Bob Marley’s Influence
Beyond the Music - a Legacy in Song Writing
1
Bob Marley’s Influence Beyond the Music - a Legacy in Song Writing
2
Abstract
This paper 's intention is brief exploration of the cultural influence of Bob Marley and the legacy of his song writing. It outlines the biography of Marley’s life and the influence of his music. The paper will focus upon Bob Marley as a profound songwriter and champion of social justice.
Bob Marley’s Influence - Beyond the Music - a Legacy in Song Writing
3
Across the globe, Bob Marley is a universally recognized icon. His image transcends just music and he is a cultural hero to many. To most, …show more content…
Song writing was his most powerful tool.
Born in Jamaica, Marley was a child of an absentee white father and his family struggled with poverty. In the famed impoverished Trenchtown neighborhood of
Kingston, Marley found his love of music streaming from jukeboxes. American
Mowtown artists and Elvis was his early musical influences. Marley 's early success included childhood friends Bunny Livingston and Peter Tosh. Later he signed with prominent record label island records and gained US recognition with hit songs I Shot the Sheriff, Redemption Song, Three Little Birds, Exodus, and Don 't Worry. His US and UK exposure increased by touring with Bruce Springsteen in the mid seventies.
Through the 70s, his namesake, image and reggae music gained in prominence until his untimely death in 1981.
Part of the Marley mystique is certainly due to the rastafarian lifestyle and its use marijuana. Rastafarian movement began in Jamaica in the 1930s and is a pseudo
Christian belief that Haille Salassi, former Ethiopian leader ,was the second coming
Bob Marley’s Influence - Beyond the Music - a Legacy in Song …show more content…
(Romer 2014) Bob Marley wrote and hundreds of songs. He 's best-known for his political and protest songs. Many focused on the end of slavery, the life of poverty, and exploitation of all of those who suffer. People around the world connected with his uplifting message. The message still resonates today with millions of copies of his recording sold around the world. (Gruger 2013) In October 2013, on the 33rd anniversary of his last recording session with the Wailers, Bob Marley once again was topping the Billboard charts.
"You can fool some people sometimes, but you can 't fool all the people all the time. So now we see the light! We gonna stand up for our rights!" (Marley 1973)
Lyrics such as this are an example of Marley’s message to the world and his listeners.
It inspired many to question authority and seek social justice.
In conclusion the most significant point Marley made was to spread peace throughout the globe through his music and his culture. Marley had passed away May
11th, 1981 from a cancerous tumor that had then spread throughout his body. Although
Marley may have passed, that didn 't mean his movement was going to pass along with it. Bob Marley’s Influence - Beyond the Music - a Legacy in Song Writing