Bob Marley - Essay 3

Nesta Robert Marley was born on February 6th, 1945, in the Hamlet of Camden Hall, which is located n St. Ann, Jamaica. His father was Norval Sinclair Marley, born in 1926, Norval was a Jamaican of African decent, while Cedella Booker, Bob Marley's mother, was a black Jamaican, Cedella was eighteen years old when she married Norval. Bob Marley and his mother moved to Kingston's Trenchown slum after Norvals death. Marley suffered racial prejudice as a youth because of his mixed origins. As a young boy he earned the nickname “Tuff Gong” for his physical strength. Bob left school at th age of fourteen and started as an apprentice at a local welder's shop.
Bob's first record recording attempts came at the beginning of the sixties. The first two singles were “Judge Not” and “ One Cup of Coffee.” His first record was Simmer Down. In 1964 Bob founded a group called The Wailing Wailers. It consisted of Bob, Peter McIntosh, and Bunny Livingston. From that point on they were known as “ Bob Marley and The Wailers.” In 1972 Bob and the Wailers signed with Island Records. For the first time a reggae group had access to the best recording facilities and were treated the same as the rock groups. Also in 1972, Bob and the Wailers released the extraordinary Natty Dread album with songs including, “No Women No Cry” and “Revolution.” Also that summer they toured Europe. Bob Marley and the Wailers had UK top 40 hits with “No Women No Cry” in 1975. The Rastaman Vibration album in 1976 cracked the American charts. It was th clearest exposition yet of Marley's music and belief. Tracks like “Soul Rebel,” “Duppy Conquer,” “400 Years,” and “Small Axe,” were not only classics, but also they defined the future generation of reggae. In 1987 Marley expanded the instrumental section of the group and added a female trio which included his wife Rita.
Bob Marley was a hero figure in th classic mythological sense. He was one of the most significant musical artists of the twentieth century. He...