Bob Marley Research Paper

He went through many different careers from being a lab assistant, to a welder, & even driving a forklift for a factory. With many trial and error professions he took over, after a while he realized music was and always had been the way to go. While working some side jobs Bob managed to start a record label called “Tuff Gong”, which was a nickname he had gotten a while back. Tuff, as in the wrong guy to mess with. And Gong, from Leonard “The Gong” Howell, who was an important figure in the Rastafarian movement.

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.

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.

Marley never got to go home for his farewell concert and his cancer was aggravated by the exhausting trip from Germany to Jamaica. A national hero to Jamaica, the Jamaican Government presented Bob Marley with the Order of Merit, as well a year before his death he was awarded the Medal of peace by the United Nations. At the National Arena in Kingston more than 30,000 people came to his memorial to mourn the death of a beloved musician. In 1994 he was finally immortalized in the music industry by being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. While it’s been decades since Bob Marley sang his last song, his music and values still live on through the legacies he left behind. His fight for human rights continues through the Bob Marley Foundation, which helps people living in developing

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.

“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

In this portion of the paper I will be focusing on Bob Marley and give an introduction to who he is, how he learned his music and how he became famous.

While many artists can reach the level of musical icons during their recording time, a few continue to remain relevant after they have died, and even fewer can touch peoples hearts and souls with as much power today as when they were alive, Bob Marley is one such artist. As Robert Palmer wrote for Marley’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, “ No one in rock and roll has left a musical legacy that matters more or one that matters in such fundamental ways.” A few years ago while I was at a fast food restaurant, there were two women behind the counter, one younger and one older. While waiting for my order I overheard the younger woman confiding in the older woman about some life issues that she was going through at the time.

Elvis Presley is an influential figure in music because he is an inspiration to others, and he helps to inspire people to fulfill their dreams.

Bob Marley is often known as a Jamaican singer,actor,composer,and an international musical and cultural icon.

to hate blacks, but the worst thing was that she was 18 when he was

Without a doubt, Bob Marley changed the future of music and the black community around him. Despite the fact that he grew up in a rough environment in the ghettos of Trenchtown it does not mean that you can’t be different. His gateway from falling away from the negativity was through music. He was a very positive and deep thinker influenced by Mr.Higgs his vocalist.

Bob Marley was born February 6, 1945 in St Ann Parish, Jamaica. Throughout his early years Marley had lived in some of the poorest and impoverished areas in Jamaica. Even in poverty Marley found an escape and had a passion for music. In Jamaica Bob Marley was a supporter of the People’s National Party. His major influence on the people was an extreme threat to the power of the PNP’s rival parties. December 3, 1976 there was an assassination attempt on Marley. This assassination attempt allegedly was for political reasons. A few years later Marley was diagnosed with cancer that had spread and he died in Miami, Florida, on May 11, 1981. The song “Get Up Stand Up” was the last song Bob Marley performed live on stage. It was performed in September of 1980 less than a year before he died in May of 1981

We learn from looking at the literature that modern-day Reggae had its wellsprings in the African-American soul music of the 1950s and 1960s. The insistent, off-beat rhythmic pattern of soul music became a feature of reggae in the late-1960s and early 1970s. However, the aforementioned pattern mostly appeared in the form of the trade-mark galloping backbeat of ska, which was a tip-beat and dance-oriented predecessor of reggae. Ska had a limited expressive range and its galloping speed needed to be slowed down if it was to enjoy a larger audience. Fortunately, it did slow down and, by the end of the 1960s, something known as “Rock Steady” was beginning to surface (Anderson, 206-208).

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.