RhoDeo 1131 Roots

Hello, last time we landed on an island with a huge place in the global music catalogue, Jamaica. A production hothouse and they say the Weed makes you slow and lazy-go figure. Without the ganja driven reggae music Jamaica would have remained a Caribbean backwater and dare i say would never have given us Bolt, the fastest man in the world. The coming months there's plenty of reggae & dub from Jamaica, today we kick off with a man who's name became synonymous with Jamaican Reggae, Bob Marley. Together with The Wailers there's their classic cut, Catch A Fire in remastered form as well as an audio rip from a 77 concert video which cover looks remarkably the same as their 75 highly successful Live album.

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Marley was born in the small village, his father, Norval Sinclair Marley was a Jamaican of English descent, with parents from Sussex. Norval was a Marine officer and captain, as well as a plantation overseer, when he married Cedella Booker, a black Jamaican then eighteen years old. Norval provided financial support for his wife and child, but seldom saw them, as he was often away on trips. Marley was ten years old when his father died of a heart attack. Thereupon Marley and his mother moved to Kingston's Trenchtown slum . He was forced to learn self-defense, as he became the target of bullying because of his racial makeup and small stature (5'4" or 163 cm tall). Marley became friends with Neville "Bunny" Livingston with whom he started to play music. He left school at the age of 14 and started as an apprentice at a local welder's shop. In his free time, he and Livingston made music with Joe Higgs, a local singer and devout Rastafari who is regarded by many as Marley's mentor. It was at a jam session with Higgs and Livingston that Marley met Peter McIntosh (Peter Tosh).

In 1962, Marley recorded his first two singles, "Judge Not" and "One Cup of Coffee", with local music producer Leslie Kong. These songs attracted little attention. In 1963, Bob Marley, Bunny Livingston, Peter McIntosh, Junior Braithwaite, Beverley Kelso, and Cherry Smith formed a ska and rocksteady group, calling themselves "The Teenagers". They later changed their name to "The Wailing Rudeboys", then to "The Wailing Wailers", and finally to "The Wailers". By 1966, Braithwaite, Kelso, and Smith had left The Wailers, leaving the core trio of Marley, Livingston, and McIntosh. Marley took on the role of leader, singer, and main songwriter. Much of The Wailers' early work, including their first single Simmer Down, was produced by Coxsone Dodd at Studio One. Simmer Down topped Jamaican Charts in 1964 and established The Wailers as one of the hottest groups in the country. They followed up with songs such as "Soul Rebel" and "400 Years". After a conflict with Dodd, Marley and his band teamed up with Lee "Scratch" Perry and his studio band, The Upsetters. Although the alliance lasted less than a year, they recorded what many consider The Wailers' finest work.

The Wailers' first album, Catch A Fire, was released worldwide in 1973, and sold well. It was followed a year later by Burnin', which included the songs "Get Up, Stand Up" and "I Shot The Sheriff". Eric Clapton made a hit cover of "I Shot the Sheriff" in 1974, raising Marley's international profile.The Wailers broke up in 1974 with each of the three main members going on to pursue solo careers.

In 1975, Marley had his international breakthrough with his first hit outside Jamaica, "No Woman, No Cry" from the Natty Dread album. This was followed by his breakthrough album in the US, Rastaman Vibration (1976). In December 1976, two days before "Smile Jamaica", a free concert organized by the Jamaican Prime Minister Michael Manley, Marley, his wife, and manager Don Taylor were wounded in an assault by unknown gunmen inside Marley's home. Taylor and Marley's wife sustained serious injuries, but later made full recoveries. Bob Marley received only minor injuries in the chest and arm and performed at the concert. Marley left Jamaica at the end of 1976 for England, where he recorded his Exodus and Kaya albums. It was here that he was arrested and received a conviction for possession of a small quantity of cannabis while traveling in London. Survival, a defiant and politically charged album, was released in 1979. Uprising (1980) was Bob Marley's final studio album, and is one of his most religious productions, including "Redemption Song" and "Forever Loving Jah".

July 1977, Marley was found to have malignant melanoma in his big toe. Marley refused amputation, citing worries that the operation would affect his dancing, as well as the Rastafari belief that the body must be "whole": This belief may have cost him his life as the cancer spread until may 81 when he died of it. Bob Marley had 13 children (2 adopted) the last one being born 3 weeks after his death, spring 72 he managed to father 3 sons within a month..go figure well the tabloids werent interested in him in those days..

Bob Marley's music has continuously grown in popularity in the years since his death, providing a stream of revenue for his estate and affording him a mythical status in 20th century music history. He remains enormously popular and well-known all over the world, particularly so in Africa. Marley was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. Time magazine chose Bob Marley & The Wailers' Exodus as the greatest album of the 20th century.

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A CLASSIC

Bob Marley & The Wailers – Catch A Fire ( 106mb)

01 Concrete Jungle 4:12
02 Slave Driver 2:54
03 400 Years 2:45
04 Stop That Train 3:55
05 Rock It Baby 4:06
06 Stir It Up 5:30
07 Kinky Reggae 3:36
08 No More Trouble 3:56
09 Midnight Ravers 4:57
Bonus Tracks
10 High Tide Or Low Tide 4:40
11 All Day All Night 3:26

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Bob Marley And The Wailers came to London's Rainbow Theatre in the summer of 77. The Exodus album was riding the charts. The band's potent, magical was everywhere, on the airwaves, the jukeboxes and soundsystems. Bob Marley was one of the evocative and charismatic performers of the seventies, an artist whose songs have weaved their way into our collective consciousness. Here's the audiorip from the video.

Bob Marley And The Wailers – Live At The Rainbow ( 77 164mb)

01 Trenchtown Rock (3:54)
02 Them Belly Full (But We Hungry) (2:55)
03 I Shot The Sheriff (5:12)
04 Rebel Music (3 O'Clock Road Block) (4:48)
05 Lively Up Yourself (6:33)
06 Crazy Baldhead (9:05)
07 War-No More Trouble (7:50)
08 The Heathen (5:37)
09 No Woman No Cry (6:06)
10 Jamming (6:09)
11 Get Up Stend Up (4:48)
12 Exodus (7:29)

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elsewhere

Bob Marley - Early Days 1 ( ^ 98mb)
Bob Marley - Early Days 2 ( ^ 95mb)

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