Bob Marley. Best Of Bob Marley

Bob Marley (born. Bob Marley; full name Robert Nesta Marley, Eng. Robert Nesta Marley; February 6, 1945, Nine Mile - May 11, 1981, Miami) - Jamaican musician, guitarist, singer and composer. Despite the fact that from the time of his death many years have passed, Bob Marley is still the best-known performer of reggae. Thanks to his international success reggae gained wide popularity outside of Jamaica.


Bob Marley was born in the village of Nine Mile, Jamaica. His father, Norval Marley, a European in origin, served as an officer in the Royal Navy, and later served as manager on a plantation in Jamaica. There he met the mother of Robert, 16-year-old Jamaican girl Cedella Marley-Booker. During his lifetime, Robert saw his father only 2 times. In 1955, when Bob Marley was 10 years old, Norval died.

Once upon a time, not yet having joined for reggae, very young Bob Marley was the ore-fight. Rude boy strongly emphasized his contempt for danger. One of the outward signs of Rudy has a shaved head. Favorite clothing ore-boys was wearing a black suit and tie and a hat borrowed from American action movies.

In the late 1950s, Marley, like so many other Jamaican provincials, he moved with his mother to the capital of Jamaica, Kingston, where he lived in a poor neighborhood Trenchtown. There he met with Neville Livingstone, nicknamed Bunny, with whom he began to make his first steps in music. After high school, got a job as a welder Marley, and in his spare time developed his musical skills. Help him in this was the famous Jamaican singer Joe Higgs, which gave Marley and Bunny Free singing lessons. Soon an acquaintance with Peter McIntosh, who would later become known as Peter Tosh.

In 19 years, Bob Marley made his debut with the single «Judge Not», who wrote with Joe Higgs. In 1963, with the help of the same Higgs Bob Marley organized vocal group The Wailers, which, apart from him, includes Peter Tosh, Bunny Livingstone, Junior Braithwaite, Cherry Green and Beverly Kelso. Musical director of the group became her bass player Aston «Family Man» Barrett. The first single, «Simmer Down» (1964) led the charts in Jamaica and has sold more than 80,000 copies. In 1965, The Wailers reduced to a trio and composition, despite the success of the songs (for example, «Rude Boy» joined the local "Top 10"), in 1966, broke up.

Some time Bob Marley worked auxiliary worker at the car factory in the United States, where she moved his mother, but soon returned to Jamaica and recreated The Wailers. The group worked in a variety of genres - ska, calypso, fusion, but outside the island its popularity spread. In 1971, the band organized their own record company «Tuff Gong», but this venture was unsuccessful.

However, in late 1971, Bob Marley signed a contract with the American singer Johnny Nash and wrote for him two songs became hits: «Guava Jelly» and «Stir It Up». In 1972, «The Wailers» finally got a contract with an international company Island Records and released the album «Catch A Fire», which became their first product, which was released outside of Jamaica. The band's popularity grew, and in many ways helped musicians Eric Clapton, who included in his album track The Wailers «I Shot The Sheriff», which became an international hit. In 1973, the band embarked on a tour of the United States. Soon Tosh and Livingston left the group to start a solo career.

Bob Marley included in the composition of The Wailers female vocal trio (Group I-THREE, in which included Bob's wife, Rita Marley), changed its name to Bob Marley And The Wailers, and together with his former mentor Higgs went on a tour of Africa, Europe and the Americas. By the mid-1970s, Bob Marley and his band have become recognized leaders reggae, and in the UK almost all the new songs included in Marley "Top 40» («No woman, no cry», 1975; «Exodus», 1977; «Waiting In Vain », 1977;« Satisfy My Soul », 1978) and Top 10 (« Jamming », 1977;« Is This Love », 1978).

In the US, however, only the composition «Roots, Rock, Reggae» hit the hits category "pop" (1976, 51 th), and «Could You Be Loved» passed by category Soul (1980, 56th place ), but the albums of consistently ranks high, and the song "love, faith and rebellion" as they called their works journalists, enjoyed incredible popularity among the intellectual elite. Jamaica is Bob Marley has become a real cult figure, his political and religious speech perceived as a public revelation of the saint. In 1976, it willy-nilly became embroiled in local politics, was assassinated. Despite the heavy wound, he spent all scheduled concerts, explaining that the world is too much evil and he has no right to spend at least one day wasted.

In July 1977, Marley was found in malignant melanoma on the big toe. He refused amputation, citing the fear of losing the opportunity to play football and lose plasticity on the stage, in addition, Rastaman believe that the body must remain "whole»:
Age does not accept amputation. I can not admit that human disassemble the parts.

In 1980, Marley performed in Zimbabwe, was in the year of independence from Britain, by the time Marley was a symbol of African Unity, especially in the former colonial countries. Traces of the past successful tour of Germany. However, the planned US tour was canceled when, after spending two shows at Madison Square Garden, the singer collapsed while jogging in Central Park in New York. Bob Marley passed a course of treatment in Munich specialist for cancer Isselsa Joseph (Josef Issels), but to no avail. As a result of the disease in Marley's dreadlocks began to fall, and they had sostrich. May 4, 1980 Bob Marley was baptized into the Ethiopian Orthodox Church in Kingston and took the name Berhane Selassie (in Amharic - the Light of the Holy Trinity). Then, he was awarded the Jamaican Order of Merit. Bob Marley wanted to spend his last days in Jamaica, but because of the state of health of the flight from Germany had to stop in Miami, Florida. Despite intensive treatment, May 11, 1981 Bob Marley died in hospital. The last words he said to his son, were: «Money can not buy life» (rus. Money can not buy life).

Bob Marley was buried in Jamaica. His funeral took place under the laws of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, while respecting the traditions of Rastafarianism. In the crypt next to it lie the guitar «Gibson Les Paul», soccer ball, the Bible and the ring which he wore constantly (gift Ethiopian prince, the eldest son of Haile Selassie I).

In 2012 came the documentary "Marley."