BOB MARLEY

Rip It Up, Issue 47, 1 June 1981, Page 12

808 MARLEY

1945-1981

"Yeah, the people who survive will live, 'cos the only, thing that can make you survive is to" know the ’truth, and the truth is that God seh Him give man everlasting life, which means everliving life. Me seh my life here, dis flesh, me have fe live. Me never seh there was no fear of death, but me no deal with death, me no have time to risk this flesh too much, cos it's this me have to do it in." The words of Bob Marley, speaking in 1979 on the chance of eternal life for those who survive The Day Of Judgement. Even though armed with an unshakeable faith, he was ever aware of the mortality of man, himself included. So t my brethren,itny.sisthren Which way will we choose We better hurry, oh hurry woe now 'Cause we got no time to lose. (‘Survival) Marley was born in the .village of Rhoden Hall in the parish of St Ann, the same parish as political visionary Marcus Garvey and Burning Spear (Winston Rodney). Marley's mother was Jamaican, his father is said to have been a British Army captain. No details are known, and Marley claimed once he'd never met his father. At the age of nine, he moved with his mother, two brothers and a sister, first to the Waltham Park slum area of Kingston, and later to Trenchtown. It was here he spent most of his teenage and adult life. The stark poverty and the violence were to leave lasting impressions. At 16, Marley was apprenticed to. a welder, working alongside Desmond Dekker. Dekker was already making a reputation as a singer, and encouraged Marley in the same direction. Jimmy Cliff introduced Marley to the late Lesley Kong. It was Kong who produced Marley's first recordings for Beverly's Records. These included his own composition, 'Judge Not'; and Brook Benton's 'One Cup Coffee'. His one-year contract with Beverly's gave him an outlet of sorts for his growing talent, but it was another three years before Marley got another break. He teamed up with Trenchtown acquaintances : Peter Tosh and Bunny Livingstone, intent on . forming a vocal trio similar to the Impressions. At first they called themselves the Wailing Rudeboys, then the Wailing Wailers, finally shortening it to just the Wailers. In 1964, they auditioned for Clement Dodd's Coxsone/ Studio One label. . Among their songs was one called .'Simmer Down' which, although uncompleted at the time, impressed Dodd so much he insisted on recording it. The song was an instant smash. The association with Dodd was to last another three years, producing a string of classic singles, some of 1 which can be found on the Birth Of A Legend LP. Marley sued when Dodd issued the album in 1977, claiming umpteen dollars in unpaid royalties. Dodd may have screwed, the Wailers financially/but he gave Marley carte blanche with his own material, and in helping choose songs for other people. But in 1966 Marley left Jamaica for the United States, where he worked on a Delaware car assembly line. In his absence, Tosh and Livingstone continued to work in Dodd's studio .until the following year when they had a violent quarrel with the producer over money. Dodd is said to have pulled a gun on the two musicians before finally getting the police to boot them out. . Marley returned to Jamaica soon afterwards, having lost his job. He was also on the run from the American Draft Board. In 1968, with Tosh, Livingstone, and his commonlaw wife, Rita, Marley formed the short-lived Wailin' Soul label. It folded because of financial problems and difficulty in getting radio play. The second attempt at forming a label was more successful, and Tuff Gong endures to this day. 'Gong' means 'The Boss', and, was Marley's name to his close friends. The Wailers ' cpntinued to struggle, sometimes selling up to 15,000 copies of a single but achieving little outside of JA because of their rebel image. , A collaboration with , the legendary Lee 'Scratch' Perry in 1969 brought some

stunning results, including the all-time great 'Small Axe', later to emerge on Burnin'. By this time, they'd also been joined by brothers Aston 'Family Man' and Carlton Barrett, who'd been doing sessions for Perry. A union of souls that was to be a lasting one.

Since 1968 the Wailers had been signed as songwriters for Johnny Nash and his business partner, Danny Simms. It was an unhappy relationship, again because of money, but it finally brought the Wailers to Britain. They went in 1972 to score a film Nash was starring in. The film was never released, and the Wailers spent most of their time rehearsing with a view to touring, and putting down backing tracks for Nash's I Can See Clearly Now LP. Marley met a young Trinidadian promoter, Brent Clarke, at a club in Peckham. Marley expressed his frustrations to Clarke who took samples of Marley's work to Chris Blackwell of Island Records. Clarke negotiated their contract, and Island paid their return fares to Jamaica, where they began to record Catch A Fire. The basic tracks were later overdubbed in London, using the likes of Wayne Perkins and John 'Rabbit' Bundrick. And the Wailers were on their way.

They toured the United States and Europe in 1973, but rifts were now appearing. Tosh and Livingstone felt Island was more interested in Marley solo than in the Wailers as a group. The English tour was abandoned because Tosh and Livingstone couldn't stand the cold, and nor were they prepared to follow Marley as a group leader. At this point, only Livingstone was wearing locks, and he disapproved of Marley and Tosh partying and womanising. Marley didn't start wearing a dread till 1974, and by then the original trio had split.

1975 was Marley's watershed year. Eric Clapton picked up 'I Shot The Sheriff' from, Burnin' , and Marley released Natty Dread, the album that broke roots reggae and the JA culture onto the white-dominated international market. What an album it is! This is not to underrate the earlier work, by any means. Catch A Fire and Burnin' are filled with sublime music, bona fide classics like 'Concrete Jungle', 'Duppy Conqueror' and 'Small Axe', but they sound primitive by comparison with Natty Dread. The sound is harder, less meditative, owing a large debt to Motown and Stax, with A 1 Anderson's searing guitar breaks and the gospel backup vocals of the I-Threes. I still remember the first time 1 played it. The whoop of pure joy that opens 'Lively Up Yourself' brought up the goose flesh. The beat was irresistible, the rhythm guitar jabbing like a knife at the feet, knees and hips. I played it non-stop for weeks afterwards, and couldn't wipe this silly grin off my face.

On reflection, Natty Dread was the album Marley had to make. It was an attention-getter. Grab the feet and the head and heart will follow. Nothing Marley recorded afterwards matched it for sheer danceability. His mind was on other things, and he had a message to deliver. The follow-up, Rastaman Vibration, was initially greeted with disappointment. By comparison it was subdued and thoughtful, delving into the heart of Rasta philosophy. But' its excellence emerged with repeated listening, especially the wistful 'Johnny Was'.

Exodus saw a merging of the physical and mental aspects of the music. The title track's complex, pulsing bass-riff jumped out at the listener, 'The Heathen' was filled with righteous menace, while in 'Waiting In Vain', Marley produced one of his most touching love songs. The man always knew how to pull the heartstrings. Kaya was a lightweight effort, mainly devoted to personal relationships. The exception was 'Running Away', where Marley spoke of his fear of death by violent means. The song denied that he was retreating out of fear, the lines spoken as much to himself as to his audience. Babylon By Bus was a live stopgap, coming nowhere

near the glory of the earlier Live! However, both these albums remain precious reminders of what an exciting stage performer Marley was. His 1979 Western Springs concert gave Aucklanders the privilege of seeing a genius at work. Marley picked them up by the scruff of the neck, opened his heart and mind to them, and made them dance till they could dance no more. Another treasured memory.

Survival laid it on the line. The black man's struggle was chronicled with passion and anger. He was reminded of the suffering of those who had gone before, and of his duty to his heritage. The message was 'Wake Up And Live': Flee from hate, mischief and jealousy, Don't bury your thoughts. Put your vision to reality, Yeah!

Ambush' related directly to the 1976 assassination attempt, when gunmen entered Marley's home, wounding Bob, Rita and manager Don Taylor. After that incident, Marley called more than ever on his faith to sustain him. But he was already a dying man.

Cancer was diagnosed as far back as 1977. The secret was closely guarded, until Marley finally entered a German clinic earlier this year, hoping for a miracle cure for what had already been deemed terminal.

His last album, Uprising, didn't match the fire of its predecessor. Its best moments provide pointers to his approaching end, pouring his heart out for what he knew might be the last time:

Why do you look so sad and forsaken, Don't you know when one door is closed Don't you know many more is open. ('Coming In From The Cold') So old man river don't cry for me, I have got a running stream of love you see. Cause just like the tree planted by the river of water, That bringeth forth fruits in due season, Everything in life got its purpose, Find its reason in every season. ('Forever Loving Jah')

His closing song was the most poignant. Alone with an acoustic guitar, Marley delivered 'Redemption Song', a plea to his brethren to carry on the struggle: Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery, None but ourselves can free our minds. How long shall they kill our prophets While we stand aside and look. Some say it's just a part of it, We've got to fulfil the book. Won't you help to sing these songs of freedom ...

A unique talent is gone, a great voice is silent. Bob Marley joins the list of people cruelly taken by untimely death. All of them leave us wondering what they would have achieved had they lived longer. A negative thought. Bob Marley was a great achiever in his 36 years, a black man getting ahead in a white man's world, encouraging others to do the same. In his words, he gave hope and inspiration. In his music, he gave happiness. Marley was asked once if believed he would go to heaven when he died. He said no, and was asked why: “Cos if when I dead I go to heaven, then where was I before I am? If heaven's the right place where I was before I am, then I should have stayed there.''

Peace to a truly remarkable brother

Duncan Campbell