Photo: Google Image
Levon Campbell III
Staff Writer
Bob Marley is considered a revolutionary figure in reggae music and the black community. From his iconic anthem “No Woman, No Cry” to his iconic anti-war song “Buffalo Soldier,” Marley’s music has influenced cultures and social movements around the globe.
Nesta Robert Marley was born on February 6, 1945, in a rural Jamaican parish. He was the son of a white Jamaican Marine officer and an 18-year-old back Jamaican girl. After moving to Trench Town, Marley met and befriended other reggae musicians Neville “Bunny” Wailer and Peter McIntosh, who later became known as Bunny Wailer and Peter Tosh, respectively. Marley dropped out of school at the age of 14 to pursue a full-time music career.
Marley, along with Tosh and Wailer, found success as a trio known as The Wailers. They made a huge impact in the reggae scene with their albums “Catch a Fire “in 1972 and “Burnin’” in 1973. Their music earned them international recognition thanks to the influence of Island Records and Eric Clapton’s cover of “I Shot The Sheriff.”
The group’s popularity in Jamaica drew many fans, but they struggled to achieve financial success. Some members of the group eventually left the group and Marley moved to the United States where his mother was living. The remaining members drifted apart for some time, but Marley eventually returned to Jamaica and reunited with Wailer and Tosh to reform the group as a trio, known as The Wailers.
According to www.history.com, when he returned to Jamaica, Marley was exploring his spiritual side and developing a growing interest in the Rastafarian movement. The Rastafarian movement blends political and religious aspects and was developed in Jamaica in the 1930s. It draws from many sources, including Jamaican nationalist Marcus Garvey, the Bible’s Old Testament, and African heritage and culture.
Marijuana, known as the “holy herb,” is considered sacred by Rastafarians because it can produce heightened spiritual states. Marley smoked marijuana frequently throughout his life due to his deep interest in the Rastafarian religion and he was an advocate for its legalization.
Around the mid-1960s, during the hiatus of The Wailers, Marley married Alfarita “Rita” Anderson. Anderson, who originally hailed from Cuba but moved to Jamaica as a teen, sang in church growing up and was part of the vocal group The Soulettes.
She met Marley when they were both working together and collaborated professionally with each other while she was with the I-Threes.
The pair shared five children and remained married until Marley died in 1981, despite his extramarital affairs.
As they say you grunt and bear [the infidelity, “that’s what I had to do because I was so in love with this man and love grew stronger, it’s not that it grew weaker,” Anderson told BBC Caribbean.com in 2004.
After rising to stardom in his native Jamaica, Marley quickly took the international music scene by storm. He made the American charts with the 1976 album “Rastaman Vibration”.
He made his devotion to his faith and interest in political change clear with “War,” a song based on a Haile Selassie speech. The song was a battle cry for freedom from oppression. It discussed creating a new Africa free of racial hierarchies enforced by colonial rule.
Jeremiah Hartman, a junior journalism and media studies major from Indianapolis, Ind., stated that Marley’s music always tried to give out the message of showing love and peace.
“I think the most important message in his music was for everyone to show love, just be peaceful, and not to judge people and he really just wanted to push people to enjoy life,” Hartman stated.
Julius Render, a sophomore art and studio major from Macon, Ga., was inspired by Marley’s music.
“His music was about spreading peace, love, and gave off black inspiration,” said Render.
Marley will forever be remembered as a legendary reggae music icon. Billboard reported in 2015 that he had sold over 75 million records, including copies of his albums released after his death. The greatest hits collection “Legends”, released in 2007, went double platinum in the U.S. Marley died from melanoma on May 11, 1981, at the age of only 36 years.
