Robert Nesta Marley alias Bob Marley was born on February 6, 1945 to Captain Norval Marley and Cedalla Booker. Soon after Bob was born, his father left his mother.

Jobs were scarce in Jamaica then. So, Bob left for Trenchtown (West Kingston) to seek employment. Bob met Neville Livingstone who people called by his nickname Bunny. Bob and Bunny attended a music class together held by the famous Jamaican singer Joe Higgs. There they met Peter Macintosh and soon became good friends.

Music to many young Jamaicans was an escape from the harshness of everyday life. One of those kids was Jimmy Cliff. After meeting Bob, Jimmy introduced him to Leslie Kong, a local record producer. Bob followed his advice and auditioned for Leslie Kong. He recorded his first single “Judge Not”. Unfortunately “Judge Not” did not do very well.

The following year Bob, Bunny and some other friends formed the Wailing Wailers. The band continued on and was introduced to Clemet Dodd. It was here where the Wailing Wailers recorded the first song “Simmer Down” which did well in Jamaica.

Bob soon took on the role of the leader, being the main songwriter and all. Bob’s life continued to look bright on February 10, 1966 when he married girlfriend Rita Anderson. The newly Wailing Wailers left Clemet Dodd to form and renamed themselves the Wailers. They released a couple of numbers under their label such as “Bend down low” and “Mellow Mood” before it folded the very same year.

Later they met Lee Perry with whom the ‘Wailers’ produced great tracks — “Duppy Conquerer”, “Soul Rebel”, “400 Years” and “Small Axe”.

In 1973 they released ‘Catch a Fire’ called ‘Burnin’. On this album many Wailer classics appeared such as “I shot the Sheriff” and “Get Up Stand Up”. 1975 saw the release of the Wailers’ third album, ‘Natty Dread’ with such great tracks as “Talking Blues”, “No Woman No Cry” and “Revolution”.

That summer the band started a new European tour. The shows were recorded and made the album ‘Live!’ which included the unforgettable live version “No Woman No Cry”. Bob Marley and the Wailers continued releasing the incredible album ‘Rasta man Vibration’ in 1976. The album had a powerful track “War” the lyrics of which came from a speech given by Emperor Haile Selassie. After this they recorded 1977’s ‘Exodus’. Possibly their best album to date, it solidified the band’s international stardom.

In May, Bob was informed of his cancer. His cancer would most certainly be taken care of by amputating the toe but Bob refused. His illness didn’t prevent him from recording music though. In 1978 ‘Kaya’ was released for which Bob was accused for many of the songs in it were tributes to marijuana.

In 1980, the band was planning an American tour with Stevie Wonder. During the New York show Bob was very sick. On September 21, 1980, Bob collapsed while jogging and was brought to the hospital.

But Bob wanted to continue. He played an unforgettable show in Pittsburgh but was too ill to continue so the tour was finally cancelled.

Bob was transported to a Miami hospital where he was baptised Berhane Selassie in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church on November 4. In a final attempt to save his life he underwent treatment in Germany where he celebrated his 36th and final birthday. Bob was flown back. Unfortunately he didn’t finish the trip, he died on May 11, 1981 in a Miami hospital.

He was internationally mourned for and thousands showed up at his May 21 funeral to show their respects. In attendance were both the Jamaican President and the Leader of the Opposition. Bob Marley now rests in a mausoleum at his birthplace. After his death he was awarded Jamaica’s Order of Merit.