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Bob Marley

Rasta Man

By Shante HernandezPublished 6 years ago 3 min read
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Before he became the Rasta man of the world, he was born Robert Nesta Marley on February 6th, 1945 in Nine Mile, Jamaica. His parents were Cedella Booker and Norval Marley. He lived with his mother, and only saw his father a handful of times when he was a young boy. Bob Marley had passion for music as a young one, so while at school, Bob Marley and his friend Neville "Bunny" Livingston shared the same love of music. Bunny started teaching Bob Marley how to play the guitar. Then, in the 50s, Bob and Bunny moved to Kingston in a little town called Trench Town. It was there that they met Peter Tosh.

They formed a band called The Wailing Wailers. Their song "Simmer Down" went to the top of the Jamaican Charts in 1964. Then, one day, Bob Marley met this beautiful woman named Rita. They got married February 10th, 1966. After he and Rita got married, Bob Marley moved to the United States, where his mom lived. After being in the states for eight months, he returned to Jamaica. He reunited with Bunny and Peter to form a group called "The Wailers." The year was 1972. They got a contract with Island Records. Their first album, Catch a Fire, was released. Then, the next year they released their second album Burnin', which featured the hit song "I Shot the Sheriff." Before their third album, Natty Dread, released, Bunny and Peter decided to do solo careers of their own. Bob Marley decided to add three ladies to the group called "The I-Threes." Marcia Griffiths, Judy Mowatt, and Bob Marley's wife, Rita Marley, were the three ladies of the group. When they went on tour in 1975, their song "No Woman No Cry" hit the Top 40. Bob Marley's music became so popular in Jamaica.

Bob Marley has 11 children from seven different women. He wanted the US to know his name, too, so he made an album called Rastaman Vibration in 1976. His song "War" was about his political views and religious views as a Rastaman. The song came from a speech spoken by Haile Selassie, who was the Ethiopian emperor of the Rastafarian movement. The song caused some drama over the world. One day while rehearsing with the band before they performed, Bob Marley and two other people were shot, but Bob Marley didn't let that stop him from performing that night. Bob decided to move to London to work on his album, Exodus. Hits like "Exodus," "Jamming," and "Waiting In Vain" became popular in the UK.

But then Bob Marley had a health scare in 1977. He sought to have treatment on his injured toe. The doctors wanted to amputate it because they found some cancer cells there, but Bob Marley denied it because of his Rastafarian religion. Bob went on tour and made more songs. Songs that we still sing today like "Could You Be Loved," "Redemption Song," and "Is This Love" were really popular. Then Bob Marley became ill. The doctors found out that the cancer that was in his toe spread throughout his whole body. He decided to get treated in Germany. He wanted to travel back to Jamaica, but he would never make it there. While in the hospital in Miami, Florida, Bob Marley died of cancer on May 11th, 1981.

Even though Bob Marley is no longer here, his children will always keep his legacy alive. Some of his kids are doing music today. Bob Marley would be so proud of his children for keeping his legacy and foundation up.

Rest in peace, Bob Marley!

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