T Thhee WWoorrddss aanndd MMuussiicc ooff BBoobb MMaarrlleeyy Recent Titles in The Praeger Singer-Songwriter Collection The Sound of Stevie Wonder: His Words and Music James E. Perone The Words and Music of Frank Zappa Kelly F. Lowe The Words and Music of Carole King James E. Perone The Words and Music of Bruce Springsteen Rob Kirkpatrick T P S -S C HE RAEGER INGER ONGWRITER OLLECTION T Thhee WWoorrddss aanndd MMuussiicc ooff BBoobb MMaarrlleeyy David Moskowitz James E. Perone, Series Editor Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Moskowitz, David, 1969– The words and music of Bob Marley / David Moskowitz. p. cm. — (The Praeger singer-songwriter collection, ISSN 1553–3484) Includes bibliographical references (p. ), discography (p. ), and index. ISBN-13: 978–0–275–98935–4 (alk. paper) ISBN-10: 0–275–98935–6 (alk. paper) 1. Marley, Bob. 2. Reggae musicians—Jamaica—Biography. 3. Reggae music—History and criticism. I. Title. ML420.M3313M67 2007 782.421646092—dc22 2006039611 [B] British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available. Copyright © 2007 by David Moskowitz All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, by any process or technique, without the express written consent of the publisher. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2006039611 ISBN-13: 978–0–275–98935–4 ISBN-10: 0–275–98935–6 ISSN: 1553–3484 First published in 2007 Praeger Publishers, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881 An imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. www.praeger.com Printed in the United States of America ∞ TM The paper used in this book complies with the Permanent Paper Standard issued by the National Information Standards Organization (Z39.48–1984). 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Contents Series Foreword vii Acknowledgments ix Introduction xi 1. Origins: The Trench Town Years, 1945–1960 1 Bob Marley: The Roots of a Rebel 1 Move to Kingston 3 2. Birth of the Legend, 1960–1970 7 Formation of Early Groups 7 Dawn of the Wailers 10 Early Singles 11 3. Rebel Music, 1970–1975 19 Catch a Fire 19 African Herbsman 38 Burnin ’ 40 Natty Dread 48 The Original Wailers Disband 57 Live! 61 vi Contents 4. Uptown Skankin’, 1976–1977 63 Rastaman Vibration 63 Attempted Assassination of Marley 71 Exodus 76 5. Top Rankin’, 1978–1979 87 Kaya 87 Babylon by Bus 93 Survival 94 6. Blackman Redemption, 1980–1983 103 Uprising 103 Fly Away Home 111 7. Posthumous Releases 119 Chances Are 119 Confrontation 121 Legend: The Best of Bob Marley and the Wailers 124 Talkin ’ Blues 124 Bob Marley: Songs of Freedom 125 Natural Mystic the Legend Lives On: Bob Marley and the Wailers 1 26 One Love: The Very Best of Bob Marley and the Wailers 126 Africa Unite: The Singles Collection 127 The Deluxe Editions 128 8. Life after Death: The Legend Lives On 131 Selected Discography 133 Notes 157 Bibliography 167 Index 171 Series Foreword Singer-songwriters. While the term might most frequently be associated with a cadre of musicians of the early 1970s such as Paul Simon, James Taylor, Carly Simon, Joni Mitchell, Cat Stevens, and Carole King, the Praeger Singer-Songwriter Collection defi nes singer-songwriters more broadly, both in terms of style and in terms of time period. The series includes volumes on musicians who have been active from approximately the 1960s through the present. Musicians who write and record in folk, rock, soul, hip-hop, coun- try, and various hybrids of these styles will be represented. Oh yes, and so will some of the early 1970s introspective singer-songwriters named above. And, what do the individuals included in this series have in common? Although some have never collaborated as writers, while some have, all have written and recorded commercially successful and/or historically important music and lyrics. And, all the musicians included in this series have been active not only as singers but also as instrumentalists to some degree. The authors who contribute to the series also exhibit diversity. Some are scholars who are trained primarily as musicians, while others have such areas of specialization as American studies, history, sociology, popular culture studies, literature, and rhetoric. The authors share a high level of scholarship, acces- sibility in their writing, and a true insight into the work of the artist(s) they study. The authors are also focused on the output of their subjects and how it relates to their subject’s biography and the society around them—biography in and of itself is not a major focus of the authors of books in this series. Given the diversity of the musicians who are the subject of books in this series, and given the diversity of viewpoint of the authors, volumes in the series will differ somewhat from book to book. All, however, will primarily viii Series Foreword be organized chronologically around the compositions and recorded perfor- mances of their subjects. All of the books in the series should also serve as listeners’ guides to the music of their subjects, making them companions to the artists’ recorded output. James E. Perone Series Editor Acknowledgments I thank my wife, Jen, and my children, Heather, Lucas, and Katie, for all of their wonderful support during the completion this project. Without their kind patience and support I would never have had the time for such a large undertaking. Thanks always go to Dr. Walter Aaron Clark for his encour- agement as I began my study of Jamaican popular music. I also thank Rob Kirkpatrick, who originally brought me in to the singer-songwriter series for Praeger Publishers. In addition, I thank Daniel Harmon, the acquisitions editor, and James Perone, the series editor, for their help in completing this book. Thanks also go to Photofest for its kind permission to use the images that appear in this volume.