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- [00:00]
John Hopkins
It's 2025, a new year and the best time to turn your great idea into a business. Shopify is how you're going to make it happen. Let me tell you how Shopify makes it simple to create your brand, open for business and get your first sale. Get your store up and running easily with thousands of customizable templates. All you need to do is drag and drop. Their powerful social media tools let you connect all your channels and create shoppable posts. Established in 2025 has a nice ring to it, doesn't it? Sign up for your $1 per month trial period at shopify.com promo all lowercase go to shopify.com promo to start selling with Shopify today. Shopify.com promo It's a balmy Sunday evening in the autumn of 1963 and seven teenagers are walking through the Trench Town district of Kingston, Jamaica. The houses are run down and outsiders write the area off as a get up. But for 18 year old Nestor Marley and his friends, it's home. These streets are alive with people hanging out and playing music. But while the gang of teens jokes around, Nestor is quiet. This is no ordinary evening. Tonight could decide his future. All their futures. They turn onto Brentford Road and head to a building he's passed many times before. From the front, it's just a liquor store, but as they walk into the yard and past the mango tree, they arrive at Studio One, the epicenter of Jamaica's thriving music scene. Opening the door just as they arrive is its founding producer, Coxon Dodge. The friends try to keep cool, but the truth is Dodd is a local legend, proprietor of the first black owned studio on the island and responsible for countless Scar hits. They're desperate to be his next discovery. Dodd holds the door open for the preceding act to leave and then waves the gang into the cramped room. Soundproofing fabric covers the rough walls. It's claustrophobic and stiflingly hot inside, with smoke and a strong smell of cannabis hanging in the air. But they know that Dodd, who's in his early 30s, is a tough nut to crack. So they quickly assemble themselves, eager to impress. Alongside two young women, Nestor and his friend Bunny Wailer jostle for space while their other bandmate, Pete Tosh, gets his guitar ready. The setup is basic, just space for the musicians and a darkened control room behind glass, Dodd holds auditions most Sundays. There is an endless demand for new music. Dodd asks the boys what they're called. They look to one another, uncertain. They haven't quite decided, though the most recent name Idea is the wailing wailers shrugging. Dodd gestures for them to begin with Bunny on drums and Tosh on guitar. Nesta and the girls start with the songs they grew up listening to. R and B from the US Slow and full of harmonies they've rehearsed for hours and hours. But the sweeter they sing, the less impressed Dodd looks. Halfway through the fourth track, he waves them to stop. He's had enough. He strides over to open the door, where outside, another group of hopefuls is waiting their turn. Nestor can't believe it. This is their only way out of the dead end jobs they hate. Exchanging a desperate look with Bunny and Tosh. He knows what to do. There's one last song to try. It's different and it's a long shot, but they have nothing to lose. Before Dodd can stop them, Tosh is playing the opening riff. And now Bunny and Nesta sing and the girls start to dance. This song is a much livelier track, with lyrics about the rude boys of Trenchtown, whose frustrations often spill over into violence. Keeping his eyes on Dodd, Nestor sees the man's expression change. The producer smiles and now he's nodding along. He lets the door close and hears them out. And when it's over, his grin says it all. It's a yes. This is the tune to launch their career. And while the money is terrible, Nestor is walking on air as he leaves the studio. Within months, he and his friends will be famous across Jamaica. But they'll have to wait another decade before they truly make it big, by which time they'll have taken Nestor's middle name to become Bob Marley and the Wayless. From impoverished roots on an island struggling to leave behind its colonial past, Bob Marley created music that spoke with a universality beloved by people all over the world. His love of music was the backbone of his life, and his commitment to the Rastafari faith will shine a spotlight on its ideas. But at the height of his fame, he faced a shocking health challenge that cut his life tragically short. So how did Bob Marley go from Kingston's most impoverished area to filling the world's biggest stadiums and becoming a global star? Did his private life, including multiple children fathered outside his marriage, conflict with the values he wanted to share with the world? And why does his message still inspire young musicians and activists Today, more than 40 years after his death? I'm John Hopkins from the Noisy Network. This is a short history of Bob Marley. In the small village of Nine Mile, somewhere near the middle of the island of Jamaica, a girl Called Cedella is living on her family's farm. Marriage. While she's still a teenager, she meets Norval Marley, a white Jamaican land agent in his 60s. The two marry when she becomes pregnant, and on 6 February 1945, she gives birth to a son, Nestor Robert Marley. Richie Unterberger is a music journalist and the author of Bob Marley and the the Ultimate Illustrated History.
- [07:03]
Richie Unterberger
He was born to mixed race parents in Jamaica. His father was white and older than his mother, who took a much more active role in Bob Marley's upbringing. His father didn't have much to do with raising Bob Marley. And that meant that Bob Marley felt not part of either the ruling white class in Jamaica or the huge, largely poor black underclass.
- [07:35]
John Hopkins
Known as Nestor to his family. Cedella's son is a quiet, intense child who faces prejudice due to his mixed heritage. He is just 10 when his father dies. And struggling financially, Cedella soon decides to move to Kingston's Trench Town, an impoverished area to the west of the city.
- [07:56]
Richie Unterberger
There is a lot of crime and there's also a lot of people who turn to crime or illicit activities because there aren't many economic opportunities. At the same time, I think it was a great benefit for Bob to be for many of his years living in Trenchtown because there's also a community closeness that you might not find in not just a rural area, but say a more comfortable or suburban area. By necessity, because conditions could be really tough, you had to create these not just family bonds, but interpersonal bonds that helped your survival.
- [08:32]
John Hopkins
And the bonds he creates here will change Marley's life. His mother starts a relationship with a man whose son, nicknamed Bunny, is Marley's H. The two boys love music and are mentored by one of Jamaica's first successful recording artists who has spotted their potential during informal jam sessions in the neighborhood. Soon they're joined by Peter McIntosh, known as Tosh. A year older and strikingly tall, he's already working as a welder. Critically, he's also an accomplished self taught musician. When Marley leaves school with no qualifications at 14, he also works as a welder until an eye injury makes him decide to try earning his living through music. With Tosh and Bunny, he spends hours learning to play a homemade guitar and composing songs. And soon they're bringing in other friends to form a band. Initially calling themselves the Teenagers, they're inspired by American groups like the Platters and the Drifters, whose harmonizing style is known as Doo Wop. But though R and B is the main influence, the sound evolves in Jamaica.
- [09:50]
Richie Unterberger
It couldn't help but come out differently because it's sort of combined organically with Jamaican folk forms like mento music. Some people hear calypso music in early reggae as well, and at first it wasn't called reggae, it was called ska. The music, which was kind of a combination of American rhythm and blues and Jamaican influences, had a very fast and sort of jerky stiff rhythm, very prominent vocal harmonies, which the Wailers love to do, but almost jazzy backing.
- [10:23]
John Hopkins
In some senses, ska becomes the sound of the island, with DJs taking huge sound systems to different venues. Full of fans hungry for the next new thing, Jamaica turns into one of the most thriving scenes on the planet, and local producers compete to sign up the best bands. One of them, Cox and Dodd, opens his recording studio in Trent Town, impressing him at the audition. In late 1963, Marley and his friends are offered the standard deal, a five year exclusive contract plus 20 pounds per track to be shared between all band members. Settling on the name the Wailers, they released their first single, Simmer down, early next year. It goes straight to number one in Jamaica, where it's thought to sell around 70,000 copies. Over the next two years, the band shrinks to just Marley, Bunny and Tosh, supported by talented Jamaican session musicians who help the young men develop their style. Their strong vocals mark them out as special, and they record 88 singles for Dodd. But even though they're becoming famous, they struggle to support themselves. Marley has to sleep in the studio while Tosh works in a dry cleaner's. At least he has the perk of being able to clean the band's stage outfits for free. Their conservative image is typical of Jamaican ska at this time. Smart suits and ties with short, neat haircuts. Again, taking their lead from the American groups that inspire them.
- [12:00]
Richie Unterberger
They're dressed very conservatively. They're usually in matching suits and ties. Short hair, not the Rasta dreadlocks. And that was just a convention in Jamaica at that time. It wasn't until pretty late in the 1960s that the dress sense started to loosen up.
- [12:20]
John Hopkins
As the decade progresses, it's not only the clothes that are changing. The musical style is slowing down. From peppy scar beats towards what will become known as reggae. And the lyrics, too, are changing from love songs towards more socially aware themes. The island of Jamaica itself is undergoing a big transition too. For a long time, it has been a British colony built on the labor of enslaved people brought from Africa. Though slavery was abolished way back in the 1830s. In 1960, 2. Jamaica becomes the first Caribbean country to to gain independence from Britain. But everyday life is tough. Barely making ends meet, Marley starts working in another capacity for Coxson Dodd, who pays him to help develop new acts. And that's how Marley meets singer Rita Anderson, who has formed an all girl group, the Solettes. Two years younger than him, she already has a baby daughter when they meet. Mali too is believed to have fathered a child by now, though little is known about her or her mother. Though Marley can be shy, through music, they forge a passionate connection. They marry in 1966, even though this is uncommon in Jamaica at the time, where only one in 10 cohabiting couples get married. Yet only days after their low key wedding, Marley leaves for the US where he hopes to earn enough to fund his musical career.
- [14:03]
Richie Unterberger
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- [14:07]
John Hopkins
All day big deal meal.
- [14:09]
Richie Unterberger
You get to choose from four entrees like the supreme croissant and five tasty sides, plus a drink starting at $5. So hurry in or take your time. You've got all day at Jack. Every bite's a big deal.
- [14:26]
John Hopkins
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- [16:17]
Richie Unterberger
The Rastafari faith, which was something of African origin and very much encouraged empowerment of people of color. When awareness of that started to spread, there was a lot of enthusiasm for that as an alternative to the more traditional religions that these musicians had been brought up with. Rastafari is saying, this is something that we can do now as black people.
- [16:46]
John Hopkins
The ideas of the faith speak to Mali. Rita is drawn to it too. And though her husband is out of the country, when Emperor Haile Selassie visits Jamaica in 1966, she joins the thousands flocking to welcome him. She is left overwhelmed by the depth of this spiritual experience. And when Bob returns to Jamaica later that year, they convert to the faith. The couple and Bob's bandmates adopt the customs of Rastafarianism. These include eating a natural Ital diet, growing their hair long and twisting it into dreadlocks, and smoking marijuana, which is encouraged for spiritual awareness.
- [17:27]
Richie Unterberger
There was more encouragement for individuality and sometimes militancy in not talking about armed militancy, but direct action in Rastafari. But also, I think, to be honest, the fashion appealed to them. You can be more yourself. You can grow your hair out. You can wear these colorful robes.
- [17:47]
John Hopkins
Yet life is not easy for Rastafarians in Jamaica. Its followers are harassed by police and condemned by politicians. Despite that, Mali and many other young Jamaicans are interested in Pan Africanism, the idea that people of African descent all over the world could unite to fight injustice. It will become a major theme in Mali's work, but also in the work of other artists of his genre.
- [18:16]
Richie Unterberger
The lyrics of reggae music were substantially different from a lot of ska and rocksteady music because they increasingly addressed social and spiritual concerns and urged the listeners to engage in self empowerment and also commented upon the oppressive forces that made social justice, especially for people of color, difficult to achieve in many ways in.
- [18:40]
John Hopkins
Jamaica, Marley is also concerned about commercial empowerment. With Rita, Bunny and Tosh, he starts his own record label. They move to Nine Mile and live on his grandfather's farm, tending the land while developing new material.
- [18:59]
Richie Unterberger
He was determined with the Wailers to have a lot more independence in how his music was made and marketed than he had with Cox on DOD and the Studio One label. It also made them, I think, more determined to do the music they wanted their own way and try to get some justice within the record industry and how they were treated by labels and how they were paid, in addition to urging justice in their music for society as a whole.
- [19:36]
John Hopkins
In August 1967, Rita gives birth to their first child together, a daughter they name Cedella after Marley's mother. But the couple are professional partners too, and put everything into the new business. Rita cycles around the island carrying copies of the Wailers records, which they also sell from their home. The family spend time in the US and Marley makes more connections with successful producers and musicians, including American singer Johnny Nash. When Mahli receives army draft papers ordering him to serve in Vietnam, though, they return to Jamaica. But the technical and commercial limitations of making music on the island are becoming clearer.
- [20:18]
Richie Unterberger
When you listen to the mid-60s records the Wailers did, they're really good, but they sound more like they've been recorded in 1956 than 1966. They often have a tinny and sort of lo fi sound. It's not hard to enjoy them, but they're not nearly as clear and elaborately mixed and produced as recordings from North America or the United Kingdom.
- [20:42]
John Hopkins
It's the dawn of the 1970s and time for the Wailers to go global. By 1972, the Wailers have released a couple of studio albums on their new Tough Gong label. Marley himself has been touring the UK with Johnny Nash, even playing on the recording of the I Can See clearly now album, which becomes Nash's smash hit. With Marley living for a while in London, Nash does everything he can to help his protege make connections in the music industry. But the Wailers aren't taking any great pains to play by the rules. They get into a spot of bother when a friend back home worries they won't be able to get hold of cannabis in London and so sends them a large package of the drug via post. They are eventually let off, though, and the mishap certainly doesn't stop Marley's progress. He gets his own deal with CBS Records, but pretty soon he becomes disenchanted by poor promotion and distribution. And this is where another Jamaican musical legend enters the story.
- [21:48]
Richie Unterberger
Chris Blackwell spent a lot of his youth in Jamaica. He's white and developed naturally an appreciation for Jamaican music. He started to become a major figure in the record business when he moved to London and started Island Records in the early 1960s. Initially, Island Records specialized in ska and then reggae music. Because there was, and there still is, a big Jamaican community in the United Kingdom. He felt by the early 70s, reggae music has a great potential to cross over From a principally Jamaican and black audience to an audience where everybody likes reggae music, including a lot of white rock listeners who I sell records to with my big ax.
- [22:36]
John Hopkins
And having just been turned down by Jimmy Cliff, Blackwell is looking for someone to sign. So the timing is perfect when Marley gets in touch, asking a contact to arrange a meeting with Blackwell at Island Records offices in Notting Hill, West London, on their rooftop terrace. Blackwell offers them £4,000 to return to Jamaica to record an album for Ireland and another £4,000 once it's finished. Blackwell brings in extra help to add a new dimension to the band's sound.
- [23:10]
Richie Unterberger
He didn't dilute their music, but he used some elements of rock music, including some rock session players, because he figured, if I can make really good albums with the Wailers, this will get them on radio stations that mostly play rock.
- [23:26]
John Hopkins
When Catch A Fire is Published worldwide in 1973, it's praised by critics but sells fewer than 15,000 copies. To promote it, the band toured the UK extensively and also perform in the US with where they share a stage one night with the young Bruce Springsteen. But tensions are growing between Bob Bunny and Tosh. Part of Blackwell's strategy has been to build Marley as the lead singer, renaming them Bob Marley and the Wailers, rather than simply the Wailers. Plus, in the uk, they're often playing to university crowds with mostly white audiences. Both Bani and Tosh resist performing to people who represent what's known in Rastafari as Babylon, the oppressors of the African.
- [24:17]
Richie Unterberger
Nations, with the other guys they thought were sort of in these dens of sin, where there's a lot of hedonism going on and people aren't paying attention to our spiritual message as much as they should. Marley's attitude was more like, they will get the spiritual message, even if right now they're here to get stoned or here to party, or they're here because they're girls or their boyfriend wants to see them. The music is strong enough that the message is going to come through.
- [24:47]
John Hopkins
But it's not just concern over principles that's making them unhappy. They're homesick. And the weather doesn't help either. For three young men raised in the Caribbean, cold, wintry Britain is a shock to the system. Even so, at the end of 1973, six months after Catch A Fire, they released the album Burnin. And though they promote it on tour, it's a cover version by a white artist that helps spread the word in America.
- [25:18]
Richie Unterberger
Eric Clapton covered one of his songs, I Shot the Sheriff. It made number one in the United States. And naturally, people started to wonder. Clapton didn't write this song. Clafton, of course, was a superstar. Well, who wrote this song? And there's another version. We should hear that. And I shot the sheriff, I think more than any other song helped vault Bob Marley into international prominence.
- [25:45]
John Hopkins
But the breakthrough isn't enough to save the Wailers. Despite international attention, Barney and tosh leave in 1974. Fed up with both the focus on Marley as the lead singer and the insistence that they tour America and the uk. The men who met as boys in Trenchtown will go on to forge successful careers following their own directions.
- [26:10]
Richie Unterberger
Peter Tosh had a tougher edge, not just with the Whalers, but his solo career, where he was more specific about the right to, for instance, smoke marijuana legally. Bunny Wailer was maybe more on the romantic side and the more contemplative, joyful sides of life. That's one of the reasons I wish they had recorded together more, because they complemented and enhanced each other.
- [26:36]
John Hopkins
Bob Marley gathers a new lineup and they continue to play as the Wailers. An essential part of his Sound is the i3s three female vocalists, including his wife Rita, who add rich vocal harmonies. Even so, the couple spend a lot of time apart in Jamaica. Rita and the children live in a separate home on the south coast while Marley sticks to his Kingston mansion. Oh, such a clutch off season pickup Dave. I was worried we'd bring back the same team. I meant those blackout motorized shades. Lions.com made it crazy affordable to replace our old blinds. Hard to install? No, it's easy. I installed these and then got some for my mom. She talked to a design consultant for free and scheduled a professional measure and install hall of Fame son. They're the number one online retailer of custom window coverings in the world. Blinds.com is the goat.
- [27:31]
Richie Unterberger
Go to blinds.com for 40% off site wide.
- [27:34]
John Hopkins
Blinds.com rules and restrictions may apply.
- [27:37]
Richie Unterberger
Hablas Espanol Spritz to Joy.
- [27:40]
John Hopkins
If you've heard that sound from Babbel before, I bet you do. Babbel is the science backed language learning app that actually works with quick 10 minute lessons. Handcrafted by over 200 language experts, Babbel gets you on your way to speaking a new language in just a few weeks. With over 16 million subscriptions sold and a 20 day money back guarantee. Just start speaking another language with Babbel right now. Up to 55% off your Babbel subscription. @babbel.com Spotify podcast spelled B A B-B-E-L.com Spotify podcast rules and restrictions may apply. 1974 sees the release of the album Natty Dread. The UK leg of the subsequent tour starts with two nights at the Lyceum Ballroom in London. His days of playing to a sparse student crowd are long gone. The venue has a capacity of over 2,000, but it's not enough. People are climbing on the roof to try to get in. With the i3s in long, flowing dresses and Marley himself holding the audience in the palm of his hand, the show is a game changer.
- [28:43]
Richie Unterberger
It is kind of like a black and white television set has exploded into color, and not just ordinary color, but like really florid color. He seemed to excel at creating personal bonds between himself, the Wailers and the audience. A lot of performers can do that, but unlike a lot of his peers, he seemed to be very good at doing that to very large crowds.
- [29:08]
John Hopkins
The song that brings the house down is no Woman, no Cry, a live version of which reaches number 22 in the UK charts. A decade after the Wailers first hit number one in Jamaica, Mali is finally breaking through internationally. His work is helping to spread the message of Rastafari and legitimize its followers. But life in his home country is becoming increasingly difficult. The death of haile Selassie in August 1975 causes an outpouring of grief, and by 1976, a state of emergency is called as power cuts, shortages and violence threaten to destabilize the island.
- [29:54]
Richie Unterberger
Conditions in Jamaica in general were very bad at that time, economically for everybody, not so much for the really elite, richer class. But there was an amazing amount of unemployment. And also a lot of the most talented professionals in Jamaica, white and black, were leaving mostly for the United States, often for Florida.
- [30:19]
John Hopkins
With social discontent rising, the island feels increasingly divided. Wanting to help unite his country, Marley agrees to play at a gig, smile Jamaica, in December 1976. But within days of agreeing to play, he is dismayed when an election is called for the week after the gig. He wants to keep out of the politics that are causing so much friction and doesn't endorse either candidate. It's perhaps partly this neutrality that gives him such a universal appeal.
- [30:50]
Richie Unterberger
He was like the most popular figure bar any, I would say, in Jamaica. Not just the most popular entertainer, the most popular person in Jamaica.
- [31:01]
John Hopkins
Despite fears that the event is being hijacked by the vote, he honors his commitment to take part. But it's a decision that will have terrifying consequences. It's 8.30pm on the night of 3rd December 1976. At his faded tropical mansion on Hope Road in uptown Kingston, 31 year old Bob Marley has just finished rehearsing the song I Shot the Sheriff with his band. They're getting ready for the Smile Jamaica concert in 48 hours time. Hungry and thirsty, Bob goes into the kitchen and looks around for something to eat. His is an open house, always busy with people, and he often works through the night. He spots a grapefruit in the bowl and as he starts to peel it, Rita passes through and kisses him goodbye. She's off to rehearse for a pantomime and after that she'll go back to their home on the coast. Now Marley's manager, Don walks into the kitchen, taking a bottle from the fridge. He explains that they need to talk through the playlist for the concert, which Bob hopes will unite the island. As Don places his bottle on the counter and unfolds the set list he's jotted down on a piece of paper. Bob hears a noise outside. The sound of gates bursting open and car tires screeching across on the front yard. At first he assumes Reet is in a hurry, except isn't that two sets of tires? There's the sound of agitated voices and then, before Bob has time to process what's happening, a gunshot sounds. More follow and he ducks. Instinctively he needs to get out of there. But the sound is close. Whoever they are, these attackers are already inside the house. And as he lurches towards the kitchen door, he comes face to face with a very young looking gunman. For a moment the two men stare at each other, but then the stranger takes his unobstructed shot. Bob feels the bullet burn as it hits his arm. As he falls, Don thunders over, ready to take the attacker down. Except he's unarmed. The gunman fires and Don is hit several times before he crashes to the floor. Around the house, there is chaos. Amid an onslaught of gunfire, members of the band try to take cover under tables, behind doors, even in the bath. After scores of shots are fired, the gunmen escape as quickly as they arrived. Bob holds himself to his feet while all around him people are screaming and calling for help, for an ambulance. His arm badly injured, Bob staggers over to where Don lies in a pool of blood. His eyes are blank, but he is still breathing, though only just. And now Bob looks through the open front door. Rita's yellow VW Beetle is stopped at a strange angle halfway through the metal gates. The engine running, he races out of the house towards the car where Rita lies slumped over the steering wheel. 56 shots are fired that night by several gunmen, but remarkably, no one dies. Rita is hit as she tries to drive away, and though one bullet strikes her head, she survives by playing dead. Press reports will later claim her dreadlocks helped stop the bullet entering her skull. Don Marley's manager, needs emergency surgery. While Marley himself miraculously gets off most lightly. The question of who was behind the attempted assassination remains unanswered, with some even claiming the CIA may have wanted to silence his revolutionary message of empowerment.
- [35:25]
Richie Unterberger
It might never be solved like the John F Kennedy assassination as to who were the assassins and what were their motives. But that's some of the speculation, that maybe they wanted to take Marley out of action forever, or at least scare him enough that he wouldn't do the concert.
- [35:43]
John Hopkins
Whatever the motive, it's not enough to come between Marley and his gig. Two nights later, he takes the stage at the National Heroes park in Kingston, surrounded by 200 security staff. Though he can't play his guitar because of the arm injury, he performs a full 90 minute set.
- [36:09]
Richie Unterberger
It took a lot of courage on his part and Rita Marley's part because she was wounded in that attack on his home. But they went ahead with the concert. And it's one of these rare events that I think shows that music might not be able to eliminate these very volatile differences between people, but they can at least almost cause a ceasefire to them or get people together to do some things, even though in much of their lives they cannot cooperate.
- [36:42]
John Hopkins
A day later, Marley takes a break at Chris Blackwell's home in the Bahamas and then flies on to London. He won't return to Jamaica for 15 months. Marley sets up home in Chelsea. It's January 1977 and Britain is preparing to celebrate Queen Elizabeth's Silver Jubilee. But what draws Mali is the vibrant music scene. Like his home at Hope Road in Kingston, his London pad becomes a hangout for friends and other musicians. He hires a Rastafarian chef to cook ital mainly plant based food, and often jogs to nearby Battersea park to indulge in his second passion after music, playing football. But not all of his pastimes are as readily accepted in his adopted home. In April, he's arrested for possession, but is let off with a fine and allowed to stay in the uk.
- [37:39]
Richie Unterberger
A lot of these musicians felt that they wanted to use marijuana as a sacrament to get it to a higher spiritual plane. I do think, even though that's the usual public position, a lot of them did that out of Hedonistic reasons. They wanted to be high a lot, sometimes both.
- [37:56]
John Hopkins
His romantic life, too, is far from traditional by English standards. Rita has joined him in London, but she stays with the other female singers about a mile from where her husband lives openly with Cindy Breakspear, a white Jamaican model who has just been crowned Miss World. Their photos appear everywhere. It's said that the song Waiting in Vain is about the three years it took Marley to persuade Breakspear to be with him, though he still has affairs with other women while he's living with her. Their son, Damian, will be born in 1978. Even now, it's still not completely clear how many children Mali counts as his own. As well as the three he fathers with Rita, he also adopts her daughter from before they met and another daughter she has by a different man in 1974. And there are at least seven children he had outside of their marriage, some of whom Rita helped to raise. Even so, Marley sometimes tells friends he felt he'd been forced into early marriage.
- [39:01]
Richie Unterberger
Rita, I think, suffered a lot that she didn't maybe verbalize about Bob philandering. And should she have stuck with him or not? That's an open question. But she certainly did helped him in his music and personal life.
- [39:20]
John Hopkins
Though he was far from faithful himself, his view of a woman's role remains conservative, something he shares with many Rastafari men. There are also stories of Marley asking the women he has affairs with to dress modestly or not wear makeup.
- [39:35]
Richie Unterberger
I do think it's sort of a chauvinistic attitude that's not criticized as often by some historians as it should, and maybe Marley would have evolved out of that. But it does seem to him like it's okay for me to have multiple partners, but not the woman I'm involved with, especially my wife.
- [39:54]
John Hopkins
Though his private life is complex, his time in London is one of his most creative. The facilities are top quality, and he produces the album Exodus, which will later be named the best album of the 20th century by Time magazine. It includes the title track, plus Jamin, Waiting in Vain and Three Little Birds with its refrain Don't Worry About a Thing.
- [40:19]
Richie Unterberger
It had this flow where there was a lot of consistency. And if you wanted to hear some songs that were more about social protest or social injustice, they were there. But if you wanted to have some songs that were just uplifting in a general spiritual sense, they were there as well. If you didn't have the Rastafari faith, if you didn't even have a faith, you still felt good about listening to Bob Marley and Exodus. You felt that this is uplifting because it's making me feel good about life and what I can do in life in a way that's not preaching.
- [40:57]
John Hopkins
May 1977 sees 32 year old Mali embark on another tour of Europe, starting in Paris. The night before the first gig, he plays a game of football with reporters on a pitch near his hotel. He is in his element until one of the other players treads on his right big toe. Over the years, Marley has injured his right foot several times, but this latest wound leaves him in agony. When he finally seeks help, the diagnosis is shocking. A biopsy reveals a very rare form of skin cancer that has grown unnoticed under the toenail. The specialist advises amputation, but Mali refuses. In his faith, it's considered a sin. But that's not the only reason.
- [41:48]
Richie Unterberger
He felt that it would limit his mobility as performer. It was so important for him to give 100% when he was playing live that he felt like, even if I can only give 95%, if I can't dance around as much as I can, that's not going to satisfy me. So as long as I still have all of my functions, I want to give as much as I can in the time that I can also. This might sound frivolous, but he was a football fanatic as a player and, you know, you know, he wasn't a professional, but someone who just loved playing football and he felt, well, I can't be as good a football player.
- [42:29]
John Hopkins
Instead of amputation, Mahli has the nail bed removed followed by skin graft. After five months recovering, he works harder than ever, recording three albums in the next two years and filling bigger and bigger venues. And though he tours Japan, Australia and New Zealand in 1979, what he really wants is to play Africa.
- [42:51]
Richie Unterberger
I think it was very important to him because a lot of the source of the Rastafarian faith that he and many reggae musicians had adopted was centered in Africa. And also because as there had been in Jamaica, there were a lot of colonies or former colonies where people of color were suffering a lot of injustice. And he knew that the music and the message of the music there would be treasured by the audiences which he was starting to develop when he was able to do some concerts in Africa.
- [43:18]
John Hopkins
This includes playing at the independence celebrations in Zimbabwe in April 1980 in front of guests including the new president Robert Mugabe, plus Prince Charles and Indian leader Indira Gandhi.
- [43:32]
Richie Unterberger
Zimbabwe, like Jamaica, had been a colony under foreign rule and had only relatively recently achieved independence. So it was very important to Bob Marley to perform there, to give the population encouragement about the way forward as an independent country.
- [43:54]
John Hopkins
Soon afterwards, he is touring Europe again. The schedule is draining and photographs of him looking exhausted are met with rumors that his illness has returned. He brushes it off, concentrating on pushing more boundaries with his style. The album uprising, released in June 1980, includes a song that will be heralded as one of his greatest redemption.
- [44:19]
Richie Unterberger
Song, I think, is a very important song in part because it doesn't really sound like reggae. It almost sounds like what we call a singer songwriter music. Not exactly folk, but sort of contemporary folk. It's very reflective. And he probably didn't think this when he was writing it. It's almost like he's leaving a message for people, knowing that he's not gonna be. He's not going to be alive for very long.
- [44:49]
John Hopkins
It's Sunday, 21st September 1980, and at the luxurious Essex House Hotel in New York City, a group of guests gather in the gilded Art Deco lobby. Some stretch as they chat, preparing for a slow jog in Central Park. But this is no ordinary group of tourists. They're part of Bob Marley's entourage. Among them is Alan Cole, Skill to his friends, a former footballer for Jamaica's national squad, now working as Marley's tour manager. The elevator doors slide open and Skill watches as his close friend Bob steps out alongside the Wailers. Last night, Bob played the second of two incredible concerts at Madison Square Garden. They were opening for Lionel Richie and the Commodores, but upstaged the American group in a virtuoso performance in front of 20,000 people. So it's not surprising Bob looks weary this morning. He's been playing all summer across Europe, and as soon as the US tour is over, he's looking forward to a much needed break. He smiles at Skill, who is holding a football, and they head outside with the others. It's a hot, humid morning, but Skill knows that a run followed by a game of football never fails to energize his musician friend. As soon as they're inside Central park, leaving the busy street behind, the air seems fresher. Skill races ahead of the others, breaking into a light run. The leaves are turning red, but they haven't fallen yet, so the trees still shade the path from the autumn sunshine. As he surges ahead, he hears Bob call his name. He looks back, ready to tease his friend for slacking, but immediately realizes something is not right. Bob appears to be frozen on the spot. Before Skill has jogged the distance between them, Bob collapses onto the grass. The tour manager breaks into a sprint, then falls onto his knees alongside his friend. As the others gather round, Bob is rigid, unable even to move his head. His eyes are wide in terror as he cries out, but his words make no sense. Is this a fit? A stroke? Soon, passersby have stopped too. Bob's friends gather in a circle to shield him from view until eventually he finds he can move again. Skill helps him to his feet, supporting him as he weakly staggers back into the hotel. As the tour manager pushes the elevator call button, he whispers over his shoulder to the others. Get a doctor. And don't tell Rita about this until we know what's going on.
- [48:02]
Richie Unterberger
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- [48:30]
John Hopkins
A woman struck dead after hearing a haunting whistle. A series of childlike drawings scrawled throughout a country estate. A prize horse wandering the moors without an owner. To the regular observer, these are merely strange anomalies, but for the master detective Sherlock Holmes, they are the first pieces of an elaborate puzzle. I'm Hugh Bonneville. Join me every Thursday for Sherlock Holmes Short Stories. I'll be reading a selection of the super sleuth's most baffling cases, all brought to life in their original, masterful form. The game is afoot and you're invited to join the chase from the Noiser Network. This is Sherlock Holmes Short Stories. Search for Sherlock Holmes Short Stories wherever you get your podcasts or listen@noiser.com the next day, a scan reveals the worst possible news. The cancer has spread to his brain, liver and lungs. But though he's given just weeks to live, Marley initially insists that the show must go on.
- [49:45]
Richie Unterberger
He was sort of in such denial that he went to Pittsburgh and did a show. There's a officially released recording of that, but it was evident not so much from how he sounded, but from the way that he could move around and how much pain he was in that this can't go on.
- [50:02]
John Hopkins
The Pittsburgh concert on 23rd September 1980 will be the last time Bob Marley performs live. As soon as it's over, the other dates are cancelled. He undergoes radiotherapy, but when doctors say there's no more they can do, he flies to Germany, to a clinic specializing in alternative and holistic cancer treatment. Marley outlives the New York doctor's estimate of a few weeks, long enough to see the next spring and learn. He's been given the Jamaican Order of Merit, which is accepted by his son Ziggy. By May, though, it's clear the end is close. He flies to the US to be near his family and perhaps to die in Jamaica. He's in Miami when the end comes. It's said that before he dies in Hospital on May 11, 1981, aged just 36 years old, his last words to his son Ziggy are. On your way up Take me up on your way down. Don't let me down. Bob Marley's body is taken back to Jamaica, where 40,000 people file past his coffin. His service at Kingston combines Rasta rituals and those of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, to which he converted six months before he died. Afterwards, he is buried at his birthplace in Nine Mile. His casket contains his guitar, a Bible, a bud of marijuana and a football.
- [51:38]
Richie Unterberger
The New York Times got some quotes from fans at the funeral. So it's not a celebrity or somebody famous. And she said, as an orator, he wasn't much meaning when he spoke and when he was giving interviews. But his music said it all, and I think that is true.
- [51:57]
John Hopkins
While Mahli's life is over, cut tragically short, his fame continues to grow. In 1984, Island Records releases Legend, a compilation that tells the story of his evolution as a musician. To date, it's sold an estimated 25 million copies and continues to introduce new fans to Marley's work. But the use of Marley's image is much more controversial, believed by some to oversimplify what he stood for.
- [52:30]
Richie Unterberger
You can get Bob Marley handbags and mugs and I think smoking paraphernalia, not just for cigarettes. And it's okay if you want to have a Marley insignia. But it seems like sometimes that can become more important than the message of the music, which I think is the most important thing in his legacy.
- [52:55]
John Hopkins
Closer to home, his financial legacy creates conflict. Because he died without leaving a will, his practice of crediting friends as co writers on some of his tracks leads to some acrimonious court cases. But while his own story is over, Marley's family keep his legacy alive. Several of his children, including Ziggy and Damian, have forged their own successful musical careers. And his widow, a leading voice in Jamaican music, founded the Rita Marley foundation, which works to alleviate poverty in developing countries. Even now, over 40 years after his death, his music resonates with millions. His grave is a site of pilgrimage for fans, and the Tough Gong HQ on Hope Road, with the bullet holes from the assassination attempt still visible, is now a museum. But it's perhaps Trenchtown itself where his musical journey began, but holds the key to the enduring legend of Nestor Robert Marley.
- [54:04]
Richie Unterberger
His legacy is just an example of how somebody from very modest background from a country which is considered, at least it was then, Jamaica, part of the developing world, can have a massive impact way out of proportion to the size of the country and the economic and political power it exerts, and also a very positive impact throughout the world, where the best parts of his art are not just appreciated and selling records, but also inspiring people to make them feel better about themselves and in some cases to create their own art that will have a positive effect on others around them, whether it's just a few people or a few million people.
- [54:57]
John Hopkins
Next time on Short History Hub, we'll bring you a short history of the Australian Gold rush. The first few months of the gold rush in Australia were crazy. The news of payable gold at Ophir was confirmed in Sydney in March, and by early May around 300 diggers had already arrived to take their chances on the gold fields there, which is no small feat considering the distances people had to travel and the minimal infrastructure that existed to even get them there. People from all walks of life became involved in the rush. Ex convicts dug alongside doctors, alongside butchers. That's next time. If you can't wait a week until the next episode, you can listen to it right away by subscribing to Noiza plus head to www.noiza.comscriptions for more information.
- [55:57]
Richie Unterberger
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