands. Under the name Bob Marley and the Whalers' 11 albums were released, four live albums and seven studio albums. The releases included Babylon by Bus, a double live album with 13 tracks, were released in 1978 and received critical acclaim. This album, and specifically the final track Gemming with the audience in a frenzy, captured the intensity of Marley's live performances. 1979-81, later years. 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. His appearance at the Amandla Festival in Boston in July 1979 showed his strong opposition to South African apartheid, which he already had shown in his song War in 1976. In early 1980, he was invited to perform at 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, it includes redemption song and forever-loving yaw. 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. Illness and Death In July 1977, Marley was found to have a type of malignant melanoma under the nail of a toe. Contrary to urban legend, this lesion was not primarily caused by an injury during a football match that year, but was instead a symptom of the already existing cancer. Marley turned down his doctor's advice to have his toe amputated, citing his religious beliefs, and instead the nail and nail bed were removed and a skin graft taken from his thigh to cover the area. Despite his illness, he continued touring and was in the process of scheduling a world tour in 1980. The album Uprising was released in May 1980. The band completed a major tour of Europe, where it played its biggest concert to 100,000 people in Milan. After the tour Marley went to America, where he performed two shows at Madison Square Garden in New York City as part of the Uprising tour. Marley's last concert occurred at the Stanley Theatre, now called the Benetem Center for the Performing Arts, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on September 23, 1980. The only known photographs from the show were featured in Kevin McDonald's documentary film Marley. Shortly afterwards, Marley's health deteriorated as the cancer had spread throughout his body. The rest of the tour was canceled and Marley sought treatment at the Bavarian Clinic of Joseph Issel's, where he received a controversial type of cancer therapy, Issel's treatment, partly based on avoidance of certain foods, drinks and other substances. After fighting the cancer without success for eight months Marley boarded a plane for his home in Jamaica. While Marley was flying home from Germany to Jamaica, his vital functions worsened. After landing in Miami, Florida, he was taken to the hospital for immediate medical attention. Marley died on May 11, 1981 at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital in Miami, now University of Miami Hospital, aged 36. The spread of melanoma to his lungs and brain caused his death. His final words to his son Ziggy were �Money can�t buy life.� Marley received a state funeral in Jamaica on May 21, 1981, which combined elements of Ethiopian orthodoxy and Rastafari tradition. He was buried in a chapel near his birthplace with his Red Gibson lay Paul, some accounts say it was offender Stratocaster. On May 21, 1981, Jamaican Prime Minister Edward Siga delivered the final funeral eulogy to Marley, declaring, �Personal life. Religion. Bob Marley was a member for some years of the Rastafari movement, whose culture was a key element in the development of reggae. Bob Marley became an ardent proponent of Rastafari, taking their music out of the socially deprived areas of Jamaica and onto the international music scene. He once gave the following response, which was typical, to a question put to him during a recorded interview. Interviewer, can you tell the people what it means being a Rastafarian? Marley, I would say to the people, be still, and know that his Imperial Majesty, Emperor Highly Celacy of Ethiopia is the Almighty. Now, the Bible seh so, Babylon newspaper seh so, and I and I the children seh so. You know? So I don�t see how much more reveal our people want. What dem want? A white God, well God come black. True true. According to Marley�s biographers, he affiliated with the 12 tribes mansion, one of the mansions of Rastafari. He was in the denomination known as Tribe of Joseph, because he was born in February, each of the 12 sects being composed of members born in a different month. He signified this in his 1976 Rastaman vibration album liner notes, quoting the portion from Deuteronomy 33,16 that includes Jacob�s blessing to his son Joseph. Jacob, aka Israel, was a Jewish patriarch whose 12 sons became the ancestors of much of the growing Israelite population. The Rastaman vibration back cover also quoted the Genesis 49,22-24, where Jacob describes his son Joseph as �a fruitful bow growing taller than the others, over the wall, and suffering an attempted murder by bowmen who provoke hate and shoot arrows at him, wounding him seriously.� But Joseph survived because his arms and hands were made strong by the hands of the God of Jacob, which was understood by many as an eerie prophecy as, a few days after the album was released, Kingston gunman shot Marley, bullets hit his arm and chest, who like Joseph, survived. Archbishop Abuna Yeshak baptized Marley into the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, giving him the name Birhane Selassie, on November 4, 1980, shortly before his death. Family. Bob Marley married Alfarita Constantia Rita Anderson in Kingston, Jamaica, on February 10, 1966. Marley had many children, three with his wife Rita, two adopted from Rita's previous relationships, and several others with different women. The Bob Marley official website acknowledges 11 children. Those listed on the official site are. Number Sharon, born November 23, 1964, daughter of Rita from a previous relationship but then adopted by Marley after his marriage with Rita. Number Sedella, born August 23, 1967, to Rita. Number David Ziggy, born October 17, 1968, to Rita. Number Steven, born April 20, 1972, to Rita. Number Robert Robbie, born May 16, 1972, to Pat Williams. Number Rohan, born May 19, 1972, to Janet Hunt. Number Karen, born 1973, to Janet Bowen. Number Stephanie, born August 17, 1974, according to Sedella Booker she was the daughter of Rita and a man called I Tall with whom Rita had an affair, nonetheless she was acknowledged as Bob's daughter. Number Julian, born June 4, 1975, to Lucy Pounder. Number K. Waimani, born February 26, 1976, to Anita Belnavis. Number Damien, born July 21, 1978, to Cindy Brake Spear. Other sites have noted additional individuals who claim to be family members, as noted below. Asterisk Makata was born on May 30, 1981, to Yvette Crichton, after Marley's death. Meredith Dixon's book lists her as Marley's child, but she is not listed as such on the Bob Marley official website. Asterisk various websites, for example, also list Imani Carroll, born May 22, 1963 to Cheryl Murray, but she does not appear on the official Bob Marley website. Football. Aside from music, football played a major role throughout his life.As well as playing the game, in parking lots, fields and even inside recording studios, growing up he followed the Brazilian club Santos and its star player Pele.Marley surrounded himself with people from the sport, and in the 1970s made the Jamaican international footballer Alan Skill Cole his tour manager.He told a journalist, if you want to get to know me, you will have to play football against me and the Whalers. Personal views. Pan-Africanism. Marley was a Pan-Africanist, and believed in the unity of African people worldwide. His beliefs in Pan-Africanism were rooted in his Rastafari religious beliefs. He was substantially inspired by Marcus Garvey, and had anti-imperialist and Pan-Africanist themes in many of his songs, such as Zimbabwe, Exodus, Survival, Blackman Redemption, and Redemption Song. Redemption Song draws influence from a speech given by Marcus Garvey in Nova Scotia, 1937. Marley held that independence of African countries from European domination was a victory for all those in the African diaspora. In the Song Africa Unite, he sings of a desire for all peoples of the African diaspora to come together and fight against Babylon. Similarly, in the Song Zimbabwe, he marks the liberation of the whole continent of Africa, and evokes calls for unity between all Africans, both within and outside Africa. Cannabis. Marley considered cannabis a healing herb, a sacrament, and an aid to medication, he supported the legalization of the drug. He thought that marijuana use was prevalent in the Bible, reading passages such as Psalms 104-14 as showing approval of its usage.Marley began to use cannabis when he converted to the Rastafari faith from Catholicism in 1966. He was arrested in 1968 after being caught with cannabis, but continued to use marijuana in accordance with his religious beliefs. Of his marijuana usage, he said, when you smoke herb, herb reveal yourself to you. All the wickedness you do, the herb reveal itself to yourself, your conscience, show up yourself clear, because herb make you meditate. Is only a natural teeing and it grow like a tree. Marley saw marijuana usage as a vital factor in religious growth and connection with Yah, and as a way to philosophies and become wiser. Legacy. Other Tributes. A statue was inaugurated, next to the National Stadium on Arthur Wint Drive in Kingston to commemorate him. In 2006, the New York City Department of Education CEO named a portion of Church Avenue from Remson Avenue to East 98th Street in the East Flatbush section of Brooklyn as Bob Marley Boulevard. In 2008, a statue of Marley was inaugurated in Bonatsky Sokolak, Serbia. Internationally, Marley's message also continues to reverberate among various indigenous communities. For instance, the Australian aboriginal people continue to burn a sacred flame to honour his memory in Sydney's Victoria Park, while members of the Amerindian Hopi and Havasupai tribe revere his work RP5. There are also many tributes to Bob Marley throughout India, including restaurants, hotels and cultural festivals. Marley has also evolved into a global symbol, which has been endlessly merchandised through a variety of mediums. In light of this, author Dave Thompson in his book Reggae and Caribbean Music, laments what he perceives to be the commercialised pacification of Marley's more militant edge, stating, Several film adaptations have evolved as well. For instance, a feature-length documentary about his life, Rebel Music, won various awards at the Grammys. With contributions from Rita, the Whalers and Marley's lovers and children, it also tells much of the story in his own words. In February 2008, director Martin Scorsese announced his intention to produce a documentary movie on Marley. The film was set to be released on February 6, 2010, on what would have been Marley's 65th birthday. However, Scorsese dropped out due to scheduling problems. He was replaced by Jonathan Demme, who dropped out due to creative differences with producer Steve Bing during the beginning of editing. Kevin MacDonald replaced Demme in the film, Marley, was released on April 20, 2012. In March 2008, the Weinstein Company announced its plans to produce a biopic of Bob Marley, based on the book No Woman No Cry, My Life with Bob Marley by Rita Marley. Rudy Langglish will produce the script by Lizzie Borden and Rita Marley will be executive producer. In 2011, ex-girlfriend and filmmaker Esther Anderson, along with Gian Godoy, made the documentary Bob Marley, The Making of a Legend, which premiered at the Edinburgh International Film Festival. In October 2015, Jamaican author Marlin James' novel A Brief History of Seven Killings, a fictional account of the attempted assassination of Marley, won the 2015 Man Booker Prize at a ceremony in London.