Bob Marley Biography

Frederick Douglass is and always will be an African American hero. His actions do and will inspire people to stand up for what they think is right. Frederick Douglass made many achievements, he was an important leader in the abolitionist movement. He made a memoir and a newspaper that both spread awareness about slavery and boosted support for abolitionism. Frederick Douglass will always be remembered for his sacrifices and contributions toward

Bob Marley is a name most people know but his accomplishments and dedication to music is often overlooked. Bob was more than just a reggae artist, he was an inspiration to the country of Jamaica. He was a role model to the poverty stricken island and gave hope to many people. Bob was born on February 6, 1945 in his grandfather's house. He was the son of a poor farm girl and a British naval Captain. Soon after his birth Bob's father, Norval Marley, left his mother. He remained responsible and provided financial support and occasionally came back to see them. In the 50's a depression hit Jamaica and Bob followed his mother to West Kingston also known as Trenchtown. It was in Trenchtown were Bob's love for music began.

When early rock and roll began the major American record companies did not take the british invasion seriously. The Beatles first album had to be released through small independent music companies. The success of British bands began to get to large to ignore, it changed the styles of some American musicians as well. In 1965 Bob Dylan performed at a concert in which he used electrical instruments, this alienated many folk music purists in the process of changing music forever (Unterberger pg.165). The American band the byrds combined folk and rock which created a number one hit on the billboard music charts. A Band called Buffalo Springfield blended aspects of Rock, Country and western music to create country rock in 1966.

The first communication concept relates to empathy and empathic communication, both Bob and Ziggy Marley display this throughout their music. Empathy defined by Julia T. Wood, “is the ability to feel with another person, to feel what she or he feels in a situation. Our feelings tend to be guided by our own emotional tendencies and experiences” (78). In the fullest sense, this implies putting yourself into the other person’s shoes, to experience their life, so that you really understand and feel; pain, anger, frustration, joy, spiritual uplift and happiness. Bob Marley is empathetic in nature, he is “someone who appears to speak for the people. It is his music, his life story, his worldview and the way he carries himself -- he seems like an extension of the people and their leader. He seems like a sort of Cultural Senator, a man who represents his people” (Toure 2017). Bob Marley expresses empathy throughout his song “Get Up Stand Up,” by giving us examples of what life was like in the 1960’s in Jamaica. Paying close attention to the words and the connotations associated with those words, we can get an idea to what was going on during that era. From the beginning, reggae was political, as the work of Bob clearly attests. When he chants, “Get up \ Stand up \ Stand up for your rights!” you can feel how important this issue is to him. By translating this one lyric, you can imagine the details of his experiences and the emotions associated with them. The lyrics of this song relates to the struggles and inequality of the society and the harsh realities of a post-independent Jamaica. Nearly the entire song has a political slant to it in some shape or form. The political unrest which was taking place at the time was extremely intense, this song urged people to raise and stand up and fight for their rights and to be proactive.

When you hear the name Bob Marley what do you think? I know I thought of the Rasta movement and the colors green, yellow and red. I thought of a symbol being abused to justify the smoking of cannabis. But if I was to tell you that Bob Marley may be one of the most influential political activists of all time.

Together they toured the country, appealing to the populist sentiments that were alive and well in rural and working areas. After world War II Seeger, then leading a band called the Weavers, found himself caught up in the anticommunist frenzy of the mid 1900s. The Weavers were blacklisted for their left-leaning political stance (Editors, “Pete”). Unable to find consistent work the band played for as long as they could manage.  Although Seeger faced a number of difficulties during the 1950’s and 60’s, his unwavering stance against the political establishment gave him credibility that would outlast the cold war era. It was his efforts during this time that sparked a revival of folk

“From the shantytowns of Kingston, Jamaica, to the cobblestones streets of Great Britain, reggae music was a powerful and liberating voice for the poor and oppressed. In the last thirty years, reggae stars Bob Marley, Burning Spear, and Alpha Blondy have sung “redemption” songs- messages of human rights and universal love in a “Babylonian” world of civil unrest, political instability, and economic collapse”(Bays, King, and Foster, 2002, p. XI). Bob Marley was the most famous reggae artist to bring popularity upon the music; selling over 20 million records worldwide. His songs such as “One Love” and “Redemption Song” were inspired by the effects of oppression upon blacks in Jamaica. Marley's persona for unity and peace among people throughout the world was an inspiration for Jamaicans. Most blacks in Jamaica during the 1960s suffered from economic hardships and racial discrimination. This in turn marked the beginning of a religious movement called Rastafarinism where reggae music was an element that distinguished Rastafarians from the rest of society. According to Chang and Chen, British colonial authorities and the local establishment viewed Rastafarians; forthright espousal of black unity and pride, and their unconventional appearance and customs, as threats to the existing social order. (Chang, Chen, 1998. p.26) Reggae music allowed blacks to have pride of their culture and not limited themselves to the demeaning social orders in

It was very simple to play but the words were quite tough to put in to

After the group’s first track heats-up on the local airwaves, Jerry Heller (Paul Giamatti) approaches Eazy E about taking N.W.A’s label, Ruthless Records, to a high plateau of success – inevitably leading to a wildly successful, yet crazed tour. Along the way, the abusive tendencies of the police fuel the lyrics that launch N.W.A into the stratosphere – in terms of popularity and

"The zeitgeist of the time was the final collapse of a certain kind of thinking. The seeds were sown for feminism, for the whole notion of cyberspace, ecology, and the whole philosophy of Gaia." Suzy Hopkins, formerly Suzy Creamcheese, a dancer and inspirational figure on the underground scene in Los Angeles and London, remembers the visceral way psychedelic culture affected the senses. "There's a difference between a drug and a psychedelic. Drugs make you drugged and psychedelics enhance your ability to see the truth or reality," she says. For her, LSD and music created a kind of alchemy. "When I start to dance, at a certain point, the dance takes over and the music is dancing me. Dancing is this electric enhancement of your spine by sound." Many psychedelic bands explored this sense of abandonment in their music, moving away from standard rock rhythms and instrumentation. The Grateful Dead of San Francisco, for instance, created an improvisatory mix of country rock, blues, and acid R&B on albums like The Grateful Dead (1967) and Anthem of the Sun (1968), while another 'Frisco band, Jefferson Airplane (fronted by the striking vocalist Grace Slick), sang of the childlike hallucinatory delights of an acid trip in the 1967 Top Ten hit "White Rabbit." In Los Angeles the multiracial band Love played whimsical,

The off-beat sequences of the electric guitar create a reggae feel for the song endorsing it to be mellow. Throughout the song, the electric guitar does not have any solos but variations of its sequence are repeated throughout the structure of the song. Doing so gives the lead singers’ message more priority. The domination of the classic drum kit creates a ‘head-bobbing’ motion for some when listening to this song, helping it become more popular and an easily enjoyable song.

The paper discusses how Marley’s music changed society by mainstreaming the ideas of black resistance, social justice, racial equality, and anti-colonialism to the baby-boom generation and generations endlessly onward. The paper will outline the historical background of reggae as well as the social cause to which it became attached by the work of Marley. The paper submits that reggae, ultimately, became the chief means of expressing the angst and dislocation felt by many within the African Diaspora. Finally, the paper will offer a critical analysis of one of Marley’s works, “I Shot the Sheriff”, and will explain why this signature work is a classic instance of reggae speaking out against injustice and the prevailing power structure.

In Jamaica at the time Bob was viewed as a mystic and prophet, and was

Bob Marley was born in 1945 and he first joined Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer to form 'The Wailers'. Then he produced his own soul, rock steady (romantic soul), ska and close harmony 'doo-wop' style songs, for example 'Catch a fire' and 'I shot the Sheriff'. With the war era of the 60's approaching, reggae finally took form with a mellow beat, conscious and emotional lyrics and bands that spoke the words of the people. The spiritual influence of reggae captured fans worldwide and for the first time ever; reggae was a real influence internationally.

Reggae music was a big part of Jamaican culture. Many artists practiced the style of reggae and some of the artists like Bob Marley influenced and showed people internationally all about this music. It originated around the time that Jamaica was being attacked by European countries like Spain and native people being taken into slavery. Bob Marley was born after the time of slave trading but whites still effected the native people and this is how he got his inspiration for his music.