Bob Marley
By: Cade Griffith
LIFE BRIEF
Bob Marley was born in St. Ann, Jamaica in 1945 to Norval Marley and Cedella Booker. His father was a British captain of the Royal Marines and his mother was a African Jamaican that worked on the farms. Marley grew up playing soccer and making music for fun. But when he reached his teens he met Bunny wailer, another famous Reggae singer. They started to take music seriously and formed "The Wailers". From there on Marley started to gain success and became more and more popular throughout the Reggae culture. Marley followed the Rastafarian lifestyle and created his music around that culture. Bob died in May of 1981 from a rare form of Melanoma.
BACKGROUND SYMBOLISM
I chose this background because I feel like it relates to how Jamaicas culture is. They are big into agriculture and work on the farms to grow crops. Marley's grandfather owned a farm in St. Ann and he was known to be one of the most successful farmers in the area. "As a boy, Marley would help his family in the fields, growing mangoes, bananas, and other produce." (Dolan 31).
PICK 3
One of the most interesting facts about Bob Marley I found was that his mom was 18 when she had him and his dad was 60. I thought that was interesting because usually when you have a kid with someone they are around the same age as you not 42 years older. Another fact I thought was interesting was that he died at the age of 36 from Melanoma. The last interesting fact that stood out to me was that people tried to assassinate him multiple times. "Marley awaits treatment at a Kingston hospital after being shot in the chest and left arm by unknown assailants." (Dolan 16).
ACCOMPLISHMENT
Bob Marley was a extremely famous Reggea singer in the late 60's and 70's. He was also known for his peacefulness and peace movements. He is known for being one of the world's best selling artist of all time. He also promoted the Rastafarian culture and made that more popular throughout the world. "The crowd had now swelled to between 80,000 and 100,000." (Dolan 13). This shows how crowded his concerts were and how popular he was throughout the world.
STRUGGLE
At the beginning of his life when he was a young boy, growing up was hard because of the parts of Jamaica he lived in were poor. His mom was a young single woman because his dad was apart of the British military so he travled a lot of the time. "The residents lived in hovels, shelters, and shanties cobbled together from a fantastic assortment of materials: discarded wood, packing crates, and corrugated tin." (Dolan 36).
MENTOR / FRIEND
A friend that Bob had for a long period in his life and that was a big impact in his life was Bunny Wailer. Bob's mother and Bunny's father had a kid together so they started living together and started making music together. I think without Bunny, Bob's musical career may have been very different than what it was.
AWARDS
Over the many years Bob has been awarded many awards and set many records. He was known to be one of the world's best selling artist. He has been named the top Reggea artist of all time and top selling Reggea artist. He has set records for longest time at being at the top of the song charts and for most copies of an album sold.
HOBBIES / INTEREST
His whole life he has loved to make music with his friends and family. Ever since he was a young boy he loved to make music. He also loved to play soccer and played for many years. He played for all of the different schools he attended and also played with family and friends for fun.
SYMBOL
I think something that would symbolize Bob Marley would be a peace sign. He dedicated his life to peace and made his music around peacefulness. Throughout the book "Bob Marley" by Sean Dolan it talks about how his Rastafarian lifestyle caused him to look for peace and to promote peacefulness throughout the world.
FRIEND OR FOE
I think if I knew Bob Marley, he would be a very good friend of mine. I feel like he would always be there for me and would try to be a positive influence in my life. He is very big on peacefulness and love so I think he would always try to love his friends. Also he seems like he is always a happy person so he would try to make everyone around him happy as well.
MOST LIKE
I think the person that reminds me the most of Bob Marley would be Snoop Dogg. I think that because they both follow the Rastafarian lifestyle and try to promote peacefulness. They both are very popular in the music world and have been very successful for a long time. Also they both have long dreads which is popular in the Rastafarian culture.
ALTRUIST OR EGOTIST
I would for sure put Bob Marley into the altruist category. He worked so hard to make music for everyone around the world and to put happiness in other people's lives. Also he wanted what was best for his family and the people that were in his life.
Bob Marley playing at a concert in 1979.
A portrait painted by a fan of Bob Marley.
Another portrait made by a fan of Bob Marley.
IMPACT ON THE WORLD (YOUR CHOICE)
I think Bob Marley had a huge impact on the world. He brought a lot of positivity and happiness into the lives of his fans and changed the way people make music. He influenced many people and taught people how to live peacefully. "He was dead, people mourned and couldn't believe the news." This shows how much people really looked up to and cared about Bob Marley.
RELIGION (YOUR CHOICE)
Bob Marley followed the Rastafari belief. They worship the emperor of Ethiopia from 1930, Haile Selassie. Rastas believe in a natural way of life by eating unprocessed foods, wearing their hair in dreadlocks, and living a simple life. They are very big on living a peaceful life and loving everyone around them.