Bob Marley

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Bob Marley was born in 1945 in Nine Mile, a village in Jamaica. His mother was Afro-Jamaican, his father a much older white Englishman whom he hardly knew. At twelve he moved with his mother to Trenchtown, a poor district of Kingston. There, with his friend Bunny Wailer, he listened to ska and to American R&B on the radio. With Bunny and Peter Tosh he formed a vocal group, which eventually became known as The Wailers. Their neighbour Joe Higgs taught them to sing together and taught Marley to play guitar.

Music and breakthrough

In 1964 Simmer Down became a number 1 hit in Jamaica. In the late 1960s Marley converted to the Rastafari faith and grew dreadlocks. With the producer Lee Perry the group made some of its best work. After a contract with Island Records the band broke through internationally with Catch a Fire and Burnin' (both 1973). After Tosh and Bunny left, Marley continued with Natty Dread (1974), Rastaman Vibration (1976) and Exodus (1977). A live version of No Woman, No Cry became his first hit outside Jamaica, and Eric Clapton scored with his I Shot the Sheriff.

Influence

Reggae revolves around a heavy, melodic bass, a guitar that strikes briefly on the offbeat and a relaxed rhythm. Marley filled that music with spirituality, resistance and hope. He died in 1981 of cancer, only 36 years old. In this way he became a worldwide symbol of Jamaica and of reggae.

Listening

In School of Rock

The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.

• Mixtape 6: Fear of a Black Planet^NL Reader

Mentioned in other articles

• Ska, rocksteady and reggae GenreBob Marley became one of the first world stars from what was then called the Third World, and producers such as King Tubby turned it into dub.

See also

• Ska, rocksteady and reggae