Reggae Unlimited

Features

Brother Marley in context

by Peach
03 November 2007

Many people, when I tell them I like Reggae, say ‘oh, I like Bob Marley too’. Obviously Bob was instrumental in bringing Reggae to an internationally audience, but this same audience is often only vaguely aware that his apotheosis in the 70’s was only the culmination of a journey along a very long and often hard road.

Creation by Joe Higgs

Evening Time by Jackie Mittoo

Russian Ska Fever by The Skatalites

He did not become a musician in a vacuum, rather he emerged from a melting pot where there where many great singers and musicians to learn from. He learned arranging in the tough environment of the Jamaican studios where professionals laid down the law. He learned from people like Joe Higgs (check out Creation), Jackie Mittoo (check Evening Time), the Skatalites (check out Russian Ska Fever) and Leroy Sibbles (check the Heptones Ain't No Woman with a wicked Leroy bass line).

Old Rocking Chair by Jackie Opel

Blackman's Word by Alton Ellis

One Cup Of Coffee by Bob Marley

Singers like Jackie Opel (check out Old Rocking Chair), Eric ‘Monty’ Morris (check out Penny Reel) and Alton Ellis (Check out Blackman's Word) were also influential.

More over, Bob, by the time he became a teenager, was a keen observer of life. He had experienced love, death (of his grandfather) abandonment (by his father) poverty, cruelty, crime, violence but also the love of his mother, happiness in music and in friendship. Those friendships became key in establishing the Wailers with Peter Tosh, Bunny Livingstone, Junior Braithwait, Beverley Kelso and Cherry Smith.

Adam & Eve by Bob Marley

One Drop by Bob Marley

Nice Time by Bob Marley

Bob had already recorded One Cup Of Coffee and Judge Not for Leslie Kong under his own name. Bob was always fascinated by music. It would be something that would take him around the world and as a fulfilment of his own prophesy his picture can be found on may walls around the globe.

Music was not something he just did. Every fibre of his being was music. Everything else was just a distraction. It was only later when he experience the revelation of Rasta in his own life that something else would become more important - the message of the King.

Check out all our Bob Marley tunes.

© Peach 03 November 2007 all rights reserved.