Bob Marley died 25 years ago today- his music still lives
deb...@comcast.net
UP FRONT | MUSIC
Twenty-five years after he died in Miami, reggae artist Bob Marley's
impact worldwide continues to grow.
BY EVELYN McDONNELL
emcdo...@MiamiHerald.com
AP/ISLAND RECORDS
A LION: Reggae artist Bob Marley, who becomes more popular worldwide
every year, has been lionized since his death as a symbol of oppressed
people rising up.
Twenty-five years ago today, at 11:45 a.m., the heart of Nesta Robert
Marley -- aka Bob Marley -- stopped beating at Miami's Cedars of
Lebanon Hospital. The body of the 36-year-old pioneering music star
gave in to cancer in the city that was his American home, where he came
frequently to visit his mother and other family members.
Marley, true to his Rasta faith, didn't believe in death. In the
quarter-century since his passing, the snowballing impact of his work
has fulfilled the religion's vision of ''ever living'' life.
''They say he's physically not here, but he's still here, because his
message is still around,'' says Daudi, a 29-year-old Miami-based
hip-hop and reggae artist who goes by the one name. The thin man with
long dreadlocks is one of the perhaps millions of people around the
world who regard Marley as not merely a great
artist but also a leader of the Third World and incarnation of Jah, the
Rasta deity.
''He's an example of the most high,'' says Daudi, who was hanging out
Tuesday at Miami Beach's Vintage Marley store. ``He's a representation
of the light, the truth.''
The Marley family, many of whom live in South Florida, is not marking
today's anniversary. In response to an interview request, the company
that represents his estate, Bob Marley Music, released this statement:
``The family of Bob Marley is appreciative of the fact that you have
chosen to honor him. His works are a celebration of life, love and
unity, and we commemorate his life. Jah live.''
''We're addressing the life,'' his son, Stephen Marley, told The Miami
Herald in February.
MARLEY LITERATURE
A trio of new books have been released in conjunction with the
anniversary of the singer's death and extend the growing scholarly
interest in the man. Before the Legend, Marley Legend and The Book of
Exodus help put his importance in historical geopolitical perspective:
Marley, who began recording as a member of the Wailers in the volatile
years after Jamaica gained independence from British rule, was the
first, loudest and strongest voice of post-colonialism.
''He's a symbol for the less privileged of the world,'' says James
Henke, author of the coffee-table book Marley Legend.
A politically emergent global population has rallied behind Marley.
That's why the lion-like image of the Tuff Gong (one of Marley's many
nicknames) appears on the T-shirts, baseball caps, flags and posters of
Africans, Asians, Latin Americans, American Indians, aboriginal
Australians and native Hawaiians -- and in ghettos everywhere. He has
become a global icon of the oppressed rising up against oppression.
''Bob lives. He supposedly died in 1981, but never has he been more
alive,'' says Vivien Goldman, author of The Book of Exodus: The Making
& Meaning of Bob Marley & the Wailers' Album of the Century. ``He's one
of the few artists whose records sell more every year, and everywhere
you go in the world you see people wearing Bob Marley T-shirts. They
might not know anything about his life. They just know he represents a
higher essence and the way they would like to live their life.''
Marley did not plan to make his final exodus from Earth in Florida. For
years he had battled cancer that started in his toe. Initially, in part
because of his religious beliefs, he refused treatment.
''Getting his message across was literally more important to him than
physical life itself,'' says Goldman, who first met Marley when she
worked as his English publicist in 1975.
LAST JOURNEY HOME
The cancer spread to Marley's lungs and brain. He was being treated in
Germany when he and his doctors decided it was time for him to return
to the land of his birth. He never made it farther than Miami, his
American home.
''He wanted to go home to Jamaica,'' Stephen Marley says. ``They had to
stop here first because he was getting worse.''
He was admitted to Cedars of Lebanon (now called Cedars Medical Center)
May 7, according to The Miami Herald obituary. His family was with him
until the end.
''We don't have much to go off of, so we hold those memories,'' Stephen
said.
At his death, Marley was an international star who had already graced
the cover of Rolling Stone. And yet many still viewed him as a kind of
cult figure who championed marijuana use, worshiped the Ethiopian
emperor Haile Selassie and fathered multiple children with different
mothers.
Marley since has turned out to be much more than reggae's king. Polls
have shown the singer and writer of Lively Up Yourself and Three Little
Birds is held in more universal esteem than Elvis Presley, the Beatles,
Madonna or Sinatra.
The BBC named his song One Love the anthem of the millennium. In 1999,
Time magazine called his opus Exodus the album of the century.
''He keeps getting discovered by new generations of fans,'' says Henke,
chief curator of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. ``His legacy really
extends around the world. . . . He's someone who's opened a lot of
people's minds.''
Marley rose from extreme poverty to deliver messages of spiritual and
political transcendence. He survived an attack by gunmen with a bullet
in his arm. To many, he is nothing less than a messiah.
''A lot of people nowadays really turn to Bob Marley's canon for
sustenance, direction, inspiration, hope and strength, as they would
turn to the Book of Psalms,'' says Goldman, who also teaches reggae at
New York University.
BIGGER THAN LENNON
John Lennon once infamously got in trouble for saying the Beatles were
bigger than Jesus. Henke, who also authored Lennon Legend, says the
reggae star has eclipsed the rocker.
``They had very similar philosophies. But the worldwide impact of Bob
is much stronger. If you look at pure sales figures, Bob is a more
vital artist now in terms of people still buying his music. Bob has
this much broader appeal.''
Goldman pauses when asked if, when Marley was alive, she thought he
would be a growing cultural force 25 years after his death.
''Even though I thought he was a genius as an artist, I think this
level of appreciation is almost impossible to actually predict,'' she
says.
``Why did Leonardo da Vinci stand out? He was a towering artist with a
vision. There aren't really that many of them. I think partly Bob had
been through a lot, and he managed to instill it all in his lyrics with
the deftness of a great people's poet.''
PirateJohn
When I was in Guam several years ago, on the non-military side of the
island, I was surprised at the number of times that you'd see Bob
Marley's image at the surf shops and other places that young Japanese
tourists hung out at. Marley genuinely has had a tremendous impact
worldwide, and Guam is a helluva long way from Jamaica geographically
as well as socially.
When Ziggy Marley tours he usually tours with three 45ft. buses and
brings along the extended family. Rita (Bob's wife) used to travel
with them and perform although I haven't seen her for years. There
are, however, plenty of familiar faces when Ziggy sings that have been
with his show for at least 15 years.
Bob Marley - A Tribute to Freedom is a really laid back theme
restaurant with live music in Orlando's Universal City Walk complex,
along with Buffett's Margaritaville, Pat O'Brien's, and so forth. To
quote from their web site "A one-of-a-kind celebration of music and
culture, Bob Marley - A Tribute to Freedom is patterned after Marley’s
actual home in Kingston, Jamaica.
It commemorates the international fame of the “King of Reggae”, and
takes guests on a musical journey of his life.
The cuisine features Jamaican-influenced appetizers, entrees, and
desserts.
Open 4pm — 2 am. Cover is $7, tax included, between 8pm — 2am.
21 and older after 9pm. For reservations call 407-224-FOOD."
Dunno how closely the family manages that place but I did run into one
of Ziggy's brothers over there once.
A business associate of mine is one of the officers of one of the
Marley Family clothing companies. From what I've seen they do very,
very well selling licensed merchandise.
Bob was quite a positive influence on the world. May he rest in peace.
--PirateJohn--
www.PirateJohn.com
King Daevid MacKenzie
frequently play Miami, where Bob would also pop up on Larry King's WIOD
show. In 1977, Marley appeared and played a working version of "Kaya"
for King. It turned out that King didn't understand that "Kaya" was a
Jamaican slang term for marijuana and first thought the song was
inspired by Chaia King, Larry's then-10-year-old daughter...
--
King Daevid MacKenzie, WLSU-FM 88.9 La Crosse, Wisconsin, USA
heard occasionally at http://www.radio4all.net
http://www.myspace.com/kingdaevid
"You can live in your dreams, but only if you are worthy of them."
HARLAN ELLISON
aka Bob
magnanimously proffered:
>Misc. Marley comments:
>
>When I was in Guam several years ago, on the non-military side of the
>island, I was surprised at the number of times that you'd see Bob
>Marley's image at the surf shops and other places that young Japanese
>tourists hung out at. Marley genuinely has had a tremendous impact
>worldwide, and Guam is a helluva long way from Jamaica geographically
>as well as socially.
Marley and Reggae (and, of course, U2) are also hugely popular in New
Zealand - especially amongst Maori and Pacific Islanders. Iconic
images of him are all over the place and instantly recognisable.
I remember discussing him and his music with a young Maori friend
several years ago and he was wondering when Marley would be touring
NZ. Bob Marley is very much alive to several generations of Kiwis,
including someone in his late-teens. He simply could not believe that
Bob Marley was dead - and, in that respect, he isn't.
"It's not that I'm afraid to die. I just don't want to be there when it happens." - Woody Allen
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Wax-up and drop-in of Surfing's Golden Years: <http://www.surfwriter.net>
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Rich Clancey
>He was admitted to Cedars of Lebanon (now called Cedars Medical Center)
I'd love to know the story behind that name change...
--
rich clancey r...@bahleevyoome.world.std.com
"Shun those who deny we have eyes in order to see, and instead say we
see because we happen to have eyes." -- Leibniz