Robert Nesta "Bob" Marley (February 6, 1945 – May 11, 1981)
was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and musician. He was the
lead singer, songwriter and guitarist for the ska, rocksteady
and reggae bands The Wailers (1964–1974) and Bob Marley
& The Wailers (1974–1981).
Marley remains the most widely known and revered performer
of reggae music, and is credited for helping spread both Jamaican
music and the Rastafari movement to a worldwide audience.
Marley's best known hits include "I Shot the Sheriff", "No Woman,
No Cry", "Could You Be Loved", "Stir It Up", "Jamming", "Redemption
Song", "One Love" and, together with The Wailers, "Three Little Birds",
as well as the posthumous releases "Buffalo Soldier" and "Iron Lion Zion".
The compilation album, Legend (1984), released three years after his
death, is reggae's best-selling album, being 10 times Platinum (Diamond)
in the U.S.,and selling 20 million copies worldwide.
In July 1977, Marley was found to have acral lentiginous melanoma,
a form of malignant melanoma, in a wound reportedly picked up in
a friendly football match. After the album Uprising was released in
May 1980 the band completed a major tour of Europe, where they
played their biggest ever concert, to a hundred thousand people in
Milan. After the tour Marley went to America, where he performed
two shows at Madison Square Garden as part of the Uprising Tour.
Shortly afterwards his health deteriorated and he became very ill,
the cancer had spread throughout his body. The rest of the tour
was cancelled and Marley sought treatment at the Bavarian clinic
of Josef Issels, where he received a controversial type of cancer
therapy partly based on avoidance of certain foods, drinks and
other substances. After fighting the cancer without success for
eight months he boarded a plane for his home in Jamaica.
While flying home from Germany to Jamaica, accepting that he was
going to die, Marley's vital functions worsened. After landing in Miami,
he was taken to hospital for immediate medical attention.
He died at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital in Miami on the morning of
May 11, 1981, at the age of 36. The spread of melanoma to his lungs
and brain caused his death. His final words to his son Ziggy were
"Money can't buy life." Marley received a state funeral in Jamaica on
May 21, 1981, which combined elements of Ethiopian Orthodoxy and
Rastafari tradition. He was buried in a chapel near his birthplace with
his red Fender Stratocaster. A month before his death, he had also
been awarded the Jamaican Order of Merit.
Bob Marley had a number of children: three with his wife Rita, two
adopted from Rita's previous relationships, and several others with
different women. The Bob Marley official website acknowledges eleven
children.
Sharon, born November 23, 1964, to Rita in previous relationship
Cedella born August 23, 1967, to Rita
David "Ziggy", born October 17, 1968, to Rita
Stephen, born April 20, 1972, to Rita
Robert "Robbie", born May 16, 1972, to Pat Williams
Rohan, born May 19, 1972, to Janet Hunt
Karen, born 1973 to Janet Bowen
Stephanie, born August 17, 1974; according to Cedella Booker she was the daughter of Rita and a man called Ital with whom Rita had an affair; nonetheless she was acknowledged as Bob's daughter
Julian, born June 4, 1975, to Lucy Pounder
Ky-Mani, born February 26, 1976, to Anita Belnavis
Damian, born July 21, 1978, to Cindy Breakspeare
