Bob Marley

About Bob Marley

The legendary reggae icon Bob Marley is credited with single-handedly popularizing the genre outside the small island of Jamaica. Marley was also a faithful believer in the Rastafarian religion, which was just taking off among the working class poor and rural peasants in Jamaica at the time of Marley's childhood. Rastafarianism looks to the individual, preaching that everyone must find and follow their own path and reject Babylon, which is the modern world that subjugates personal freedoms. Bob Marley was a mulatto, born of a white plantation owner father and a much younger black Jamaican mother. The short-statured Marley often had to defend himself in school, and earned the name Tuff Gong. His dueling heritages and deep religious convictions give his timeless music an intensity not found in the pop dancehall music of his Jamaican contemporaries. Marley developed an interest in music at the age of 14, when he was mentored by a local Rastafarian musician named Joe Higgs. While jamming with Higgs, Marley met future collaborator Peter Tosh. In 1962, he cut his first singles "Judge Not" and "One Cup of Coffee." He joined up with Bunny Wailer and Peter Tosh to form the first-wave ska trio The Wailers (originally The Wailing Rudeboys) in 1963, and the group quickly became one of the biggest bands in Jamaica with singles like "Soul Rebel" and "400 Years." The Wailers released their stone-cold classic album Burnin' in 1974, which included the hits "I Shot the Sheriff" (later covered by Eric Clapton) and "Get Up, Stand Up." Marley's 1974 groove-heavy solo album Natty Dread was his first taste of mainstream international success and the pulsing single "No Woman, No Cry" caught the attention of the world. After his death from cancer, a best-of collection entitled Legend was released. Legend collects all Bob Marley's best material and it has since become a must-have classic for any music fan.