Bob Marley

Robert Nesta Marley was born at the 06.02.1945 in a place in Jamaica that's called Nine Miles, it's in the north. His father was a 50-year old member of the british army, his mother was about 18 years old and she had to raise him up herself. After a while the family moved into the capital city Kingston, they wanted to built up a new life but they endet up in a slum. He became interested in a new way of music, music from the USA like Ray Charles, James Brown, Curtis Mayfield and some else. So he and his friends started to play music, they were thought by Joe Higgs. They named themselves "The Wailing Wailers".
After some years they became really famous in Kingston. In 1966 he married his wife Rita, but he moved to the US with his mum later. He just wanted to collect some money for his band but when I came back, after 8 months, he was a religious man and a member of "Rastafari".
Even if their label was bankrupt after a while, they got to know a guy called Lee "Scratch" Perry, who was an producer. With "Soul Rebel", "Duppy Conqueror", "400 Years" and "Small Axe" they had their first break-trough. They had some new members and they changed their name to "The Wailers".
After many exciting years, full of trouble, full of travelling around and of music about politics, love, redemption, peace and all that, he was nearly dying in the most succesfull years he had. After a football-match his foot was injured and he passed out, the diagnosis was canser in his brain.
He was patient of a special natural therapy, but nothing helped. On his way back to Jamaica the 36-year old Bob Marley died, in Miami at the 11.05.1981.
Even after his death people are buying his music, they're thinking of him and his influence is still part of the culture.

Sarah & Sophie