Bob Marley: Musician (Black Americans of Achievement) PDF
Preview Bob Marley: Musician (Black Americans of Achievement)
Black Americans of Achievement L E G A C Y E D I T I O N Bob Marley M U S I C I A N Black Americans of Achievement L E G A C Y E D I T I O N Muhammad Ali Maya Angelou Josephine Baker Johnnie Cochran Frederick Douglass W.E.B. Du Bois Marcus Garvey Savion Glover Alex Haley Jimi Hendrix Langston Hughes Jesse Jackson Scott Joplin Coretta Scott King Martin Luther King, Jr. Malcolm X Bob Marley Thurgood Marshall Jesse Owens Rosa Parks Colin Powell Chris Rock Sojourner Truth Harriet Tubman Nat Turner Booker T. Washington Oprah Winfrey Black Americans of Achievement L E G A C Y E D I T I O N Bob Marley M U S I C I A N Sherry Beck Paprocki Bob Marley Copyright © 2006 by Infobase Publishing All rights reserved.No part ofthis book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means,electronic or mechanical,including photocopying,recording,or by any infor- mation storage or retrieval systems,without permission in writing from the publisher.For information,contact: Chelsea House An imprint ofInfobase Publishing 132 West 31st Street NewYork NY 10001 ISBN-10:0-7910-9213-5 ISBN-13:978-0-7910-9213-2 Library ofCongress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Paprocki,Sherry. Bob Marley / Sherry Paprocki. p.cm.— (BlackAmericans ofachievement,legacy edition) Includes bibliographical references (p.) and index. ISBN 0-7910-9213-5 (hardcover) 1.Marley,Bob.2.Reggae musicians—Jamaica—Biography.I.Title.II.Series. ML420.M3313P37 2006 782.421646092—dc22 2006004578 Chelsea House books are available at special discounts when purchased in bulk quantities for businesses,associations,institutions,or sales promotions. Please call our Special Sales Department in NewYork at (212) 967-8800 or (800) 322-8755. You can find Chelsea House on the World WideWeb at http://www.chelseahouse.com Series and cover design by Keith Trego,Takeshi Takahashi Printed in the United States ofAmerica Bang Hermitage 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 This book is printed on acid-free paper. All links and Web addresses were checked and verified to be correct at the time of publication.Because ofthe dynamic nature ofthe Web,some addresses and links may havechanged since publication and may no longer be valid. Contents 1 Celebrating a Musical Legend 1 2 The Garden Parish 8 3 Surviving in Trench Town 25 4 Too Hot 3 7 5 The Rasta Influence 49 6 Free to Sing 65 7 Dancing in the Spirit 8 3 8 The Legend Lives On 95 Appendix: Selected Discogra p h y 101 C h ro n o l o g y 102 Further Re a d i n g 10 4 I n d e x 106 About the Author 111 1 Celebrating a Musical Legend Thousands of people crowded into Meskal Square in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to celebrate what would have been the sixti- eth birthday of the legendary reggae singer Bob Marley. The memory of Marley was powerful, and the music promised to be good. The Africa Unite concert would feature several of Marley’s adult children singing their own versions of the music their much-beloved father made popular. It was a sunny Sunday,February 6,2005.The festive setting brought thousands ofpeople together.Members ofthe Marley family flew in from Jamaica and the United States.Fans gath- ered from far-offplaces like Israel,Spain,South America,Eng- land,and even Japan. For months, the anticipation of this event had built. Red, gold, and green posters wrapped the lampposts in the city of Addis Ababa. Taxi drivers handed out advertisements for the big event.Even Coca-Cola was a sponsor,flying a banner that 1 2 BOB MARLEY Thousands of fans gathered on February 6, 2005, in Meskal Square (above) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for a concert to commemorate what would have been the sixtieth birthday of reggae musician Bob Marley. The event was billed as the largest concert in Ethiopia. said “Celebrating African Unity.”A giant,inflatable Coke bot- tle stood nearby. The Marley family was recognizing its most famous member with a month-long celebration that involved films,a photo exhi- bition of Marley portraits, ceremonial tree plantings, soccer games,and much more.Some events were charitable,with the goal of raising funds for the victims of a tsunami on December 26,2004,that had wrought devastation across the Indian Ocean, from Indonesia to the Somali coastline. Other events involved discussions about the future of Africa,held at a nearby United Nations building.A fancy party was given at a local hotel to raise money for an urban youth center. Bob Marley’s wife, Rita, buzzed about the city for weeks in flowing African dresses as she attended the many special events and ceremonies. Celebrating a Musical Legend 3 On the Sunday ofthe free Africa Unite concert,people ofall ages and backgrounds gathered in the hot sun.Some had been in town for days,participating in the discussions,exhibits,and other events. Others were Ethiopians who came to hear the free music.Some wore T-shirts imprinted with photos oftheir idol, his trademark long dreadlocks providing an unmistak- able image. Others wore jewelry fashioned in the green, gold, and red colors of the Ethiopian flag. Still others wore the flag itself, draped around their shoulders. Ethiopian government officials arrived in limousines, while exiled Ethiopian royalty showed up a bit more quietly. Backstage, Bob Marley’s long- time music producer, Chris Blackwell of Island Records, peered out at the crowd in amazement. THE RASTA PROPHET Many of the fans who gathered on this day to celebrate Mar- ley’s birthday believed that the musician was also a prophet,a symbol ofthe Rastafarians’Jah,the name that Rastafarians use to refer to their God.The Rastas are devoted followers ofa reli- gion rooted in Ethiopia that is based on the tenets of peace, love, and unity. They honored Marley in a way that others honor and praise God in their own religions. There was no physical proof that Marley was or was not the prophet they sought.The large number of Rastafarians who turned out for the celebration,however,caused some concern to local Chris- tian sects. Local policemen closely watched the throngs of festival- goers, but the officers’ sternness did not dampen the audi- ence’s enthusiasm—everyone bounced to the beat when the reggae music began.A few of the expected musical artists did not show up,but no one seemed overly concerned.American singer Lauryn Hill,the partner ofone ofMarley’s sons,Rohan, agreed to break her musical silence and performed three new tunes. Marley’s mother, 78-year-old Cedella Booker, went onstage to read a poem she had written as a tribute to her son.
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