Bob Marley

reggae

Bob Marley (February 6, 1945 – May 11, 1981), born Nesta Robert Marley which was later to be changed by passport officials to Robert Nesta Marley, was a Jamaican singer-songwriter, guitarist, and activist. He was the most widely known writer and performer of Reggae, and more specifically Roots Reggae. He is famous for popularising the genre outside of Jamaica and the Caribbean. Much of his music dealt with the struggles of the spiritually wealthy rasta and/or spiritually powerful Jah Rastafari. Starting out in 1963 with the group Bob Marley & The Wailers, he forged a distinctive song-writing and vocal style that would later resonate with audiences worldwide. The Wailers would go on to release some of the earliest reggae records with producer Lee Scratch Perry. After The Wailers disbanded in 1974, Marley pursued a solo career which culminated in the release of the album Exodus in 1977 which established his worldwide reputation and became one of the world's best-selling artists of all time, with sales of more than 75 million albums and singles. Bob Marley was a member of this Rastafari movement, whose culture was a key element in the development of reggae. Bob Marley became the leading proponent of the Rastafari, taking their music out of socially deprived areas of Jamaica and onto the international music scene. Now considered a Rasta prophet, Marley's adoption of the characteristic Rastafarian dreadlocks and famous use of marijuana as a sacred sacrament in the late si...