Bob Marley

Bob Marley was born on February 6, 1945, in Nine Miles, Saint Ann, Jamaica, to Norval
Marley and Cedella Booker. His father was a Jamaican of English descent. His mother was
a black teenager. The couple planned to get married but Norval left Kingston before this
could
happen.
Norval
died
in
1955,
seeing
his
son
only
once.
Bob Marley started his career with the Wailers, a group he formed with Peter Tosh and
Bunny Livingston in 1963. Marley married Rita Marley in February 1966, and it was she
who introduced him to Rastafarianism. By 1969 Bob, Tosh and Livingston had fully
embraced Rastafarianism, which greatly influence Marley's music in particular and on
reggae music in general. The Wailers collaborated with Lee Scratch Perry, resulting in
some of the Wailers' finest tracks like "Soul Rebel", "Duppy Conquerer", "400 Years" and
"Small Axe." This collaboration ended bitterly when the Wailers found that Perry, thinking
the records were his, sold them in England without their consent. However, this brought
the Wailers' music to the attention of Chris Blackwell, the owner of Island Records.
Blackwell immediately signed the Wailers and produced their first album, "Catch a Fire".
This was followed by "Burnin'", featuring tracks as "Get Up Stand Up" and "I Shot the
Sheriff." Eric Clapton's cover of that song reached #1 in the US. In 1974 Tosh and
Livingston left the Wailers to start solo careers. Marley later formed the band "Bob Marley
and the Wailers", with his wife Rita as one of three backup singers called the I-Trees. This
period saw the release of some groundbreaking albums, such as "Natty Dread",
"Rastaman
Vibration".
In 1976, during a period of spiraling political violence in Jamaica, an attempt was made
on Marley's life. Marley left for England, where he lived in self-exile for two years. In
England "Exodus" was produced, and it remained on the British charts for 56 straight
weeks. This was followed by another successful album, "Kaya." These successes
introduced reggae music to the western world for the first time, and established the
beginning
of
Marley's
international
status.
In 1977 Marley consulted with a doctor when a wound in his big toe would not heal. More
tests revealed malignant melanoma. He refused to have his toe amputated as his doctors
recommended, claiming it contradicted his Rastafarian beliefs. Others, however, claim
that the main reason behind his refusal was the possible negative impact on his dancing
skills. The cancer was kept secret from the general public while Bob continued working.