REGGAE HERO
ROBERT 'BOB' NESTA MARLEY
By Michael Alexander
Caricom Regional Youth Ambassador
Regional Youth Ambassador Program
cryap2002@hotmail.com
http://www.caricom.org
Newsday
July 15, 2002
Page 53
Born: 1945, Rhoden Hall, Jamaica. Died: May 1981.
Bob Marley (and the Wailers) took Caribbean music, Reggae in particular to the world. Based in Trench town, Jamaica, the group then called the Wailing Wailers released their first single "Simmer Down" in 1963.
That was to the start of their rise to popularity at home and in the region.
In 1971, Bob marley and his group, then called the Wailers, traveled to Britain and recorded their first album "Catch a Fire" under the Island Record label. This was followed by tours of London and America in 1973, which brought the group international success.
After a 1976 assassination attempt on Marley, he left Jamaica and took up residence in London. In 1978, he returned to Jamaica to play the One Love Peace Concert in front of the Nations Leaders. That same year he received the United Nations Medal of Peace, and visited Africa for the first time.
In 1980, Bob Marley and the Wailers were invited by the government of liberated Zimbabwe to play at the country's Independence Ceremony.
In recognition of his outstanding contribution to the country's culture Marley was awarded Jamaica's Order of Merit, in April 1981, just one month before he died of cancer at the age of 36.