Bob Marley Music Lives On

Following our informative post on Bob Marley - The early days, covering Bob Marley music from his early beginnings, it's the month of the famous reggae star's birthday, which gets a lot of regard in his home of Jamaica, the home of Bob Marley music.

February 6th, 1945 was the birthday of Robert Nesta Marley. So on the Jamaican music calendar, thanks to Bob Marley music, the entire month of February is highly regarded in Jamaica. February 2008 has taken on even greater significance, thanks to a recent proclamation by the government of Jamaica which has declared February as Reggae Month.

On January 24th, an official announcement ceremony was made at Kings House, which is the residence of Jamaica's Governor General. Bruce Golding, Jamaica's Prime Minister noted the far-reaching influence of the island nation's indigenous music.

"There is no aspect of our culture that more clearly distinguishes us from the rest of the world than our music," he said. The Prime Minister also noted that throughout his travels, "some people know Marcus Garvey and Michael Manley, one or two may have heard of (Prime Ministers) P.J. Patterson, Edward Seaga or even Bruce Golding. But there is no country in the world where Bob Marley music is not known and recognized. Bob Marley music personifies Jamaican music."

"Reggae is the unique music that springs from the creative imaginations of a diverse people to become our musical voice to the world," continued Jamaica's Governor General Sir Kenneth Hall. "The greatest ambassador of reggae, Robert Nesta Marley so internationalized this extraordinary musical form that wherever Jamaicans go, people associate us first with Marley, and then with the many artists who have gloriously contributed to exposing Jamaica's rich culture."

So now its official. Bob Marley Music Lives On - Reggae rocks!

For some more information and even more importantly access to a huge online merchandise resource, we have a sister website at Bob Marley Posters where you'll find more than you thought possible online!

Bob Marley Music Page

Happy Christmas Everbody

Here's wishing everyone a really happy reggae Christmas and a cool 2008

HAPPY CHRISTMAS!

Bob Marley Music Page

Bob Marley - The early days

The Bob Marley Music Page has a little early history of the great reggae artist for your information:

Robert "Bob" Nesta Marley was born on February 6, 1945, in the small village of Nine Mile in Saint Ann Parish, Jamaica.

Bob's father was Norval Sinclair Marley, born in 1895 ans was a white Jamaican of English descent, with parents coming from Sussex. Norval was a Marine officer and captain as well as a plantation overseer when he married Cedella Booker, a black Jamaican woman who was then eighteen years old. Although Norval provided financial support for his wife and son, he seldom saw them as he was often away on naval trips.

Bob Marley was just ten years old when his father died of a heart attack at age 60, in 1955.

As a youth, Bob Marley suffered racial prejudice because of his mixed racial origins and faced questions about his own racial identity throughout his life.

He was once quoted as saying:

"I don't have prejudice against myself. My father was a white and my mother was black. Them call me half-caste or whatever. Me don't dip on nobody's side. Me don't dip on the black man's side nor the white man's side. Me dip on God's side, the one who create me and cause me to come from black and white."

Young Robert Marley and his mother moved to the slums of Kingston's Trenchtown after his father's death. It was a tough neighbourhood and he was forced to learn self-defense due to his being the target of bullying because of his racial makeup and small 5'4" stature. He soon earned a reputation for his physical strength for which he became nicknamed "Tuff Gong".

Marley made friends with Neville "Bunny" Livingston (who was later known as Bunny Wailer) and they started playing music together. He left school at just 14 and worked as an apprentice at a local welder's shop. In his free time Bob and Livingston made music with another friend, Joe Higgs who was a local singer and devout Rastafari. Higgs is regarded by most as Marley's mentor. It was at one of their jam sessions with Higgs and Livingston that Marley met Peter McIntosh (better known as Peter Tosh) who had similar musical ambitions.

In 1962 Bob Marley recorded his first two singles. "Judge Not" and "One Cup of Coffee" were produced by Leslie Kong, a local producer. These two songs which were released on the Beverley's label under the pseudonym of Bobby Martell, attracted almost no attention and flopped.

Those songs were later re-released on the album Songs of Freedom, which is a posthumous collection of Marley's songs.

Nice.

Bob Marley Music Page

Bob Marley Music: Studio Album Discography

Here at the Bob Marley Music Page, I thought it'd be a good idea to start posting info about Bob Marley and the Wailers and a discography of his studio albums is a good place to start.

Here are all sixteen of Bob Marley's studio albums including the posthumous "Confrontation" that was released in 1983:

1965 The Wailing Wailers
1970 The Best of the Wailers
1970 Soul Rebels
1971 Soul Revolution
1971 Soul Revolution Part II
1973 Catch a Fire
1973 African Herbsman
1973 Burnin'
1974 Rasta Revolution
1974 Natty Dread
1976 Rastaman Vibration
1977 Exodus
1978 Kaya
1979 Surviva
1980 Uprising
1983 Confrontation

Next time I'll post more info on Bob Marley Music including more album and single lists for your enjoyment!

See you soon,

Bob Marley Music Page

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