My Blog

Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s.

While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady. Reggae is based on a rhythmic style characterized by regular beats on the off-beat, known as the skank. Reggae is normally slower than ska, and usually has accents on the third beat in each bar.

Reggae song lyrics deal with many subjects, including religion, love, sexuality, relationships, poverty, injustice and other social and political issues.

Contents [hide] 1 Etymology 2 Precursors 3 Origins and development 3.1 1970s and 1980s 4 Musical characteristics 4.1 Drums and other percussion 4.2 Bass 4.3 Guitars 4.4 Keyboards 4.5 Horns 4.6 Vocals 4.6.1 Lyrical themes 4.6.1.1 Criticism of dancehall and ragga 5 Subgenres 5.1 Roots reggae 5.2 Dub 5.3 Rockers 5.4 Lovers rock 5.5 Newer styles and spin-offs 5.5.1 Hip hop and rap 5.5.2 Dancehall 5.5.3 Reggaeton 6 Footnotes 7 Bibliography 8 See also 9 External links

Etymology

The 1967 edition of the Dictionary of Jamaican English lists reggae as “a recently estab. sp. for rege“, as in rege-rege, a word that can mean either “rags, ragged clothing” or “a quarrel, a row”.^[1]

The word reggae as a musical term first appeared in print with the 1968 rocksteady hit “Do the Reggay” by The Maytals, but it was already being used in Kingston, Jamaica as the name of a slower dance and style of rocksteady.^[2] As Reggae artist Derrick Morgan stated:

We didn’t like the name rock steady, so I tried a different version of “Fat Man”. It changed the beat again, it used the organ to creep. Bunny Lee, the producer, liked that. He created the sound with the organ and the rhythm guitar. It sounded like ‘reggae, reggae’ and that name just took off. Bunny Lee started using the world [sic] and soon all the musicians were saying ‘reggae, reggae, reggae.^[2]
Reggae historian Steve Barrow credits Clancy Eccles with altering the Jamaican patois word streggae (”loose woman”) into reggae.^[2] However, Toots Hibbert said:

There’s a word we used to use in Jamaica called ’streggae’. If a girl is walking and the guys look at her and say ‘Man, she’s streggae’ it means she don’t dress well, she look raggedy. The girls would say that about the men too. This one morning me and my two friends were playing and I said, ‘OK man, let’s do the reggay.’ It was just something that came out of my mouth. So we just start singing ‘Do the reggay, do the reggay’ and created a beat. People tell me later that we had given the sound it’s [sic] name. Before that people had called it blue-beat and all kind of other things. Now it’s in the Guinness World of Records.^[3]Bob Marley is said to have claimed that the word reggae came from a Spanish term for “the king’s music”.^[4] The liner notes of To the King, a compilation of Christian gospel reggae, suggest that the word reggae was derived from the Latin regis meaning “to the king.”

Precursors

Music of Jamaica
Kumina - Niyabinghi - Mento - Ska - Rocksteady - Reggae - Sound systems - Lovers rock - Dub - Dancehall - Dub poetry - Toasting - Raggamuffin - Roots reggae
Anglophone Caribbean music
Anguilla - Antigua and Barbuda - Bahamas - Barbados - Bermuda - Caymans - Grenada - Jamaica - Montserrat - St. Kitts and Nevis - St. Vincent and the Grenadines - Trinidad and Tobago - Turks and Caicos - Virgin Islands
Other Caribbean music
Aruba and the Dutch Antilles - Cuba - Dominica - Dominican Republic - Haiti - Hawaii - Martinique and Guadeloupe - Puerto Rico - St. Lucia - United States - United Kingdom

Although strongly influenced by both traditional African and Caribbean music, as well as by American rhythm and blues, reggae owes its direct origins to the progressive development of ska and rocksteady in 1960s Jamaica.

Ska music first arose in the studios of Jamaica over the years 1959 and 1961, itself a development of the earlier mento genre.^[2] Ska is characterized by a walking bass line, accentuated guitar or piano rhythms on the offbeat, and sometimes jazz-like horn riffs. Aside from its massive popularity amidst the Jamaican rude boy fashion, it had gained a large following among mods in Britain by 1964. According to Barrow, rude boys began deliberately playing their ska records at half speed, preferring to dance slower as part of their tough image.^[2]

By the mid-1960s, many musicians had begun playing the tempo of ska slower, while emphasizing the walking bass and offbeats. The slower sound was named rocksteady, after a single by Alton Ellis. This phase of Jamaican music lasted only until 1968, when musicians began to slow the tempo of the music again, and added yet more effects. This led to the creation of reggae.

Origins and development

The shift from rocksteady to reggae was illustrated by the organ shuffle pioneered by Bunny Lee, and featured in the transitional singles “Say What You’re Saying” (1967) by Clancy Eccles, and “People Funny Boy” (1968) by Lee “Scratch” Perry.^[5]The Pioneers‘ 1967 track “Long Shot Bus’ Me Bet” has been identified as the earliest recorded example of the new rhythm sound that would soon become known as reggae.^[6]

Early 1968 was when the first bona fide reggae records came into being: “Nanny Goat” by Larry Marshall and “No More Heartaches” by The Beltones. Music historian Piero Scaruffi credits American artist Johnny Nash’s 1968 hit “Hold Me Tight” with first putting reggae on the American listener charts.^[7]

The Wailers, a band that was started by Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, and Bunny Wailer in 1963, are generally agreed to be the most easily recognised group worldwide that made the transition through all three stages — from ska hits like “Simmer Down“, through slower rocksteady; and they are also among the significant pioneers who can be called the roots of reggae — along with Prince Buster, Desmond Dekker, Jackie Mittoo and several others.

Some of the many notable Jamaican producers who were highly influential in the development of ska into rocksteady and reggae in the 1960s include Coxsone Dodd, Lee “Scratch” Perry, Leslie Kong, Duke Reid, Joe Gibbs and King Tubby. Another early producer was Chris Blackwell, who founded Island Records in Jamaica in 1960, then relocated to England in 1962, where he continued to promote Jamaican music. He formed a partnership with Trojan Records, founded by Lee Gopthal in 1968. Trojan released recordings by reggae artists in the UK until 1974, when Saga bought the label.

1970s and 1980s

The 1972 film The Harder They Come, starring Jimmy Cliff, generated considerable interest and popularity for reggae music in the United States, and Eric Clapton’s 1974 cover of the Bob Marley song “I Shot the Sheriff” helped bring reggae into the mainstream.^[2] By the mid 1970s, reggae was getting radio play in the UK on John Peel’s radio show, and John continued to play more reggae throughout his career. What is called the first “Golden Age of Reggae” corresponds roughly to the heyday of roots reggae.

In the second half of the 1970s, the UK punk rock scene was starting to form, and some punk DJs played reggae songs during their sets. Some punk bands, such as The Clash, The Slits, The Police, and The Ruts, incorporated reggae influences into their music. At the same time, reggae began to enjoy a revival in the UK that continued into the 1980s, exemplified by groups like Steel Pulse, Aswad, UB40, and Musical Youth. Other artists who enjoyed international appeal in the early 1980s include Third World, Black Uhuru and Sugar Minott.

The Grammy Awards introduced the Best Reggae Album category in 1985, which was won that year by Black Uhuru’s Anthem LP.

Musical characteristics

Reggae is either played in 4/4 time or swing time, because the symmetrical rhythmic pattern does not lend itself to other time signatures such as 3/4 time. Harmonically, the music is often very simple, and sometimes a whole song will have no more than one or two chords. These simple repetitious chord structures add to reggae’s sometimes hypnotic effects.

Drums and other percussion

A standard drum kit is generally used, but the snare drum is often tuned very high to give it a timbale-type sound. Some reggae drummers use an additional timbale or high-tuned snare to get this sound. Rim shots on the snare are commonly used, and tom-tom drums are often incorporated into the drumbeat itself.

Reggae drumbeats fall into three main categories: One drop, Rockers and Steppers. With the One drop, the emphasis is entirely on the third beat of the bar (usually on the snare, or as a rim shot combined with bass drum). Beat one is completely empty, which is extremely unusual in popular music. There is some controversy about whether reggae should be counted so that this beat falls on the 3, or whether it should be counted half as fast so that it falls on the 2 and 4. This article follows the convention of placing the beat on the 3. Many credit Carlton Barrett of The Wailers as the creator of this style, although it may actually have been invented by Winston Grennan. An example played by Barrett can be heard in the Bob Marley and the Wailers song “One Drop”. Barrett often used an unusual triplet cross-rhythm on the hi-hat, which can be heard on many recordings by Bob Marley and the Wailers, such as “Running Away” on the Kaya album.

An emphasis on beat three is in all reggae drumbeats, but with the Rockers (pronounced like “raucous”) beat, the emphasis is also on beat one (usually on bass drum). This beat was pioneered by the prolific innovative duo of Sly and Robbie — Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare — who later also helped create the “Rub-a-Dub” sound that greatly influenced Dancehall. An example of the Rockers beat is in “Night Nurse” by Gregory Isaacs. The Rockers beat is not always straightforward, and various syncopations are often included. An example of this is the Black Uhuru song “Sponji Reggae.”

In Steppers, the bass drum plays four solid beats to the bar, giving the beat an insistent drive. An example is “Exodus” by Bob Marley and the Wailers. Another common name for the Steppers beat is the “four on the floor”.

The Steppers beat was also adopted (at a much higher tempo) by some of the 2 Tone ska revival bands of the late 1970s and early 1980s. Examples include “Stand Down Margaret” by The Beat and “Too Much Too Young” by The Specials.

An unusual characteristic of reggae drumming is that the drum fills often do not end with a climactic cymbal. A wide range of other percussion instrumentation is used in reggae. Bongos are often used to play free, improvised patterns, with heavy use of African-style cross-rhythms. Cowbells, claves and shakers tend to have more defined roles and a set pattern.

Bass

The bass guitar often plays a very dominant role in reggae, and the drum and bass is often called the riddim. Several reggae singers have released different songs recorded over the same riddim. The central role of the bass can be particularly heard in dub music — which gives an even bigger role to the drum and bass line, reducing the vocals and other instruments to peripheral roles. The bass sound in reggae is thick and heavy, and equalized so the upper frequencies are removed and the lower frequencies emphasised. The bass line is often a simple two-bar riff that is centred around its thickest and heaviest note.

Guitars

The rhythm guitar in reggae usually plays the chords on beats two and four, a musical figure known as skank or the ‘bang’. It has a very dampened, short and scratchy chop sound, almost like a percussion instrument. Sometimes a double chop is used when the guitar still plays the off beats, but also plays the following 8th beats on the up-stroke. An example is the intro to “Stir It Up” by The Wailers.

Keyboards

From the late 1960s through to the early 1980s, a piano was generally used in reggae to double the rhythm guitar’s skank, playing the chords in a staccato style to add body, and playing occasional extra beats, runs and riffs. The piano part was widely taken over by synthesizers during the 1980s, although synthesizers have been used in a peripheral role since the 1970s to play incidental melodies and countermelodies. Larger bands may include either an additional keyboardist, to cover or replace horn and melody lines, or the main keyboardist filling these roles on two or more keyboards. The latter has become increasingly popular as keyboard technology improves.

The reggae-organ shuffle is unique to reggae. Typically, a Hammond organ-style sound is used to play chords with a choppy feel. This is known as the bubble. There are specific drawbar settings used on a Hammond console to get the correct sound. This may be the most difficult reggae keyboard rhythm. The 8th beats are played with a space-left-right-left-space-left-right-left pattern.

Horns

Horn sections are frequently used in reggae, often playing introductions and counter-melodies. Instruments included in a typical reggae horn section include saxophone, trumpet and/or trombone. In more recent times, real horns are sometimes replaced in reggae by synthesizers or recorded samples. The horn section is often arranged around the first horn, playing a simple melody or counter melody. The first horn is usually accompanied by the second horn playing the same melodic phrase in unision, one octave higher. The third horn usually plays the melody an octave and a fifth higher than the first horn. The horns are generally played fairly softly, usually resulting in a soothing sound. However, sometimes punchier, louder phrases are played for a more up-tempo and aggressive sound.

Vocals

The vocals in reggae are less of a defining characteristic of the genre than the instrumentation and rhythm. Almost any song can be performed in a reggae style. Vocal harmony parts are often used, either throughout the melody (as with bands such as the Mighty Diamonds), or as a counterpoint to the main vocal line (as with the backing group I-Threes). The British reggae band Steel Pulse used particularly complex backing vocals. An unusual aspect of reggae singing is that many singers use tremolo (volume oscillation) rather than vibrato (pitch oscillation). Notable exponents of this technique include Dennis Brown and Horace Andy. The toasting vocal style is unique to reggae, originating when DJs improvised along to dub tracks, and it is generally considered to be a precursor to rap. It differs from rap mainly in that it is generally melodic, while rap is generally more a spoken form without melodic content.

Lyrical themes

See also: Rastafari_movement#Reggae_music_expressing_Rasta_doctrine

Reggae is noted for its tradition of social criticism, although many reggae songs discuss lighter, more personal subjects, such as love, sex and socializing. Many early reggae bands also covered Motown or Atlantic soul and funk numbers. Some reggae lyrics attempt to raise the political consciousness of the audience, such as by criticizing materialism, or by informing the listener about controversial subjects such as Apartheid. Many reggae songs promote the use of cannabis (also known as herb or ganja), considered a sacrament in the Rastafari movement. There are many artists who utilize religious themes in their music — whether it be discussing a religious topic, or simply giving praise to the Rastafari God Jah. Other common socio-political topics in reggae songs include black nationalism, anti-racism, anti-colonialism, anti-capitalism, criticism of political systems and “Babylon”, and promotion of caring for needs of the younger generation.

Criticism of dancehall and ragga

Some dancehall/ragga artists have been criticised for homophobia^[8][9], sometimes including threats of violence.^[10]Buju Banton’s song “Boom Bye-Bye” states that gays “haffi dead” (”have to die”). Other dancehall artists who have been accused of homophobia include Elephant Man (”When you hear a lesbian getting raped/ It’s not our fault … Two women in bed/ That’s two Sodomites who should be dead.”), Bounty Killer (who in a song urges listeners to burn “Mister Fagoty”) and Beenie Man.

The controversy surrounding anti-gay lyrics led to the cancellation of UK tours by Beenie Man and Sizzla. After lobbying from the Stop Murder Music coalition, the dancehall music industry agreed in 2005 to stop releasing songs that promote hatred and violence against gay people.^[11][12] In June 2007, Beenie Man, Sizzla and Capleton signed up to the Reggae Compassionate Act — in a deal brokered with top dancehall promoters and Stop Murder Music activists — renouncing homophobia, and agreeing to “not make statements or perform songs that incite hatred or violence against anyone from any community”. Five artists who had been targeted by the anti-homophobia campaign did not sign up to the act, including Elephant Man, TOK, Bounty Killa, Vybz Kartel and Buju Banton.^[13]

Subgenres

Main article: Reggae genres

Reggae includes several subgenres, such as roots reggae, dub, lovers rock, and dancehall.

Roots reggae

Main article: Roots reggae

Roots reggae is the name given to a spiritual type of music whose lyrics are predominantly in praise of Jah (God). Recurrent lyrical themes include poverty and resistance to government oppression. Many of Bob Marley’s and Peter Tosh’s songs can be called roots reggae. The creative pinnacle of roots reggae was in the late 1970s, with singers such as Burning Spear, Gregory Isaacs, Freddie McGregor, Johnny Clarke, Horace Andy, Ijahman Levi, Barrington Levy, Big Youth, and Linval Thompson, and bands like Culture, Israel Vibration, the Meditations, and Misty in Roots, teaming up with various studio producers including Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry and Coxsone Dodd.

Dub

Main article: Dub music

Dub is a genre of reggae that was pioneered in the early days by studio producers Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry and King Tubby. It involves extensive remixing of recorded material, and particular emphasis is placed on the drum and bass line. The techniques used resulted in an even more visceral feel described by King Tubby as sounding “jus’ like a volcano in yuh head.” Augustus Pablo and Mikey Dread were two of the early notable proponents of this music style, which continues today.

Rockers

The rockers style was created during the mid-1970s by Sly & Robbie. Rockers is described as a militant, mechanical, and aggressive style of playing reggae music.^[14]

Lovers rock

Main article: Lovers rock

Lovers rock originated in South London in the mid-1970s, and is produced for a smoother, more commercial sound, with more apolitical lyrics.

Newer styles and spin-offs

Hip hop and rap

Further information: Toasting, Hip hop music and Rapping

Toasting is a style of chanting or talking over the record that was first used by 1960s Jamaican deejays such as U-Roy and Dennis Alcapone. This style greatly influenced Jamaican DJ Kool Herc, who used the style in New York City in the late 1970s to pioneer a new genre that became known as hip hop or rap. Mixing techniques employed in dub music have also influenced hip hop.

Dancehall

Main article: Dancehall

The dancehall genre was developed around 1980, with exponents such as Yellowman, Super Cat and Shabba Ranks. The style is characterized by a deejay singing and rapping or toasting over raw and fast rhythms. Ragga (also known as raggamuffin), is a subgenre of dancehall where the instrumentation primarily consists of electronic music and sampling. Notable ragga artists include Shinehead and Buju Banton.

Reggaeton

Main article: Reggaeton

Reggaeton is a form of dance music that first became popular with Latino youths in the early 1990s. It blends reggae and dancehall with Latin American genres such as bomba and plena, as well as hip hop.

Footnotes

Bibliography

• Manuel, Peter, with Kenneth Bilby and Michael Largey. Caribbean Currents: Caribbean Music from Rumba to Reggae (2nd edition). Temple University Press, 2006. ISBN 1-59213-463-7. 
• O’Brien Chang, Kevin & Chen, Wayne (1998). Reggae Routes: The Story of Jamaican Music. Ian Randle Publishers. ISBN 976-8100-67-2. 
• Larkin, Colin (ed.) (1998). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae. Virgin. ISBN 0-7535-0242-9. 
• Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004 for the 3rd edition). The Rough Guide to Reggae. Rough Guides. ISBN 1-84353-329-4. 
• Morrow, Chris (1999). Stir It Up: Reggae Cover Art. Thames & Hudson. ISBN 0-500-28154-8. 
• Jahn, Brian & Weber, Tom (1998). Reggae Island: Jamaican Music in the Digital Age. Da Capo Press. ISBN 0-306-80853-6. 
• Hurford, Ray (ed.) (1987). More Axe. Erikoispaino Oy. ISBN 951-99841-4-3. 
• Potash, Chris (ed.) (1997). Reggae, Rasta, Revolution: Jamaican Music from Ska to Dub. Schirmer Books. ISBN 0-8256-7212-0. 
• Baek, Henrik & Hedegard, Hans (1999). Dancehall Explosion, Reggae Music Into the Next Millennium. Samler Borsen Publishing, Denmark. ISBN 87-981684-3-6. 
• Katz, David (2000). People Funny Boy: The Genius of Lee Scratch Perry. Payback Press, UK. ISBN 0-86241-854-2. 
• Lesser, Beth (2002). King Jammy’s. ECW Press. ISBN 1-55022-525-1. 
• Stolzoff, Norman C. (2000). Wake The Town And Tell The People. Duke University Press, USA. ISBN 0-8223-2514-4. 
• Davis, Stephen & Simon, Peter (1979). Reggae Bloodlines: In Search of the Music and Culture of Jamaica. Da Capo Press. ISBN 0-306-80496-4. 
• Katz, David (2003). Solid Foundation - An Oral history of Reggae. Bloomsburry, UK. ISBN 1-58234-143-5. 
• de Koningh, Michael & Cane-Honeysett, Laurence (2003). Young Gifted and Black - The Story of Trojan Records. Sanctuary Publishing, UK. ISBN 1-86074-464-8. 
• de Koningh, Michael & Griffiths, Marc (2003). Tighten Up - The History of Reggae in the UK. Sanctuary Publishing, UK. ISBN 1-86074-559-8. 
• Bradley, Lloyd (2001). Bass Culture. When Reggae Was King. Penguin Books Ltd, UK. ISBN 0-14-023763-1. 
• Bradley, Lloyd (2000). This Is Reggae Music. The Story of Jamica’s Music. Penguin Books Ltd, UK. ISBN 0-802-3828-4. 
• Chang, Jeff. Can’t Stop Won’t Stop.. St. Martin’s Press, 2005. ISBN 0-312-30143-X. 

Bob Marley
Background information
Birth name	Robert Nesta Marley
Born	February 6, 1945(1945-02-06) Nine Mile, Saint Ann, Jamaica
Died	May 11, 1981 (aged 36) Miami, Florida, United States
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter, musician
Instrument(s)	Vocals, guitar, percussion
Years active	1962 – 1981
Label(s)	Studio One, Beverley’s, Upsetter/Trojan, Island/Tuff Gong
Associated acts	Member of The Wailers, band leader of the Wailers Band, associated with the The Upsetters, associated with the I Threes
Website	www.bobmarley.com

Rastafari

Main doctrines

Jah · Afrocentrism · Ital · Zion

Central figures

Jesus Christ · Haile Selassie Marcus Garvey · Leonard Howell

Key scriptures

Bible · Kebra Nagast The Promise Key · Holy Piby My Life and Ethiopia’s Progress Royal Parchment Scroll of Black Supremacy

Branches and festivals

Mansions · United States Shashamane · Grounation Day

Notable individuals

Bob Marley · Walter Rodney

See also:

Vocabulary · Persecution · Dreadlocks Ganja · Reggae Ethiopian Christianity Index of Rastafari articles This box: view • talk • edit

Robert “Bob” Nesta Marley OM (February 6, 1945 – May 11, 1981) was a Jamaican musician, singer-songwriter and Rastafarian. He was the lead singer, songwriter and guitarist for the ska, rocksteady and reggae bands: The Wailers (1964 – 1974) and Bob Marley & the Wailers (1974 – 1981). Marley remains the most widely known and revered performer of reggae music, and is credited for helping spread Jamaican music to the worldwide audience.^[1]

Marley’s best known hits include “I Shot the Sheriff“, “No Woman, No Cry“, “Exodus“, “Could You Be Loved“, “Stir It Up“, “Jamming“, “Redemption Song“, “One Love” and, together with The Wailers, “”Three Little Birds“,^[2] as well as the posthumous releases “Buffalo Soldier” and “Iron Lion Zion“. The compilation album, Legend, released in 1984, three years after his death, is the best-selling reggae album ever (10 times platinum^[3]), with sales of more than 12 million copies.^[2]

Contents [hide] 1 Early life and career 2 Musical career 2.1 The Wailers 2.2 Bob Marley & The Wailers 3 Later years 3.1 Cancer diagnosis 3.2 Collapse and treatment 3.3 Death and posthumous reputation 4 Religion 5 Wife and children 6 Discography 7 Tours 8 Awards and honors 9 Film adaptation(s) 10 Sound samples 11 See also 12 Notes 13 Further reading 14 External links

Early life and career

Bob Marley was born in the small village of Nine Mile in Saint Ann Parish, Jamaica as Nesta Robert Marley.^[4] A Jamaican passport official would later swap his first and middle names.^[5] His father Norval Sinclair Marley was a white English Jamaican. Norval was a Marine officer and captain, as well as a plantation overseer, when he married Cedella Booker, a black Jamaican then eighteen years old.^[6] Norval provided financial support for his wife and child, but seldom saw them, as he was often away on trips. In 1955, when Marley was 10 years old, his father died of a heart attack at age 60.^[7] Marley suffered racial prejudice as a youth, because of his mixed racial origins and faced questions about his own racial identity throughout his life. He once reflected:

I don’t have prejudice against meself. My father was a white and my mother was black. Them call me half-caste or whatever. Me don’t dip on nobody’s side. Me don’t dip on the black man’s side nor the white man’s side. Me dip on God’s side, the one who create me and cause me to come from black and white.

^[8]

Marley became friends with Neville “Bunny” Livingston (later known as Bunny Wailer), with whom he started to play music. He left school at the age of 14 to make music with Joe Higgs, a local singer and devout Rastafari. It was at a jam session with Higgs and Livingston that Marley met Peter McIntosh (later known as Peter Tosh), who had similar musical ambitions.^[9]

In 1962, Marley recorded his first two singles, “Judge Not” and “One Cup of Coffee”, with local music producer Leslie Kong. These songs, released on the Beverley’s label under the pseudonym of Bobby Martell,^[10] attracted little attention. The songs were later re-released on the box set, Songs of Freedom, a posthumous collection of Marley’s work.

Musical career

The Wailers

Main article: The Wailers (reggae band)

In 1963, Bob Marley, Bunny Livingston, Peter McIntosh, Junior Braithwaite, Beverley Kelso, and Cherry Smith formed a ska and rocksteady group, calling themselves “The Teenagers”. They later changed their name to “The Wailing Rudeboys”, then to “The Wailing Wailers”, at which point they were discovered by record producer Coxsone Dodd, and finally to “The Wailers“. By 1966, Braithwaite, Kelso, and Smith had left The Wailers, leaving the core trio of Marley, Livingston, and McIntosh.

In 1966, Marley married Rita Anderson, and moved near his mother’s residence in Wilmington, Delaware in the United States for a short time, during which he worked as a DuPont lab assistant and on the assembly line at a Chrysler plant, under the alias Donald Marley.^[11] Upon returning to Jamaica, Marley became a member of the Rastafari movement, and started to wear his trademark dreadlocks (see the religion section for more on Marley’s religious views).

After a conflict with Dodd, Marley and his band teamed up with Lee “Scratch” Perry and his studio band, The Upsetters. Although the alliance lasted less than a year, they recorded what many consider The Wailers’ finest work. Marley and Perry split after a dispute regarding the assignment of recording rights, but they would remain friends and work together again.

Between 1968 and 1972, Bob and Rita Marley, Peter McIntosh and Bunny Livingston re-cut some old tracks with JAD Records in Kingston and London in an attempt to commercialize The Wailers’ sound. Livingston later asserted that these songs “should never be released on an album … they were just demos for record companies to listen to.”

The Wailers’ first album, Catch a Fire, was released worldwide in 1973, and sold well. It was followed a year later by Burnin’, which included the songs “Get Up, Stand Up” and “I Shot The Sheriff“. Eric Clapton made a hit cover of “I Shot the Sheriff” in 1974, raising Marley’s international profile.

The Wailers broke up in 1974 with each of the three main members going on to pursue solo careers. The reason for the breakup is shrouded in conjecture; some believe that there were disagreements amongst Livingston, McIntosh, and Marley concerning performances, while others claim that Livingston and McIntosh simply preferred solo work. McIntosh began recording under the name Peter Tosh, and Livingston continued as Bunny Wailer.

Bob Marley & The Wailers

Main article: Bob Marley & The Wailers‎

Despite the breakup, Marley continued recording as “Bob Marley & The Wailers”. His new backing band included brothers Carlton and Aston “Family Man” Barrett on drums and bass respectively, Junior Marvin and Al Anderson on lead guitar, Tyrone Downie and Earl “Wya” Lindo on keyboards, and Alvin “Seeco” Patterson on percussion. The “I Threes“, consisting of Judy Mowatt, Marcia Griffiths, and Marley’s wife, Rita, provided backing vocals.

In 1975, Marley had his international breakthrough with his first hit outside Jamaica, “No Woman, No Cry,” from the Natty Dread album. This was followed by his breakthrough album in the US, Rastaman Vibration (1976), which spent four weeks on the Billboard charts Top Ten.

In December 1976, two days before “Smile Jamaica“, a free concert organized by the Jamaican Prime Minister Michael Manley in an attempt to ease tension between two warring political groups, Marley, his wife, and manager Don Taylor were wounded in an assault by unknown gunmen inside Marley’s home. Taylor and Marley’s wife sustained serious injuries, but later made full recoveries. Bob Marley received minor wounds in the chest and arm. The shooting was thought to have been politically motivated, as many felt the concert was really a support rally for Manley. Nonetheless, the concert proceeded, and an injured Marley performed as scheduled.

Marley left Jamaica at the end of 1976 for England, where he recorded his Exodus and Kaya albums. Exodus stayed on the British album charts for 56 consecutive weeks. It included four UK hit singles: “Exodus”, “Waiting In Vain”, “Jamming”, “One Love”, and a rendition of Curtis Mayfield’s hit, “People Get Ready“. It was here that he was arrested and received a conviction for possession of a small quantity of cannabis while traveling in London.

In 1978, Marley performed at another political concert in Jamaica, the One Love Peace Concert, again in an effort to calm warring parties. Near the end of the performance, by Marley’s request, Manley and his political rival, Edward Seaga, joined each other on stage and shook hands.

Babylon by Bus, a double live album with 13 tracks, was released in 1978 to critical acclaim. This album, and specifically the final track “Jammin’” with the audience in a frenzy, captured the intensity of Marley’s live performances.

Survival, a defiant and politically charged album, was released in 1979. Tracks such as “Zimbabwe”, “Africa Unite“, “Wake Up and Live”, and “Survival” reflected Marley’s support for the struggles of Africans. His appearance at the Amandla Festival in Boston in July 1979 showed his strong opposition to South African apartheid, which he already had shown in his song “War” in 1976. In early 1980, he was invited to perform at the April 17 celebration of Zimbabwe’s Independence Day.

Uprising (1980) was Bob Marley’s final studio album, and is one of his most religious productions, including “Redemption Song” and “Forever Loving Jah”. It was in “Redemption Song” that Marley sang the famous lyric,

“

Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery None but ourselves can free our minds…

”

Confrontation, released posthumously in 1983, contained unreleased material recorded during Marley’s lifetime, including the hit “Buffalo Soldier” and new mixes of singles previously only available in Jamaica.

Later years

Cancer diagnosis

In July 1977, Marley was found to have acral lentiginous melanoma, a form of malignant melanoma, in a football wound - according to widely held urban legend, inflicted by broadcaster and pundit Danny Baker^[12] - on his right hallux (big toe). Marley refused amputation, because of the Rastafari belief that the body must be “whole”:

“	Rasta no abide amputation. I don’t allow a man to be dismantled.	”
—From the biography Catch a Fire

Marley may have seen medical doctors as samfai (tricksters, deceivers). True to this belief Marley went against all surgical possibilities and sought out other means that would not break his religious beliefs. He also refused to register a will, based on the Rastafari belief that writing a will is acknowledging death as inevitable, thus disregarding the everlasting (or everliving, as Rastas say) character of life.

Collapse and treatment

The cancer then metastasized to Marley’s brain, lungs, liver, and stomach. After playing two shows at Madison Square Garden as part of his fall 1980 Uprising Tour, he collapsed while jogging in NYC’s Central Park. The remainder of the tour was subsequently cancelled.

Bob Marley played his final concert at the Stanley Theater in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on September 23, 1980. The live version of “Redemption Song” on Songs of Freedom was recorded at this show.^[13] Marley afterwards sought medical help from Munich specialist Josef Issels, but his cancer had already progressed to the terminal stage.

Death and posthumous reputation

While flying home from Germany to Jamaica for his final days, Marley became ill, and landed in Miami for immediate medical attention. He died at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital in Miami, Florida on the morning of May 11, 1981 at the age of 36. The spread of melanoma to his lungs and brain caused his death. His final words to his son Ziggy were “Money can’t buy life.”^[14] Marley received a state funeral in Jamaica on May 21, 1981 which combined elements of Ethiopian Orthodoxy and Rastafari tradition. He was buried in a chapel near his birthplace with his Gibson Les Paul and a Bible. A month before his death, he was awarded the Jamaican Order of Merit.

Marley was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. Time magazine chose Bob Marley & The Wailers’ Exodus as the greatest album of the 20th century.

In 2001, Marley was posthumously awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and a feature-length documentary about his life, Rebel Music, won various awards at the Grammys. With contributions from Rita, the Wailers, and Marley’s lovers and children, it also tells much of the story in his own words.

In 2006, the State of New York renamed a portion of Church Avenue from Remsen Avenue to East 98th Street in the East Flatbush section of Brooklyn “Bob Marley Boulevard”.^[15]

Religion

Bob Marley was a member of the Rastafari movement, whose culture was a key element in the development of reggae. Bob Marley became a leading proponent of the Rastafari, taking their music out of the socially deprived areas of Jamaica and onto the international music scene. Bob Marley was baptized by the Archbishop of the Ethiopian Orthodox Christian Church in Kingston, Jamaica on November 4, 1980.^[16][17] Marley was also a vegetarian.^[18]

Wife and children

Bob Marley had 13 children: three with his wife Rita, two adopted from Rita’s previous relationships, and the remaining eight with separate women.^[19] His children are, in order of birth:

1. Imani Carole, born May 22, 1963, to Cheryl Murray;
2. Sharon, born November 23, 1964, to Rita in previous relationship;
3. Cedella born August 23, 1967, to Rita;
4. David “Ziggy”, born October 17, 1968, to Rita;
5. Stephen, born April 20, 1972, to Rita;
6. Robert “Robbie”, born May 16, 1972, to Pat Williams;
7. Rohan, born May 19, 1972, to Janet Hunt;
8. Karen, born 1973 to Janet Bowen;
9. Stephanie, born August 17, 1974; according to Cedella Booker she was the daughter of Rita and a man called Ital with whom Rita had an affair; nonetheless she was acknowledged as Bob’s daughter;
10. Julian, born June 4, 1975, to Lucy Pounder;
11. Ky-Mani, born February 26, 1976, to Anita Belnavis;
12. Damian, born July 21, 1978, to Cindy Breakspeare;
13. Makeda, born May 30, 1981, to Yvette Crichton.

Discography

Main article: Bob Marley and the Wailers discography

Tours

• Apr–Jul 1973: Catch a Fire Tour (England, USA)
• Oct–Nov 1973: Burnin’ Tour (USA, England)
• Jun–Jul 1975: Natty Dread Tour (USA, Canada, England)
• Apr–Jul 1976: Rastaman Vibration Tour (USA, Canada, Germany, Sweden, Netherlands, France, England, Wales)
• May–Jun 1977: Exodus Tour (France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, England)
• May–Aug 1978: Kaya Tour (USA, Canada, England, France, Spain, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Netherlands, Belgium)
• Apr–May 1979: Babylon by Bus Tour (Japan, New Zealand, Australia, Hawaii)
• Oct 1979–Jan 1980: Survival Tour (USA, Canada, Trinidad/Tobago, Bahamas, Gabon)
• May–Sep 1980: Uprising Tour (Switzerland, Germany, France, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Belgium, Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Ireland, England, Scotland, Wales, USA)

Awards and honors

• 1976: Band of the Year (Rolling Stone)
• June 1978: Awarded the Peace Medal of the Third World from the United Nations
• February 1981: Awarded Jamaica’s third highest honor, the Jamaican Order of Merit
• March 1994: Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
• 1999: Album of the Century for Exodus (Time Magazine)
• February 2001: A star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
• February 2001: Awarded Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award
• 2004: Rolling Stone Magazine ranked him #11 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.^[20]
• “One Love” named song of the millennium by The BBC
• Voted as one of the greatest lyricists of all time by a BBC poll.^[21]
• 2006 A plaque dedicated to him by Nubian Jak community trust and supported by Her Majesties Foreign Office.^[22]

Film adaptation(s)

In February 2008, director Martin Scorsese announced his intention to produce a documentary movie on Marley. The film is set to be released on February 6, 2010, on what would have been Marley’s 65th birthday.^[23] Recently, however, Scorsese dropped out due to scheduling problems. He is being replaced by Jonathan Demme.^[24]

In March 2008, The Weinstein Company announced its plans to produce a biopic of Bob Marley, based on the book No Woman No Cry: My Life With Bob Marley by Rita Marley. Rudy Langlais will produce the script by Lizzie Borden and Rita Marley will exec produce.^[25]

      Can you all tell how does it feel when you see your wife lying on a bed that is being pulled by several people in white dresses?!

      Then suddenly another lady in white uniform comes and then hand over something very special to you?!

       The feeling was so strange, so unexplainable, so weird. I feel like I was floating, like I’m walking on air. It feels like lots of butterflies is flying not just on your but all over your body. This is what I feel when I saw my lovely wife Rowena Chat Arnaez when she was being released from the delivery room when she gave birth to my lovely daughter last July 31, 2008 at 4:00 in the afternoon at the Lapu Lapu City District Hospital here in Cebu. She was lying on this bed that is being pulled by the nurses and they said to me that they wll bring my wife to the recovery room for her and my daughters recovering period. I feel so damn happy, I wanna shout, I wanna scream, I wanna jump, I wanted to do anything. Then suddenly another nurse come towards me and hands over a very lovely girl. At first I dint know what to do, I was shocked. Then I carry my little daughter on to my arms and I started to feel like i wanted to cry. She looks just like me (shes so lucky she looks just  like me), so soft, so fragile. I wanted to embrace her as tight as I could but of course I cant (cause if I do my in laws and parents would probably kill me). I wanted to kiss her on her chicks but they said that I should not do that. "Wag kasi mag kaka butlig butlig yang anak mo dahil sa balbas mo" (another failure) So I just make myself contented in just carrying her on my arms and looking at her. Then we go to the recovery room and puts my little daughter beside her lovely mom.

            

I would to use this opportunity to thank the people who never left me when my wife was about to gave birth and even after giving birth to my daughter.They help me not just financially but also they help me and my wife with their support.

Mr. Albert Mangande

Mrs. Evelyn Mangande

Mr. Alex Tomado

Ms. Leah Bullido

Ms. Eljean Bohol.

MARAMING MARAMING SALAMAT SA INYONG LAHAT…..!!!!!