Author(s): Chris Salewicz

Music

What was it about Bob Marley that made him so popular in a world dominated by rock'n'roll? How is that he has not only remained the single most successful reggae artist ever, but has also become a shining beacon of radicalism and peace to generation after generation of fans across the globe? May 11, 1981, a little after 11.30 in the morning, and Bob Marley - only thirty-six years old - died. The man who introduced reggae to a worldwide audience, Bob Marley was a hero figure, in the classic mythological sense. From immensely humble beginnings, with talent and religious belief his only weapons, the Jamaican recording artist applied himself with unstinting perseverance to spreading his prophetic musical message. In 1980, the European tour of Bob Marley And The Wailers played to the largest audiences a musical act had up to that point experienced there. Sales of Marley's albums before his death were spectacular; in the years since he died, they are phenomenal. Chris Salewicz, bestselling author of Redemption Song, the classic biography of Joe Strummer, interviewed Bob Marley in Jamaica in 1979. Now, for the first time, in this thorough and detailed account of Bob Marley's life and the world in which he grew up and came to dominate, Salewicz brings to life not only the Rastafari religion and the musical scene in Jamaica, but also the spirit of the man himself. Interviews with dozens of people who knew Marley and have never spoken before are woven through the narrative, as Salewicz seeks to explain why he has become such an enigmatic and heroic figure.