Bob marley :Light a Fire

Light a Fire

"The reservoir of music he has left behind is like an encyclopedia," says Judy Mowatt of the I-Threes (Bob Marley’s backup singers). "When you need to refer to a certain situation or crisis, their will always be a Bob Marley song that will relate to it. Bob was a musical prophet.” (bobmarley.com). To most people in this world Bob Marley was just a singer from the tiny island of Jamaica, but to any person who has felt the true soul of his music they know that he was no musician, but a spiritual messenger through music. Bob Marley created many fans through his music but may have sparked a few enemies through his believes, his story tells the truth behind the prophet.

Robert Nesta Marley was born on February 6, 1945 from a poor 18-year-old black young woman named Cedella Booker and a white 50-year-old Captain Noval Marley. His father’s military position provided financial support for the family but his constant absence for the British West Indian Regiment left Bob unattended during his early years. Bob’s life in Jamaica was not at all of greatness. On the outskirts of Kingston, the small village of Trench town is where Bob sprouted his roots. Bob’s curious and open mind led him to music at a young age; he quit school to learn all he could about music. His young spirit was like a seed yearning for the nutrients to grow into a fruitful plant. When he heard musical influences from American radio stations he mind was set to become a future influence for generations to come (bobmarley.com).

Bob Marley’s popularity had spread all though Jamaica. His music was always on the top of the charts and his lyrics were always on the top of Jamaican minds. Bob’s musical influence had seamed together with the political turmoil of the time, and his songs told a truthful account about everyday life living in an unsteady government. Bob Marley and his two best friends from the ghetto, Neville “Bunny” Livingston and Peter Tosh, had now become the most popular thing out of Jamaica. The Wailers had taken what every voice in Jamaica wanted to cry out over the political anarchy-taking place. The Wailer’s impact on their Jamaican culture set ablaze their popularity across America and eventually the world. Once the Wailers became nationa...

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...d over to his family. “ Maddah, don' cry," he said afterward to Ciddy as she stood at his bedside, clutching his hand, "I'll be all right. I'm gwan ta prepare a place." He died just before noon on May 11, 1981, only forty hours after he left Germany.” (bobmarley.com)

The world may forget how a poor, lonely child made a song for what is right and gave the people an olive leaf when the were asking for a knife, but we may also remember a similar story of a man who created peace in the world with only his words to fight with, Christ.

Works Cited

www.bobmarley.com 2000.

King, Stephen A. “International Reggae, Democratic Socialism, and the Secularization of the Rastafarian Movement, 1972-1980.” Popular Music and Society Fall 1998.

McCullough, Courtney. “Bob Marley: Do You Have a Complete Picture?”

http://www.findarticles.com/cf_dls/m2822/3_22/59117064/p6/article.jhtml?term= 20 November 1999.

Ultimate Albums: Bob Marley Legend. VH1. 2002.

www.vh1.com 2002.

White, Timothy. Catch a Fire: The life of Bob Marley. New York: Holt, 1996.