Bob Marley was a Reggae pioneer known and loved across the globe. From humble Jamaican roots to superstardom, Marley was an inimitable cultural figure whose songs carried an entire generation. Despite his untimely death in 1981, Bob Marley’s impact on music, politics, social issues, and Rastafarian culture continues today.
Table of Contents
Early Life and Background
Bob Marley was born February 6, 1945, as Robert Nesta Marley in Nine Mile, Saint Ann Parish, Jamaica. His parents were Cedella Booker (nee Malcolm) and Norval Sinclair Marley. In his youth, Marley rarely saw his father, a man 41 years his mother’s senior. His father died when Marley was 10 years old.
Instead, the most influential relationship he formed in his youth was with his maternal grandfather, Omeriah Malcolm, who ignited his love for music. Marley continued to forge meaningful relationships throughout his childhood in Jamaica, from Nine Mile to Kingston. A majority of these relationships carried on through adulthood and Marley’s skyrocketing fame.
Nine Mile is a small village in Jamaica and is famous for being where Bob Marley was born and, eventually, buried. Only numbering a couple hundred in population, Marley grew up surrounded by a close-knit community until he and his mother moved to Trench Town in Kingston, Jamaica. During his childhood in Nine Mile, Marley became friends with Neville O’Riley Livingston, whom he would later form the iconic ska group The Wailers with.
Bob Marley’s Family: Wives and Children
Bob Marley married Rita Anderson in 1966. Together, the couple had three children. Rita had a daughter from a previous relationship and Marley adopted her at the time of his marriage to Rita. During their marriage, Rita had a daughter with Owen Stewart, a Jamaican soccer player. Marley would adopt this daughter as well.
Counting all of his children – biological and adopted – Bob Marley had 12 kids from various relationships. Of his paramours that gave him children are…
- Rita Marley
- Pat “Lucille” Williams
- Janet Hunt
- Janet Bowen
- Lucy Pounder
- Anita Belnavis
- Cindy Breakspeare
- Yvette Crichton
The above are women that Marley publicly dated, often simultaneously, or otherwise had known romances with. And, yes, this was all during his legal marriage to his wife, Rita Marley. From what we can tell though, the Marleys were open with each other, and with their relationship. Neither was a stranger to extramarital affairs and the children born from these trysts were usually raised together.
Bob Marley’s known children are as follows:
- Sharon Marley (born 1964, adopted by Marley when he married Rita)
- Cedella Marley (born 1967 to Rita)
- David Nesta Marley, alt. Ziggy Marley (born 1968 to Rita)
- Stephen Marley (born 1972 to Rita)
- Robbie Marley (born 1972 to Pat Williams)
- Rohan Marley (born 1972 to Janet Hunt)
- Karen Marley (born 1973 to Janet Bowen)
- Stephanie Marley (born 1974, daughter of Rita and Owen Stewart, adopted by Marley)
- Julian Marley (born 1975 to Lucy Pounder)
- Ky-Mani Marley (born 1976 to Anita Belnavis)
- Damian Marley (born 1978 to Cindy Breakspeare)
- Makeda Jashnesta Marley (born 1981 to Yvette Crichton)
Rita remained a steadfast partner throughout Marley’s life, acting as a muse, confidante, and vocalist. He dedicated No Woman, No Cry to her and Is This Love. Other lovers of Marley acted as inspiration throughout his musical career, though none as consistently as Rita. Cindy Breakspeare inspired the songs Turn Your Lights Down Low and Waiting in Vain. Breakspeare was also thought to have remained in a relationship with Marley from 1976 until he died in 1981, making their partnership one of Marley’s longer unions outside of his marriage.
As far as the Marley kids go, they are no strangers to success. Talent seems to run in their blood, with many pursuing careers in music and the arts. Four of the children – Ziggy, Sharon, Cedella, and Stephan – formed the reggae group Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers in 1979.
Religion and Beliefs – Rastafarian Faith and Cultural Identity
Bob Marley was extremely open regarding his Rastafarian faith and beliefs. Rastafarianism (or simply Rastafari) is a religious and social movement that began in Jamaica in the early 20th century. Practitioners are monotheistic, believing in Jah (God).
Marley didn’t get involved with the Rastafari faith until the 1960s. Until that point, he was raised Catholic under his mother. Rastafari resonated with Marley religiously, culturally, socially, and politically.
Within Jamaica and among practitioners within the African diaspora, Rastafari became synonymous with revolution. It was – and is – to many an alternative to predominately Western Christianity. Marley’s steadfast belief in Rastafarianism made him a vocal pacifist and a key figure in the anti-war movement. Rastas further follow Old Testament prohibitions on cutting hair, tattoos, and cutting the flesh. It is because of this that Marley refused to amputate his toe after melanoma was detected in 1977.
Rastafari heavily influenced Marley’s music. Marley’s reggae was a spiritual experience, as fans worldwide would attest. Many of his songs discuss society’s woes: oppression, poverty, war, and violence. These topics are central themes in Rastafarianism as they relate to Babylon – or, European colonial powers and the repressive society they wrought.
No song quite encompasses Bob Marley’s religious and political beliefs as War, which was featured on the album Rastaman Vibration (1976). The lyrics themselves were nearly identical to a United Nations speech made by Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia, who Rastas widely believe to be God incarnate. They emphasized peace, ending racial injustices, and dismantling European imperial policies.
Marley’s Accomplishments, Musical Career, and Rise to Fame
Bob Marley started as a young, scrappy 16-year-old musician. He was mentored by the reggae pioneer Joe Higgs alongside his future bandmates Bunny Livingston and Peter Tosh. They would go on to form The Wailers, expanding the band with unforgettable members like Aston Barrett and Donald Kinsey. The Wailers also added the “I Threes,” harmony vocalists after Tosh and Livingston left the band in 1974. From ‘74 on, Marley continued the band as Bob Marley and the Wailers.
At the start of his career in 1963, Marley was in a group known as The Teenagers with Bunny Livingston, Peter Tosh, Junior Braithwaite, Beverley Kelso, and Cherry Smith. After several name changes, the group became known as The Wailers after getting signed by Coxsone Dodd for his label. By 1964, their music was championed at the top of Jamaica’s charts. From then on, it didn’t take long for the band to gain popularity on the international stage.
Through Marley’s lyrics, mesmerizing instrumentals, and vocals, reggae music expanded beyond Jamaica. As he grew in international acclaim, so did the reggae genre. Reggae became especially popular in the United States, the UK, and Africa by the 1970s, where Marley’s image became synonymous with the musical genre.
Discography
Bob Marley was an inimitable musician with several successful studio albums under his belt. The album releases spanned 15 years and began with music by The Wailers. According to bobmarley.com, Marley’s discography includes the following studio albums:
- The Wailing Wailers (1965)
- Soul Rebels (1970)
- Soul Revolution (1971)
- The Best of the Wailers (1971)
- Catch A Fire (1973)
- Burnin’ (1973)
- Natty Dread (1974)
- Rastaman Vibration (1976)
- Exodus (1977)
- Kaya (1978)
- Survival (1979)
- Uprising (1980)
- Confrontation (1983)*
After Marley’s death, live recordings, remixes, and musical compilations were released to the public. The most recent of these was in 2024, as the soundtrack of the biographical drama Bob Marley: One Love.
*Confrontation was released posthumously and is considered Bob Marley’s final studio album
Studio Albums
The release of Bob Marley’s studio albums began with The Wailing Wailers in 1965. He continued to release albums as Bob Marley and The Wailers until he died in 1981. Although the studio album Uprising (1980) was the last album released in his lifetime, his final album is considered Confrontation, which was released posthumously in 1983.
Awards and Honors
In his lifetime, Bob Marley was granted three awards. The first of these was Rolling Stone’s “Band of the Year” in 1976, honoring Bob Marley and the Wailers. The second award was bestowed upon him by the United Nations (UN) in 1978: the Peace Medal of the Third World. The third was the Jamaican Order of Merit in 1981, three months before his death. Otherwise, many of Bob Marley’s awards and honors were given to him posthumously.
Those posthumous awards and honors include…
- Being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1994)
- Time magazine elected Exodus as the “Album of the Century” (1999)
- Getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (2001)
- Being awarded a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (2001)
- Named one of the “100 Greatest Artists of All Time” by Rolling Stone (2004)
- The first-ever NJCT plaque at his former UK residence (2006)
- The studio album Catch A Fire was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame (2010)
- Inducted into the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame (2022)
Political Activism and Social Impact
“Let righteousness cover the earth like the water cover the sea!” — Bob Marley and the Wailers, “Revolution”
Bob Marley was an outspoken advocate for racial justice and was staunchly anti-war. Whenever he was able, Marley spoke on the side of peace. When Jamaica was a political warzone, he did his best to remain a neutral force and a unifying voice of reason. War and violence benefit no one – they merely continue the brutal cycle as its own self-fulfilling prophecy.
Marley’s message of peace was emphasized in 1978, during the One Love Peace Concert in Kingston. There, he brought the political rivals, Michael Manley and Edward Seaga, together on stage as a sign of unity for all of Jamaica. This was all despite an assassination attempt two years before on the eve of the Smile Jamaica concert, which was originally meant to quell rampant political violence. Many believe that Marley’s actions in 1978 stopped Jamaica from sinking into a civil war even with continued tensions.
Besides preaching peace in Jamaica, Bob Marley was a supporter of the Black Panthers in the United States. He also held pan-Africanism beliefs, which was yet another idea carried over from Rastafari. Altogether, Marley sought social equity for minorities who were being exploited by outdated imperial and colonial systems and cared deeply about the political state of Jamaica.
Illness and Death
Bob Marley died at the age of 36 on May 11, 1981, after a four-year struggle against skin cancer. He was diagnosed with acral lentiginous melanoma beneath the nail of his right big toe in 1977. Contrary to popular belief, the melanoma was not caused by a previous soccer injury. He had it – unknowingly – for a while.
Doctors advised Marley to amputate the toe that same year to prevent the cancer from spreading to other areas of his body. Doing such, however, would have interfered with Marley’s Rastafari faith. He instead chose to go through a less severe treatment, one that included a skin graft and removal of the nail bed. This was acceptable within his faith and allowed him to continue performing.
After Bob Marley’s shocking cancer diagnosis, the musician carried on with life as usual. He even went as far as to plan a 1980 world tour alongside The Wailers: The Uprising Tour. This would be Marley’s final tour before his death the following year. By the time of his final concert in September of 1980, the cancer had spread to Marley’s brain, lungs, and liver.
By the end of 1980, it was evident that Bob Marley wouldn’t make a comeback. After months of failed alternative medical treatments, Marley was set to return to his beloved Jamaica. Unfortunately, he never made it back. His condition worsened on his flight home, causing a stopover in Florida for emergency medical care. There, at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital (now the University of Miami Hospital), Bob Marley succumbed to a malignant melanoma.
For a man like Marley, whose career influenced politics, religion, and society, he could not be forgotten. The Wailers released a tributary album, Africa Unite (2023), to honor Marley’s unifying legacy. Meanwhile, Rita Marley has remained a driving force behind preserving her late husband’s memory. His descendants – children and grandchildren alike – have continued to carry on his legacy through their work and art.
Legacy and Depictions in Popular Culture
In major media and popular culture, Bob Marley cuts an unmistakable figure. He has been the topic of several biographical films and docu-series. They have tried to capture the essence of the reggae star and the legacy he left to the world.
- Rebel Music: The Bob Marley Story (2001)
- Bob Marley: The Making of a Legend (2011)
- Marley (2012)
- Bob Marley: Legacy (2020)
- Bob Marley: One Love (2024)
Ever one to make lasting impressions, Marley’s image and lyrics have reappeared time and time again throughout some of the most world-changing events in recent history. His work has been used to encourage both change and peace. At protests and marches, one can almost always find references to Marley and his music.
Conclusion
Bob Marley goes down in history as one of the most influential reggae musicians of all time. His lasting impact on music and societies around the world is highlighted through his continued messages of peace, justice, and unity – and his amazing music, of course.
From the small community of Nine Mile to the effervescent city of Kingston, Marley lived life to its fullest. International stardom couldn’t weigh him down, either. He instead embraced the role as a means to communicate with the wider world what he stood for. And, he actually succeeded in what many people hope to do in their lives: Bob Marley made a difference.