Bob Marley

The successful and sophisticated man we know as Bob Marley is considered one of the biggest pioneers of reggae music and its universal impact. Robert Nesta Marley was born on February 6, 1945, in St. Ann Parish, Jamaica. His mother, Cedella Booker, was a young teenager when she had him, and his father was an absent figure. Bob Marley grew up loving and listening to music as a child and adored everything that came with it. One of Marley’s friends in St. Ann was Neville O’Riley Livingston. They went to the same school and both shared a love for music. Bunny inspired Marley to learn to play the guitar. In “No Woman No Cry” and “Three Little Bird”, you can hear the guitar, drums, piano and tambourine being played with passion and peace. Marley grew up in Trenchtown, which at the time was a poverty-stricken neighborhood. At just fourteen years old he left his hometown and converted to Rastafarianism. From there he performed and wrote songs, all in the process of meeting his wife, Cuban-born Jamaican singer Rita Anderson, and having kids (seven of which have become successful musicians themselves). He became one of the prominent figures in not just reggae history, but Black history. Marley promoted pan-Africanism, which is the view that everyone from the African diaspora has similar values and should unite. He believed in the progression of the Black diaspora and gained love and support from balck communities worldwide. Bob Marley became an icon loved and adored by many.