About
Bob Marley
Nesta Robert Marley was born in Nine Mile, Jamaica on February 6, 1945. His mother, Cedella Booker, was Jamaican and his father, Norval Sinclair Marley, was British-Jamaican. The young Nesta and his mother moved to the Trenchtown ghettos after his father died. Growing up, he was nicknamed "Tuff Gong" for his tough street reputation. In 1963, Bob, along with his childhood friends Bunny Livingston "Wailer" and Peter Tosh, formed a ska band with Junior Braithwrite, Beverly Kelso, and Cherry Smith. They called themselves "The Teenagers" but eventually changed to "The Wailers." They gained some local success in Jamaica, and then in 1966 Bob married Rita Anderson. Shortly afterwards, both he and Rita accepted the Rastafari faith. In 1974, Bunny and Peter left the group to pursue their own solo careers. Replacing them were the Barrett brothers (Carlton and "Family Man"), Junior Marvin, Tyrone Downie, Earl Lindo, Alvin Patterson, and the I-Threes (including Rita) as back-up vocals. From 1973 up to his death in 1981, Bob Marley received tremendous international fame and become the first third-world superstar. His legacy is carried on by his children, his wife, and his mother.
Achievements:
-Awarded the Jamaican Order of Merit in February 1981.
-Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.
-Won album of the century in 1999 for Exodus.
-Received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in February 2001 and received a lifetime achievement award from the Grammys in the same month.
-The song "One Love" was named the song of the millenium by The BBC.