Bob Marley was born on February 6, 1949 in St. Ann, Jamaica. He was the son of a Jamaican woman Cedalla Booker and English man Captain Norval Marley. Bobs father was never really around due to his military job but did provide his mother with financial support. In the late 50’s Cedalla took Marley and his siblings out into the city of Trench Town in search of a better life. This move really helped out Marley in his music career do to the exposure of music in the city that he would’ve not received in the small town of St. Ann.
Marley started to pursue a music career around the age of fourteen by dropping out of school. This was a hard career to pursue because around the time there were very many young men following the same dream. His fist attempt was not very successful his songs “Judge Not” and “One more cup of Coffee” didn’t do well with the public but that didn’t stop him from pursuing his dream. A year later n 1963 he joined a band made up of six people himself, Peter Tosh, Junior Braithwaite, Cherry Smith, Beverly kelso and his good friend Bunny wailer. The group named themselves The Teenagers there music genre was Ska and Rock Steady. There name went through several name changes until they finally decided to stick to The Wailers name that stuck with them until the end of their music carrier. In 1966 Junior Braithwaite, Beverly kelso, Cherry Smith decide to leave the group. This was also the year Marley married his wife Rita Anderson and moved near his mother in Wilmington Delaware for a short time. When he returned to Jamaica he became a Rastafarian and that’s when he began to grow his ever so famous dread locks. This is also the time The Wailers teamed up with the group The Up setters. Though their alliance lasted only about a year many people believe this is when the best music that came from either of these groups. In 1973 the Wailers released there first album called Catch a Fire. This album was released world wide and sold very well. That same year they released their second album Burnin which included the really popular songs I Shot the Sheriff and Get Up Stand up. These two albums allowed The Wailers to gain more recognition world wide. Unfortunately The Wailers broke up in 1974 each of the three went their own way musically.
After their break up Marley continued his music carrier he created a band with him as the lead singer and ten others to do a key board, guitar, drums, bass. Part of what made up the ten band members was his wife Rita that did the backing vocals with another two Judy and Marcia. The bands name was Bob Marley and the Wailers. In 1975 the band had their fist international breakthrough outside of Jamaica with No Woman No Cry. Following the success came their album Rastaman Vibrations. The release of this album caught the attention of America. This album was released in 1976 and was on the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks.
In the mist of his fame and just a few days before a concert (Smile Jamaica) Bob, Rita, and manager Michel were wounded by gunmen inside of Bobs home. Marleys wife Rita and manager Michel were badly injuredMarley just had minor wounds to the chest and arm. Despite his wounds and the condition of his wife and his managerMarley still performed as scheduled. The crime was thought to come from a rival political group that was against Marley’s Rastafarian beliefs.
Towards the end of 1976 Marley left Jamaica to go to England where he did two years of self imposed exile. Within these two year he came out with two albums Exodus and Kaya. These albums did really well in England. So well that Exodus stayed On the British album chart for 56 consecutive weeks. The album Exodus featured the songs One Love, Jammin, and Exodus. In 1978 he returned back to Jamaica to perform at another political concert The One Love Peace Concert. It was at this concert towards the end of Marley’s Performance that Edward seaga (leader of opposing Jamaica labor party) and Michel Manley (leader of then ruling people’s national party) shook hands to show signs of peace. This was all done to Marley’s request.
It was July 1977 when Marley was diagnosed with acral lentiginous melanoma which is a form of malignant melanoma. Despite his illness he continued recording and performing. In the spring of 1980 he released the album Uprising. Following the album was a long concert tour that took place in Europe in 1980. On of the concert was played in front of a hundred thousand people in Milan. Soon after his tour he came to America where he did two performances at Madison Square Garden. More performances were scheduled to take place but Marley’s health got worse and had to be hospitalized. Once in the hospital he received the worst news possible. The cancer had spread throughout his body. He received treatment in the Bavarian clinic of Josef Issels. After eight months of treatment and no improvement he decided to stop and return to Jamaica. While on his flight his condition worsened. They ended up stopping in Miami, Florida where he was taken to Cedars of Lebanon Hospital for immediate care. On the morning of May 11, 1981 Marley was pronounced dead. The cause was the spread of melanoma to his lungs and brain. On May 21, 1981 Marley received a funeral with elements from both Ethiopian Orthodoxy and Rastafarian tradition.
Though Bob Marley’s body now rests in peace the world continues to recognize his incredible talent. In 1994 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In1999 Time Magazines chose his album Exodus as best album of the 20th century. In 2002 he was awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Most recently in 2006 the city of New York changed a portion of Church Ave. into Bob Marley Boulevard. Its hard to think of another musician that can continue obtaining so much recognition and love from fans. Some of these fans got to experience his power as a performer and others simply get inspiration through his music and life witch sent a wonderful message of peace and love.
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