Iron like a lion in Zion – Belize says Happy Birthday Bob “Nesta” Marley!
NAME: Bob Marley / OCCUPATION: Songwriter, Singer / BIRTH DATE: February 06, 1945 / DEATH DATE: May 11, 1981 / PLACE OF BIRTH: St. Ann Parish, Jamaica / PLACE OF DEATH: Miami, Florida / FULL NAME: Nesta Robert Marley / AKA: Bob Marley / AKA: Robert Marley
Bob Marley was born Robert Nesta Marley on Feb. 6, 1945 in Saint Ann, Jamaica. His father, Norval Sinclair Marley, was a white Englishman and his mother, Cedelia Booker, was a black Jamaican. Bob Marley died of cancer in Miami, FL on May 11, 1981. Marley had 12 children, four by his wife Rita, and was a devout Rastafarian.
Bob Marley’s father died when he was 10 years old, and his mother moved with him to Kingston’s Trenchtown neighborhood after his death. As a young teen, he befriended Bunny Wailer, and they learned to play music together. At 14, Marley dropped out of school to learn the welding trade, and spent his spare time jamming with Bunny Wailer and ska musician Joe Higgs.
One of the 20th century’s most charismatic and challenging performers, Bob Marley’s renown now transcends the role of reggae luminary: he is regarded as a cultural icon who implored his people to know their history “coming from the root of King David, through the line of Solomon,” as he sang on “Blackman Redemption”; Bob urged his listeners to check out the “Real Situation” and to rebel against the vampiric “Babylon System”. “Bob had a rebel type of approach, but his rebelliousness had a clearly defined purpose to it,” acknowledges Chris Blackwell, the founder of Island Records, who played a pivotal role in the Bob Marley biography by introducing Marley and the Wailers to an international audience. “It wasn’t just mindless rebelliousness, he was rebelling against the circumstances in which he and so many people found themselves.”
Among the awards and honors that have been given to Bob Marley are a spot in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. His songs and albums have also won numerous honors, such as Time Magazine’s Album of the Century (for Exodus) and BBC’s Song of the Millenium for “One Love”.
As Belizeans we say a heartfelt and jamming’ HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Roberto “NESTA” Marley!
