Marley : Reggae 's Best Vocalist And Musician

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.

Even though Bob Marley seems to reference the bible, his religion was officially Rastafarian. Rastafarianism is a religion that is indigenous to Jamaica and is heavily influential on reggae culture. Rastafarianism is a hybrid religion that combines Christianity, mysticism, and Black Nationalism. Rastafarianism is of both colonial and postcolonial experiences. Rastafarianism developed in the 1920s and 30s in Jamaica while being surrounded with depression, racism, hierarchy discrimination and poverty. The Rastafarianism message was that of black pride which described freedom from oppression and the hope of returning to Africa one day.

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.

“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

The rebellious political Rastafarian himself Bob Marley will forever be the king of reggaeton. Reggae music was unheard of in the United States and in other countries until Bob Marley. Bob Marley’s records elevated the music industry producing an island sound that consisted of syncopated rhythms and pizzicato guitar melodies. Bob’s career lasted almost 20 years from the year 1962 until his untimely death in 1981. People are still inspired by his work today and his record sales provide evidence of his legacy. For example, one of the albums released after Bob’s death titled “Legend” sold more than 75 million records and went platinum 15 times (billboard.com). The majority of the tracks listed on the album were some of Bob’s number one hits that came from certified gold albums. Reggae music crossed over and people around the world were introduced to the struggles of a corrupt system and the hope for a brighter future through Bob’s music. Bob was able to reach out to a large people in ways that were revolutionary and his success landed him the number five spot on Forbes Top Earning Dead Celebrity list in 2014

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.

all reggae is a Rasta rhythm. It was also supposed to be a cry to

Bob Marley was reggae’s foremost practitioner and emissary, embodying its spirit and spreading its gospel to all corners of the globe. His extraordinary body of work embraces the stylistic spectrum of modern Jamaican music - from ska to rocksteady to reggae - while carrying the music to another level as a social force with universal appeal. Few others changed the musical and cultural landscape as profoundly as he. As Robert Palmer wrote in a tribute to Marley upon his 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.”

Although, Bob Marley and Frankie Ruiz sang different music genres, these genres come from the Caribbean. Bob Marley sang reggae, which developed in the 1950’s and 1960’s and was influence by the Rastafari movement. Bob

Rastafari is an African religion that is still relatively new. The religion was developed in the 1930s in Jamaica after Haile Selassie was named the King of Ethiopia. The followers of this religion believe that Selassie is God and that he will return all of the black people displaced from slavery and colonization to Africa. Bob Marley’s music and success helped spread the religion. The Rastafarians believe that black people are the chosen people of God. Some of the religious practices in the religion include smoking and inhaling marijuana. The purpose of the marijuana is to increase a person’s spiritual state of mind and awareness. Most Rastafarians have long

His songs have been banned from national TV and Radio due to government concern that his songs can initiate riots because his songs were very graphic. Marley as well sings in a way that his message can have an impact on so many peoples’ life. Teddy and Marley are famous musicians however, Marley has more popularity than Teddy because all Teddy songs are in Ethiopian languages and traditional music style. On the other hand, Marley has songs that are well known all over the world even though the reggae music were not popular at that time. Teddy’s came from famous family, his father was also a song writer and a novelist, and his mom was a stage dancer.

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.