BoB Marley

148 Pages·2007·0.71 MB·English

BoB Marley

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BoB Marley

a Biography

David V. Moskowitz

greenwood biographies

GreenwooD Press
westPort, connecticut • lonDon

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Moskowtz, Davd V. (Davd Vlado), 1969 –
Bob Marley : a bography / Davd V. Moskowtz.
p. cm. — (Greenwood bographes, ISSN 1540-4900)
Dscography: p.
Includes bblographcal references and ndex.
ISBN-13: 978–0–313–33879–3 (alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 0–313–33879–5 (alk. paper)
1. Marley, Bob. 2. Reggae muscans —Jamaca—Bography. I. Ttle.
ML420.M3313M66 2007
782.421646092—dc22
[B] 2007018313

Brtsh Lbrary Catalogung n Publcaton Data s avalable.

Copyrght © 2007 by Davd V. Moskowtz

All rghts reserved. No porton of ths book may be
reproduced, by any process or technque, wthout
the express wrtten consent of the publsher.

Lbrary of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2007018313
ISBN-13: 978 –0–313–33879–3
ISBN-10: 0–313–33879–5
ISSN: 1540–4900

Frst publshed n 2007

Greenwood Press, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881
An mprnt of Greenwood Publshng Group, Inc.
www.greenwood.com

Prnted n the Unted States of Amerca

The paper used n ths book comples wth the
Permanent Paper Standard ssued by the Natonal
Informaton Standards Organzaton (Z39.48–1984).

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

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For Jack, welcome to the world

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Contents

Series Foreword
x

Acknowledgments
x

Timeline: Events in the Life of Bob Marley
x

Chapter 1 Country Boy to Ghetto Youth
1

Chapter 2 Out of the Ghetto, nto the Lmelght
11

Chapter 3 From Top of the Rock to Top of the World
29

Chapter 4 Reggae Internatonal
51

Chapter 5 Home to Mount Zon
67

Chapter 6 The Legacy and the Legend
77

Chapter 7 The Marley Famly
85

Selected Discography
103

Bibliography
113

Index
119

Photo essay follows page 66

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series Foreword

In response to hgh school and publc lbrary needs, Greenwood devel-
oped ths dstngushed seres of full-length bographes specfcally for
student use. Prepared by feld experts and professonals, these engagng
bographes are talored for hgh school students who need challengng
yet accessble bographes. Ideal for secondary school assgnments, the
length, format and subject areas are desgned to meet educators’ requre-
ments and students’ nterests.
Greenwood offers an extensve selecton of bographes spannng
all currculum related subject areas ncludng socal studes, the sc-
ences, lterature and the arts, hstory and poltcs, as well as popular
culture, coverng publc fgures and famous personaltes from all tme
perods and backgrounds, both hstorc and contemporary, who have
made an mpact on Amercan and/or world culture. Greenwood b-
ographes were chosen based on comprehensve feedback from l-
brarans and educators. Consderaton was gven to both currculum
relevance and nherent nterest. The result s an ntrgung mx of the
well known and the unexpected, the sants and snners from long-ago
hstory and contemporary pop culture. Readers wll fnd a wde array of
subject choces from fascnatng crme fgures lke Al Capone to nspr-
ng poneers lke Margaret Mead, from the greatest mnds of our tme
lke Stephen Hawkng to the most amazng success stores of our day
lke J. K. Rowlng.
Whle the emphass s on fact, not glorfcaton, the books are meant
to be fun to read. Each volume provdes n-depth nformaton about the
subject’s lfe from brth through chldhood, the teen years, and adulthood.

x

A thorough account relates famly background and educaton, traces
personal and professonal nfluences, and explores struggles, accomplsh-
ments, and contrbutons. A tmelne hghlghts the most sgnfcant lfe
events aganst a hstorcal perspectve. Bblographes supplement the
reference value of each volume.

x
SERIES FOREWORD

aCknowledgMents

My sncerest thanks go to my wfe, Jen, and our chldren Heather, Lucas,
Kate, and Jack. Wthout ther boundless patence there would never be
enough tme for me to work on projects such as ths. Thanks also go to
Dr. Walter Clark whose gudance and tutelage have helped me to pursue
the research that nterests me most. Further thanks to Photofest Inc. for
ther knd permsson to use the mages contaned n ths book.

x

x

tiMeline: events in the liFe
oF BoB Marley

1945
Nesta Robert Marley, the only chld of Cedella Mal-
colm and Captan Norval Snclar Marley, was born at
2:30 p.m. on February 6, 1945. The brth took place on
Cedella’s father’s (Omerah Malcolm’s) farm n Nne
Mle, St. Ann’s Parsh, Jamaca. Bob stayed on ths fam-
ly farm untl he was sx.

1951
Bob went to lve wth hs father n Kngston, Jamaca.
When Cedella arrved the followng year to look n on
Bob, she dscovered that he had not been lvng wth
hs father but had nstead been stayng wth an elderly
woman named Mrs. Grey.

1952
Once mother and son were reunted, they returned to-
gether to ther rural Jamacan home n St. Ann.

1955
Bob learned that hs father had ded, hs mother moved
to Kngston (wthout hm) to earn a better lvng.

1956
Bob was moved from hs grandfather’s farm to lve wth
hs mother’s sster, for whom he tended a herd of goats.

1957
Bob was reunted wth hs mother when he moved to
Kngston to jon her. Ths otherwse happy reunon was
marred by the fact that they now lved n Kngston’s
west-sde ghetto known as Trench Town.

1959
After attendng several area schools, ncludng Ebenezer,
Wesley, and St. Aloysus, Bob ended hs formal educa-
ton when he qut school. He spent hs tme playng

x

soccer, hangng out wth other ghetto youth, and gradu-
ally pckng up musc.

1960
Together wth hs closest frend Bunny, born Nevlle
Lvngston, Bob began to cultvate hs muscal talents.
He and Bunny bult rudmentary nstruments and to-
gether they practced sngng by mtatng Fats Domno,
Lous Jordan, and the harmones of Curts Mayfeld’s Im-
pressons. Also durng ths year, Bob and Bunny began
studyng sngng wth the Jamacan recordng artst Joe
Hggs. Hggs not only provded sngng lessons, but he
added Peter Tosh (born MacIntosh) to the group.

1962
At age 16, Bob was taken to sng for producer Lesle
Kong, who ssued hs frst recordngs, “Judge Not,” “One
Cup of Coffee,” and “Terror,” on the Beverley’s mprnt.

1963
Bob, Peter, and Bunny recorded for Clement “Coxsone”
Dodd, who was one of the three bggest producers of
Jamacan popular musc on the sland. Under the name
The Walng Walers, the group released the sngle
“Smmer Down,” whch brought them consderable suc-
cess n Jamaca.

1965
The Walng Walers contnued to have success wth
a seres of sold-sellng sngles. By the end of the year,
t was clear that Bob was the natural front man for the
group. Ths led to frcton that ultmately broke up the
orgnal three-member group. Early n the year, Bob
met Rta Anderson (Alpharta Constanta Anderson),
whom he soon marred.

1966
Together, Bob and Rta had three chldren, although
Bob had many other chldren outsde hs relatonshp
wth Rta. Later n ths year, Bob moved to Wlmng-
ton, Delaware. Bob remaned n Wlmngton for seven
months, durng whch tme he worked a varety of odd
jobs tryng to make enough money to launch hs own
Jamaca-based record company. Whle n Wlmng-
ton, Bob stayed wth hs mother, who had prevously
relocated to the Unted States.

1969
Bob, Peter, and Bunny (under the name of the Walers)
recorded a seres of successful sngles for Johnny Nash
and Danny Sms’s JAD label. In the mddle of the year,
Bob was agan n Delaware makng and savng money to
open hs own studo n Jamaca.

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TIMELINE

1970
The Walers begn recordng a seres of now classc
sngles for producer Lee “Scratch” Perry n what would
be a legendary lneup: Bob Marley, Bunny Waler, Peter
Tosh, and the Barrett Brothers (Aston and Carlton) as
the rhythm secton.

1971
Bob, Peter, and Bunny, along wth ther rhythm secton
Aston and Carlton Barrett, were n London workng for
Nash and Sms on a record deal for CBS records. At the
end of the year, the group was abandoned n London
wth no means to return to Jamaca. Bob made contact
wth Island Records’ head, Chrstopher Blackwell, who
fronted hm the money to get the band back to Jamaca
and make an album. Ths assocaton quckly made Is-
land Records the most mportant reggae musc label.

1972
The Walers released Catch a Fire, whch was the frst
album-length recordng of reggae musc. The album had
modest success and a degree of crossover appeal due to
the rock and roll style gutar and keyboard overdubs that
Blackwell added to the orgnal tracks. In January 1973,
the album was released n the Unted States and forever
changed the way that reggae musc was packaged and
marketed. Catch a Fire was soon unversally recognzed
as the frst genune reggae album n hstory.

1973
The Walers launched ther frst offcal tour, whch
ncluded televson appearances on the Old Grey Whistle
Test and Top Gear. Also n ths year, the Walers released
ther second record on the Island label, Burnin’.

1974
The Walers reached nternatonal exposure due to Erc
Clapton’s cover of the Walers song “I Shot the Sherff.”
The song went to number one and sparked an enormous
amount of nterest n the reggae style. Whle they were
experencng the most success they had yet had, the
orgnal three-member Walers core dsbanded. Bob
contnued to use the Walers name for the rest of hs
lfe. Wthout Peter and Bunny, Bob went on to release
the Natty Dread album at the end of the year.

1975
In January, the orgnal Walers offcally dsbanded. The
Natty Dread album was released nternatonally n Feb-
ruary. Much of the summer and fall of the year was taken
up by an nternatonal tour n support of the new album.
Several shows were recorded n England and made nto

TIMELINE
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