Preview

Bob Marley

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
893 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Bob Marley
Bob Marley

My “saintly person” is Bob Marley. His full name was Robert “Bob” Nesta Marley. He was actually named Nesta Robert Marley when he was born but a Jamaican Passport official accidently mixed up his names. He was born on February 6,1945 in the village of Nine Mile in Saint Ann Parish, Jamaica. In 1977 he was diagnosed with having a type of skin cancer under one of toe nails. He refused to have his toe amputated. He died on May 11, 1981 after the cancer had spread to his lungs and brain.

Bob Marley was very poor growing up. He started singing in his teens. He quit school at age 14 and started working as a welder’s apprentice when his mom found him the job. He ended up getting a steel splinter in his eye after not very long and quit the job to pursue a music career full time. In 1963 he formed a band with a few friends called Bob Marley and the Wailers. They wrote songs about Jamaica’s poor and began to be a big influence on the youth of Jamaica. In 1966, Bob began to slowly adopt the Rastafarian way of life and began wearing his hair in dreadlocks. Rastafari was a religion based on the teachings of Marcus Garvey. Garvey said that Africans should worship a god of their own image like the God of Ethiopia. Rastafari’s beliefs were also based on The Holy Piby or The Black Man’s Bible. He urged his people to know their history so it wouldn’t be repeated again. Before Bob Marley, Rastafari beliefs were only referenced once in a while by Jamaican musicians. Bob Marley and the Wailers were responsible for introducing Rastafari to the world by using lyrics in their songs that came from the Holy Piby.

Bob Marley is probably most famous for wearing dreadlocks and red green and gold, the colors of the Ethiopian flag. His song “One Love” was declared the song of the millennium by the BBC. Since 1984, it sells over 250,000 copies a year. Bob provided a service to the world because his lyrics gave a voice to the poor, to the people suffering from racial

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Bob marley

    • 1182 Words
    • 5 Pages

    3. Note how often through the course of the essay he is either alone or at the edge of a group of people whose language he doesn’t understand. How do you interpret this?…

    • 1182 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Dorsey, Greg M. "Bob Marley: The Man and The Legend." The Dread Library, Apr. 1998. Web. 29th Jan. 2014 http://debate.uvm.edu/dreadlibrary/dorsey.html…

    • 1046 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    I chose Bob Marley because not only does he inspire millions of people, he also inspires me to live happily. Every song has a different history behind that it always kept my attention, since the major theme of the music that he wrote it referred to the political and religious beliefs. At a struggling childhood he still seemed to be famous and make an impact on people’s lives and selling millions of records. He’s the most prominent international spokesperson for Rastafarianism through his musical fame. He was always trying to promote peace and cultural understanding with Jamaica. Marley’s music remains widely acclaimed, he is a legendary musician that nobody will ever…

    • 112 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Born on February 6,`1945 in St. Ann Parish, Jamaica. Bob Marley helped introduce reggae music to the world and remains one of the genre's most beloved artists to this day. The son of a black teenage mother and much older, later absent white father, he spent his early years in St. Ann Parish, in the rural village known as Nine Miles. Marley lived in Trench Town, one of the city's poorest neighborhoods. He struggled in poverty, but he found inspiration in the music around him. Trench Town had a number of successful local performers and was considered the Motown of Jamaica.A local record producer, Leslie Kong, liked Marley's vocals and had him record a few singles, the first of which was "Judge Not," released in 1962. While he did not fare well…

    • 225 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Bob Marley was a Jamaican singer and songwriter whose name represents reggae music, the principles of Rastafarianism, and the struggle of the economically and politically oppressed. Released in 1983, the anti-slavery song entitled "Buffalo Solider," communicates the racial injustices and the pracitce of slavery towards Africans while simultaneously admiring those who fought against the oppression. Comparatively, Dick Hebdige’s article “Reggae, Rasta and Rudies," discusses the discrimination amongst blacks and whites and the effect of Rastafarianism on the youth culture.…

    • 147 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Rastafarians, Rastas, Sufferers, Locksmen, Dreads or Dreadlocks, call them what you want, what are the common themes surrounding these people? They are thought to be a dirty cult of outcasts that smoke marijuana all day in a tropical paradise. For the most part, people have an image of the stereotypical Jamaican guy with dreadlocks down his back wearing green, gold and red with a fat joint hanging out of his mouth. This is how I used to see Rastafarians as well. The common misconception is that all Jamaicans are Rastafarians and they all smoke marijuana, which is not true. The Rastafarian culture and belief system…

    • 2104 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Bob Marley Research Paper

    • 2442 Words
    • 10 Pages

    Bob Marley, the greatest musician that a third world country has ever produced. His songs touched the lives of millions and his constant message of peace helped to shape Jamaica's future. His breakthroughs in Reggae also helped in the formation of Rap and Rhythm and Blues. In the year 1944, Captain Norvol Marley married young Jamaican girl named Cedella Booker. On February 6, 1945 at 2:30 a.m. their son, Robert Nesta Marley, otherwise known as Bob Marley was born in his grandfather's house.…

    • 2442 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Catch a Fire

    • 702 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The book “Catch a Fire” is a beautiful description of the Jamaican culture, the Rastafarian faith, the growth and development of reggae music and how it all added up to make Bob Marley’s life. All of those elements of what made Bob Marley “human” will be talked about and explained in this paper. The best artists are the ones who have passed but there work still lives on and Bob Marley left an unforgettable mark on modern music, both as a reggae creator and as a cultural icon. His beliefs and values helped him become a part of the Rastafarian faith and grow into a great musician whose music is still listened to today. The author, Timothy White, did an amazing job describing Bob’s background giving his readers a much greater appreciation for Marley and his music.…

    • 702 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    No matter who you are music is a part of your life from the day you are born and even after death music still lives with people. This is also evident in people that make music because the person that makes music may die but there music lives one forever. Bob Marley passed away in 1983 but I still hear his music and see an image of him on a daily basis. What a lot of people don’t know about Bob Marley and The Wailers is that how influential there music was to the people of Jamaica, Africa, Rastas, and people all over the globe.…

    • 876 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Bob Marley Research Paper

    • 1346 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The final way Strachan identifies with Bob Marley and his music is characteristically. During our interview, Darien claimed to share several common character traits with Marley. “He is my idol,” Darien stated, “so he has definitely been a huge influence on the type of person I am” (Strachan). Darien described himself as a kind-hearted, calm, and generally content person whose biggest desire is peace in the world and equality amongst everyone. I, being a close friend of Darien’s, can surely attest to this, and after a considerable amount of research on Bob Marley, I discovered that Marley and Darien are, in fact, quite alike in terms of personality. Marley was famous for his lyrics and quotes about happiness, positivity, and racial equity. Darien’s favorite Bob Marley quote, which he keeps on a poster, hung up on a wall in is dorm, is “Love the life you live. Live the life you love.” Darien claims to live his life by these words. Another aspect of Marley’s character to which Darien identifies is his disregard for money and material things. He stated, “He wasn’t about the money; he was all about the music” (Strachan). This is one of the things Darien admires most about Marley and the reason he prides himself in being a non-materialistic person as well. Because Strachan and Marley possess such similar attitudes and values, Strachan finds it easy to identify with Bob Marley and the messages he conveys in his music and…

    • 1346 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Bob Marley is undeniably an icon of social change within not only America, but also around the world where his music has been heard. Author Anthony Bogues in his article “Get Up, Stand Up: The Redemptive Poetics of Bob Marley” even goes as far as to compare Marley to Martin Luther King Jr. seeing the evidence that they both stood strongly for social change in a time when we most surely needed it. Bogues writes, “common to both King and Marley was the universalism, a commitment to social change, and the fact that both were prophetic voices whose visions of a new world…

    • 1672 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Bob Marley Research Paper

    • 2863 Words
    • 12 Pages

    He felt like Jamaica had betrayed him in a way and had to leave for a while to get over it. While in London Bob suffered what seemed to be toe injury that got infected and was never healed. He was advised to amputate it, but Bob would not do that because he was Rastafarian and as a Rastafarian he was supposed to exercise every day. But eventually he had half of his big toe off of his foot amputated. Then finally after two years of exile he returned to Jamaica to try and create peace by having another free concert for the people (3). Everyone was scared for him at this concert that he might be shot at again but nothing of that sort happened. Jamaica was ready for Bob Marley to return and they wouldn’t have done anything to ruin it again. During this concert Bob not expectantly called the two leaders of the warring parties onto the stage and forced them to shake hands in front of the people…

    • 2863 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Clearly, religion plays an important role in the lives of most ordinary, common people. This is also very clear in the bluegrass and reggae lyrics. Much of reggae music is centered on Rastafarianism, which is essentially a religious doctrine. Marley’s lyrics to “Redemption Song” advocate a Rastafarian concept: fighting for what you believe in with the support of God. “But my aim was made strong by the hands of the almighty; we fought in this generation triumphantly” Other artists, like the lesser known, Bankie Banx, chose to write lyrics based on the earth, "Cherish the rock, on which we build our nation, Cherish the rock it is our true foundation." Showing reverence for the not only God, but for what God made. (). Likewise, the lyrics…

    • 675 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Marley, who was known for his personality, his fight for peace, and of course, his music. Marley was going to perform his songs that were about racial profiling and God, in a fight against racism and social classes. He was not supposed to perform at the festival, because of his injuries, but he wouldn’t let that stop him. Marley released himself from…

    • 346 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Frank Sinatra

    • 708 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Growing up on the streets of Hoboken, New Jersey, made Frank Sinatra determined to work hard to get ahead. Starting out as a saloon singer in many down-trotted bars, he got his first major break in 1935 as part of The Hoboken Four on a popular radio show, Major Bowes Amateur Hour. In 1939 Sinatra caught the attention of Tommy Dorsey and his orchestra. He sang the first ever No. 1 song on Billboard, I'll Never Smile Again. That same year he married Nancy Barbato with whom he had three children, Nancy, Tina and Frank, Jr. Sinatra. In 1942 Sinatra started his earnest solo career and instantly found fame as the number one singing star among teenage music fans of the era, especially the young women and girls who were referred to as the Bobbysoxers. In 1944 Sinatra's acting career was beginning and he made a statement with a lead role in Anchors Aweigh (1945) alongside Gene Kelly. The following year Sinatra was awarded a special Oscar for his part in a short film against intolerance called The House I Live In (1946). His career on high, Sinatra went from, recording his first album (The Voice of Frank Sinatra) at Columbia and starring in several movies.…

    • 708 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays