Last Sunday saw the 60th anniversary of the birth of the legendary Bob Marley. Appropriately, thousands of Rastafarians, bedecked in red, gold and green, gathered in Meskal square, Addis Abbaba in Ethiopia, to salute their spiritual fellow traveller and great inspiration.
They formed part of a vast crowd that had assembled to commemorate the life and philosophy of the towering figure that was Bob Marley, who died of cancer, aged 36, in 1981. A musical tribute, in the form of a free concert, was paid by the likes of Youssou N’Dour, Baaba Maal and Angelique Kidjo.
There’s no question that Marley’s music captured the world’s imagination and was instrumental in establishing reggae as the pre-eminent world-music from the 1970s to the late 80s. He came to global prominence with his group The Wailers – who initially formed in 1963, securing quick credibility in Jamaica with a number of hits, produced under the guidance of Coxone Dodd.
International recognition was slower in coming – Marley even had a spell working on a car assembly line in the USA in 1969 – and only materialised once a deal with Island Records had been signed and the collaboration with producer Lee Perry established the sound that came to define Bob Marley and the Wailers to millions of fans around the planet. With the backing vocals of the I-Threes (including Bob’s wife Rita) and a new line-up in 1974, the Marley bandwagon began to roll in earnest.
1977 and 78 marked the release of 2 seminal albums: Exodus and Kaya – which ,in addition to the critical acclaim they received, were massively successful in commercial terms, too. Island Records calculated that, in 1981, the extent of Marley’s global sales stood at £100 million.
Record sales have continued apace since his death. In fact, the 1984 compilation: Legend has consistently topped album charts around the world. There’s a compelling view amongst critics that this appeal is based on the unshakable loyalty of his fan base rather than a significant growth in younger generation converts to Marley’s brand of reggae – which is now seen, very much, as ‘old school’ and the less vibrant and engaging upcountry cousin to the much sharper modern dancehall music – whose influences are drawn from hip-hop, funk and R&B and melded into a powerful, street, hard-hitting, in-yer-boat, urban fusion.
Personally, I happen to think that the music does stand the test of time. Some of the landmarks in the Marley catalogue are:
• Catch a Fire, featuring Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer, and released in 1972. It was the first reggae album to be distributed internationally.
• Burnin’, 1973, containing the gems that are: ‘I Shot the Sheriff’ and ‘Get Up Stand Up’.
• Rastaman Vibration, 1976. It stormed into the US charts and articulated many of Marley’s core beliefs – take ‘War’, for example, with the lyrics coming from one of Haile Selassie’s speeches.
• Survival, 1979, with it’s pan-African message of solidarity – promoted by such songs as: ‘Africa Unite’ and ‘Zimbabwe’.
About the Author
Chris Meehan is the features editor
at www.Just-Jammin.com. As well as a freelance writer on many subjects