Reggae music is loved all
over the world and it is for this reason I wish to pay my tributes to one
founding father of this genre of music.
Bob
Marley:
Bob Marley was born Robert
Nester Marley on February 6, 1945 to 50-year old white quartermaster Captain
Norval Marley of the British West Indian Regiment and 18-year old black Jamaican
woman, Cedella Malcolm. His early life was spent in rural community of Nine
Miles, nestled in the mountainous terrain of the parish of St.Ann. Fast forward
to the late 1950s, Bob barely into his teens; left St.Ann and returned to
Jamaica’s Capital Kingston.
He eventually settled in the western Kingston
vicinity of Trench Town, so named because it was built over a sewage trench.
The town was made up of a low-income community comprised of
squatter-settlements and government yards developments that housed a minimum of
four families. Bob quickly learned to defend himself from the Town’s rude boys
and bad men earning himself the respectful nickname Tuff Gong for his formidable street-fighting skills.
Despite the poverty, despair
and various social ills in Trench Town, Bob Marley’s abundant musical talents
were nurtured there as the community was also culturally rich. The town would
go ahead and be a source of a lifelong inspiration for Bob which he
immortalized in his songs “No Woman No Cry” (1974), “Trench Town Rock” (1975)
and “Trench Town” (Released posthumously in 1983). Since his passing on May 11,
1981, Bob Marley’s Legend grows larger each day evidenced by his ever
increasing list of accomplishments attributable to his music. Through music he
identified oppressors and agitated for social change while simultaneously
allowing listeners to forget their troubles and dance.
Bob Marley was posthumously
inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994; in December 1999, his
1977 album "Exodus" was named Album of the Century by Time Magazine
and his song "One Love" was designated Song of the Millennium by the
BBC. Since its release in 1984, Marley's "Legend" compilation has
annually sold over 250,000 copies according to Nielsen Sound Scan, and it is
only the 17th album to exceed sales of 10 million copies since SoundScan began
its tabulations in 1991. (Source; http://www.bobmarley.com/life_and_legacy.php).
Bob Marley's music was never
recognized with a Grammy nomination but in 2001 he was bestowed The Grammy
Lifetime Achievement Award, an honor given by the Recording Academy to
"performers who during their lifetimes, have made creative contributions
of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording." That same
year, a feature length documentary about Bob Marley's life, Rebel Music,
directed by Jeremy Marre, was nominated for a Grammy for Best Long Form Music
Video documentary. In 2001 Bob Marley was accorded the 2171st star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame by the Hollywood Historic Trust and the Hollywood
Chamber of Commerce, in Hollywood, California. As a recipient of this
distinction, Bob Marley joined musical legends including Carlos Santana, Stevie
Wonder and The Temptations. (Source; http://www.bobmarley.com/life_and_legacy.php).
My favorite demonstration of
just the sort of man he was is during the Liberation celebrations of Zimbabwe.
The scenario was as follows; On April 17, 1980 when the former British colony
of Rhodesia was liberated and officially renamed Zimbabwe and the Union Jack
replaced with the red, gold, green and black Zimbabwean flag, it is said that
the first words officially spoken in the new nation were "ladies and gentlemen,
Bob Marley and the Wailers". For the Zimbabwean freedom fighters that
listened to Bob Marley, inspiration and strength were drawn from his empowering
lyrics. Marley penned a tribute to their efforts, "Zimbabwe", which
was included on the most overtly political album of his career, 1979's
"Survival" and he was invited to headline their official liberation
celebrations. Zimbabwean police used tear gas to control the crowds that
stampeded through the gates of Harare's Rufaro Stadium to get a glimpse of Marley
onstage. As several members of Marley's entourage fled for cover, he returned
to the stage to perform "Zimbabwe", his words resounding with a
greater urgency amidst the ensuing chaos: "to divide and rule could only
tear us apart, in everyman chest, there beats a heart/so soon we'll find out
who is the real revolutionaries and I don't want my people to be tricked by
mercenaries." "There was smoke everywhere, our eyes filled with tears
so we ran off," recalls Marcia Griffiths, who sang backup for Marley,
alongside Rita Marley and Judy Mowatt, as the I-Threes. "When Bob saw us
the next day he smiled and said now we know who the real revolutionaries are."
(Source; http://www.bobmarley.com/life_and_legacy_legacy.php).
Bob Marley will forever
remain a source of entertainment, encouragement and inspiration for many people
all around the world. Perhaps his mother sums it all up perfectly:-
"He made his reggae music to uplift us, inform, entertain,
inspire, and make change in the world. He's a musician, a poet and songwriter,
a philosopher, a soldier, an activist and a leader." - Cedella Marley
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