The I-Threes

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

The I-Threes were the female vocal trio that accompanied Bob Marley after Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer left the Wailers in 1974. The three members were Rita Marley, Bob Marley's wife, Judy Mowatt and Marcia Griffiths. The name is a variant on the Rastafarian concept I and I, which refers to the divine in every person.

Music and breakthrough

Marley continued with a new line-up that also included the brothers Aston and Carlton Barrett, the guitarists Junior Marvin and Al Anderson, keyboard players and a percussionist. The I-Threes provided the backing vocals. Their first album with the band was Natty Dread from 1974, the first without Tosh and Wailer, with among others No Woman, No Cry, Lively Up Yourself and Them Belly Full (But We Hungry). In 1975 a live version of No Woman, No Cry from the Lyceum Theatre in London became the group's first successful single outside reggae circles.

Influence

The I-Threes stayed with Marley until his death in 1981, after which his group ceased. Later they also made records under their own name, such as Beginning (1986) and Songs of Bob Marley (1995). In this way they formed a constant part of the sound with which reggae conquered the world in the 1970s.

Listening

Discography

Studio albums

• 1986Beginning
• 1995Songs of Bob Marley