Bob Marley Overview

When Bob Marley decided to get up and stand up, championing love and unity from the pulpit of a tumultuous Jamaica, he probably never imagined his rude-boy image and Trenchtown tunes would become festive anthems for suburban American youth some 20... [more]

When Bob Marley decided to get up and stand up, championing love and unity from the pulpit of a tumultuous Jamaica, he probably never imagined his rude-boy image and Trenchtown tunes would become festive anthems for suburban American youth some 20 years later. Marley, Peter Tosh, and Bunny Wailer joined hands in the mid-1960s and formed the Wailin' Wailers, a group that transformed the ghetto experience of Kingston into a musical celebration of Rastafarian identity. The Wailers recorded two albums, "Catch A Fire" and "Burnin," which gave the Jamaican sound a wider audience. However, the true reggae revolution did not occur until the 1970s when Tosh and Wailer left to pursue solo careers, and Marley continued under the moniker Bob Marley and the Wailers. The time was ripe for Bob Marley. As rock 'n' roll became less radical and more mainstream, the Anglo world began to crave a new revolutionary voice. It found that voice in the dreadlocked Marley, preacher of social unity and racial equality. After the release of his commercial hit "Natty Dread," Marley used his power to try to restore peace to civil-war-torn Jamaica. In 1978, during the "One Love" concert, Marley brought two opposing Jamaican leaders onstage and joined their hands. Although Bob Marley survived an assassination attempt, he was not immortal. In 1981, he succumbed to cancer, leaving behind an epic legacy of love, unity, and reggae music. [show less]