Bob Marley Research Paper

Rastaman
The Life, Legend, and Lyricism of Bob Marley

Mindlessly flipping through wall posters at a music store, I arrive at a tri-colored collage of a dread-locked artist. The largest image, his profile, consumes the top two-thirds of the poster. With his face turned to the right, and he sets his gaze upon something in the distance. With furrowed eyebrows, he appears to be discontent with whatever is in his view. Below his face are three more photographs of the man. To the left, he is aggressively playing a guitar; in the center, he wears the guitar and extends his right arm. To the right, he cries into a microphone with his head tilted back. On the price tag, I read and remember his name.
Bob Marley, I say aloud to myself as I turn
to the next poster. But I am still reviewing his profile in my mind. Yes, he is that Jamaican singer. Reggae. Is he not that singer rather infamous for smoking marijuana? Is he still alive? As I stand there thinking about it, it becomes clear that I have more questions than answers about Bob Marley. One question in particular drives me to research this character: How did he earn international reverence and renown? Robert Nesta Marley ushered reggae from the Jamaican slums to the world stage. His rhythms would rock the body while his lyrics lit the soul, but the man himself had a humble beginning.
Bob Marley was born February 6, 1945 to Cedella Booker and Norval Marley. Cedella and Norval had married the previous year from different social groups; he was a white, naval captain, and she was a poor, black girl of seventeen. Captain Marley’s parents strongly disapproved of the union and encouraged their son in his decision to abandon his household when Marley was still an infant.
Harassed because of his light skin, biracial Bob Marley quit school and apprenticed himself to a welder at age fourteen. He was hostile toward the education system in Jamaica, which he accused of teaching only European history and ideals. Said Marley about his own education, “My mother work twenty shillings a week for keep me go to school… Me no have education. Me have inspiration! If I was educated I would be a damn fool…” (Dawes, 79). Marley found wisdom and belonging in the ideologies of Rastafarianism. Rastafarianism is a religion based on prophecies of the Bible’s Old Testament. According to these prophecies, Haile Selassie, emperor of Ethiopia is the returned Messiah. In its beginnings, Rastafarianism was an Afrocentric religion that appealed to the disenfranchised and impoverished peoples in Jamaica. Life experience and his indoctrination into Rastafarianism, rather than education, would become the resources that allowed Marley to produce eloquent lyrics.
Marley welded by day and composed by night. Working with a local producer in 1962, he released two singles, Judge Not, and One Cup of Coffee. Neither song rose to popularity. The following year, he and five friends formed a ska group called The Wailers, and in 1964, their single Simmer Down was well received throughout Jamaica. Simmer Down was written in response to “rude boys”, marginalized, unruly juveniles that migrated from the countryside to Kingston. Because of their uncontrolled behavior these young men were discriminated against, which only limited their employment options and increased their violent behavior. The Wailers cautioned the boys through song to simmer down, reminding them of the social consequences, and personal struggles they would face if they remained troublesome. The lyrical admonition of the Wailers comes from a genuine place because each of the six group members had been rude-boys in their teenage years. With a tone representative of their group name, they wail to the country boys in the city streets,
Simmer down, oh control your temper
Simmer down, for the battle will be hotter
(Simmer down) and you won’t get no supper
(Simmer down) and you know your bound to suffer
Simmer down, simmer, simmer, simmer right down. (The Wailers, 1964).
Simmer Down was only the beginning of Marley’s many socio-politically themed records that were to become indisputably influential. However, the attractiveness of Marley’s music depended on sound as well as subject matter. To understand the influence reggae had on its listeners, one must consider what voices had an influence on reggae. Peter Manuel, the author of Popular Musics of the Non-Western World, maintains that ska and rock-steady are the immediate ancestors of roots reggae.
Ska was a Jamaican translation of Rhythm and Blues, evidenced by the fact that most ska performances on the island were covers of American hits. The fan base for ska was primarily Jamaica’s lower class. According to Manuel, ska gave birth to a more sophisticated genre of music called rock-steady. Rock-steady was dance music with the same tempo as ska, but less percussion driven. The rhythm in rock-steady was supplied by its guitars. As rock-steady arrived on the scene, socio-political activism was rising steadily in Jamaica. The religious zeal of Rastafarianism, a renewed sense of Afrocentrism, as well as the Civil Rights Movement in America became favorite topics of songs written with a rock-steady rhythm.
As rock-steady evolved into reggae, its message of social consciousness remained intact. Reggae grew in popularity, and this was the first time that the common Jamaican man had a legitimate voice in the media. Reggae transmitted the cries of the oppressed through the airwaves. As Marley sang in One Love, “Can’t you hear the children crying? One love! One heart! Let’s sing praise to the Lord and I will be alright.” As reggae artist Roy Cousins stated, “If you listen to reggae music, you don’t need to buy the paper. Reggae music tells you everything that happened in Jamaica!” (Waters, 58).
By the time Marley began expressing himself through this art form, reggae was simply an adult form of rock-steady (Manuel, 79). Reggae is slower than its predecessor. Always played in 4/4 time, the percussion emphasis of beats 2 and 4 give reggae music a hypnotic feel. Reggae employs the Burru, an African drum considered the least contaminated by outside influences. The bass guitar partners with the drums for a combination artists call the riddim (rhythm). Other instruments in a typical reggae band are the lead guitar offering solos in rhythm and blues, the horns usually introducing the song, and the keyboards for harmonic ostinatos.
Reggae artists like Marley sang about a variety of subjects: love, sexuality, poverty, class struggle, and faith. Although Marley married Jamaica singer Rita Anderson in 1966, very little of his music during this time period is romantic. In fact, the subject matter of Marley’s lyrics may have been a point on contention for the band members over time.
Bob Marley restructured The Wailers to include his new wife and only two of its original members, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer. They produced two hit albums, Catch a Fire, 1972, and Burnin’, 1973 which were deeply political. Burnin’ testifies to the men’s identification as rude boys, with songs entitled “I Shot the Sheriff”, and “Burnin’ and Lootin’”. With these albums, The Wailers with their cries from the Kingston ghetto reached international fame. Kwame Dames, author of Bob Marley; Lyrical Genius, describes the influence of The Wailers on their new audience, “Those who did not know The Wailers were being introduced not just to a group of men, but also to a way of life, to a philosophy about life, to a whole new culture, to a whole new landscape and to a radical way of thinking about popular song” (Dawes, 39).
After the release of their second album, the Wailers went their separate ways. Some historians maintain there was a dispute among the partners over the direction of their musical message, but most likely Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer simply seized the opportunity to pursue solo careers. Bob Marley continued his band with Rita and two female back-up singers called the I-Threes. Marley and the I-Threes kept the name Wailers, becoming Bob Marley and the Wailers. Bob Marley and the Wailers produced Natty Dread through Island Records on October 25, 1974. The album is named after a character in Rastafarianism, Natty Dread. Natty Dread is to Rastafarianism what Adam is to Christianity. He is the original man. Natty Dread has the toughness and social discontent of a rude boy with the high-mindedness and purity of a Rastaman.
Natty Dread was following by Rastaman Vibration in April of 1976. Both albums touched on issues of love, faith, and politics. The two releases were received with overwhelming enthusiasm, making Bob Marley himself a national icon- and a target.
Jamaican Prime Minister Michael Manley sought Marley’s talents to court the favor of the people.
In December of 1976, he invited Bob Marley and the Wailers to perform at a campaign celebration. However, the night before the engagement, assailants attacked Bob Marley in a drive-by shooting, accusing him of being a Manley supporter. Homemade bullets wounded Bob, Rita, and Don Taylor, the band manager. Marley sustained minor injuries and was released from the hospital that same night, but his wife and manager remained. The assassins were never found. Because the enemy was still at large, the rest of the band thought it best to cancel the engagement. Prime Minister Manley assured the band of extensive security at the event, so Marley decided to honor his commitment. He gave his concert the next day, as
planned.
Marley’s subsequent records, Exodus in 1977, and Kaya in 1978 presented a shift in lyrical content. Exodus and Kaya had more love songs between them that the other five albums combined. Marley’s explanation for this was that he had shifted his music to meet the needs of the people. The people, he felt, had had enough war and politics. They needed to be reminded of what he called the beauties of life. But perhaps it was Marley himself who needed a change of scenery. The assassination attempt had left him emotionally unstable. Mentally, he had to rest in Jah (God), and so he began producing lyrics of love and faith.
In 1978, Marley toured Ethiopia as a Rastman. During his pilgrimage, Marley learned of the internal struggle many African nations faced, especially the political tension in Rhodesia. Upon his return to Jamaica, Bob Marley and the Wailers produced Survival (1979). The message in Survival served two purposes; it encouraged the African people in political struggles to press onward, and it reminded his Jamaican brethren that Marley had not lost his passion for controversial issues. Unlike Exodus and Kaya, Survival had no love songs. Romance was suspended, making room for songs like “Zimbabwe”. “Zimbabwe” begins with these revolutionary lyrics:
Every man gotta right to decide his own destiny,
And in this judgment there is no partiality.
So arm in arms, with arms, we’ll fight this little struggle,
‘Cause that’s the only way we can overcome our little trouble. (Bob Marley and The Wailers, 1979).
A long way from encouraging rude boys to simmer down, Marley challenged his African brothers with these lyrics like these to control their own destiny through force. His message was received, for in April of 1980, Bob Marley and the Wailers performed at the Independence Day Celebration for Rhodesia, which renamed itself Zimbabwe.
In June of that same year, Marley released Uprising, the last album produced before his death.
Dawes calls this compilation a “truthful album”. Instead of being an intensely romantic work, or brazenly political, Uprising is an equal blend of love, faith, and politics. Marley toured Europe to promote Uprising, and began a tour in America after its release. However, the American tour was canceled after only two shows because Marley suffered a stroke one morning while jogging. The stroke was caused by cancer that had developed from an old wound in his toe. Marley would not let the doctors remove his toe because Rastafarianism prohibits dismemberment. The cancerous infection spread through the Rastaman’s body. He died May 11,
1981.
In many ways, reggae made Bob Marley as much as he made reggae. Reggae, Rastafarianism, and the restlessness in the Jamaican political system quickly swelled into a wave of rebellion and revolution, which Marley surfed to international fame.
Marley is credited with bringing the musical style of reggae to the ears and hearts of the international community. His passion for social justice and Pan-Africanism lifted the souls of an entire diaspora. Marley is the face of roots reggae. Though his fan base was in the hundreds of thousands, Marley claimed he was not a leader, “People want to listen to a message, word from Jah. This could be passed through me or anybody. I am not a leader… The word of the songs, not the person, is what attracts people.” The words of the songs, the message of a Rasta prophet, and the anger of the oppressed rolled into a relaxed, reggae rhythm is Marley’s eternal gift to listeners. The music, the message, and the man were revolutionary. “My music will go on forever. Maybe it’s a fool say that. But when me know facts me can say facts. My music will go on forever.” – Robert Nesta Marley.
Bibliography:
Dawes, Kwame. Bob Marley: Lyrical Genius. London: Sanctuary, 2002.
Davis, Stephen. Bob Marley. Rochester: Schenkman Books, Inc, 1990.
Katz, David. Solid Foundation: An Oral History of Reggae. New York: Bloomsbury, 2003.
King, Stephen A. Reggae, Rastafari, and Rhetoric of Social Control. Jackson: University of Mississippi, 2002.
Manuel, Peter. Popular Musics of the Non-Western World. New York: Oxford University Press, 1988.
Ojo, Adebayo. Bob Marley: Songs of African Redemption. Nigeria: Malthouse Press Limited, 2000.
Prahlad, Anand. Reggae Wisdom. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2001.
Waters, Anita. Race, Class, and Political Symbols. New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers, 1985.