Bob Marley

Bob Marley, born in Nine Mile, Jamaica, in 1945, carried reggae out of Jamaica and made it a sound the whole world knew before his death in 1981. He started out in 1963 with Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer in a vocal group that became the Wailers, cutting ska and rocksteady records for labels such as Studio One and working with the Upsetters. As the '60s gave way to the '70s the music settled into rhythm-driven reggae, and Marley's conversion to Rastafari gave the songs a spiritual fire.

Signing to Island changed everything. Catch a Fire and Burnin', both in 1973, won the band international attention, and they took them on the road. When the original Wailers broke up, Marley carried on at the head of the band under the same name. Natty Dread in 1974 drew glowing reviews, and in 1975 a live "No Woman, No Cry" from the Live! album, tender and swaying, became his first hit outside Jamaica. Rastaman Vibration in 1976 was his breakthrough in America.

Months later he survived an attempt on his life at his home in Jamaica, an attack thought to have political motives. He settled in London for good and recorded Exodus, which folded blues, soul and British rock into his reggae and was a hit with fans and critics alike. Across his songs the moods run wide: "Jammin'" bounces with easy joy, "Three Little Birds" is as warm as a lullaby, "Is This Love?" sways gently, and "Get Up, Stand Up" and "Buffalo Soldier" march with a harder, prouder step.

In 1977 he was diagnosed with melanoma, and he died in May 1981, receiving a state funeral at home. Jamaica had given him its Order of Merit just months earlier. No reggae record has ever outsold Legend, the hits collection issued in 1984, and "One Love" dates all the way back to the Wailers' first album. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted him in 1994, and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award followed in 2001.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.