BUJUMBURA May 12th (ABP) – May 11, the world commemorated 41 years since the death of singer-songwriter Robert Nesta Marley nicknamed Bob Marley. Bob Marley was born on February 6, 1945 in Nine Miles, Jamaica, the descendant of Cedella Malcolm, a black Jamaican and Norval Marley, a father of English origin. He started his artistic career very early at the age of 17. At the age of 18 in 1963, he formed with Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer the famous group The wailers which had their first success in 1964 in Jamaica following their call in their reggae song against poverty and the cessation of struggles between ghettos. With the Rasta movement, in Jamaica, Bob Marley joined in 1966. The group The Wailers continues from success to success. The group split at the end of 1973, Bob Marley will continue to sing solo, relying on other renowned instrumentalists and other singers including his wife Rita Marley to form the group Bob Marley & the Wailers.
In May 1977, during a football match with journalists in Paris, Bob Marley injured his right foot. A biopsy revealed a malignant melanoma in the big toe. An American doctor prescribes an urgent toe amputation which is delayed following a European tour. After much hesitation, a doctor in Miami treats him, mistakenly believing that he will stop the progression of the cancer.
In 1980, doctors gave Bob Marley less than a month to live, his cancer having spread. Bob still performs the concert on September 23 in Pittsburgh, before the tour is definitively canceled. It was during a stopover in Miami, returning from Germany after unsuccessful treatment, that Bob Marley died on May 11, 1981, at the age of thirty-six. He was buried on May 21 in his native village of Nine Miles, Saint Ann Parish, Jamaica. His state funeral in Kingston and his repatriation to Nine Miles where he rests today were attended by hundreds of thousands of people. During his lifetime, Bob Marley had 11 children with 4 women.
During his career, Bob Marley became the greatest reggae musician in the world and an icon of the Rastafarian movement. He is also considered a global symbol of Jamaican culture and identity, while also advocating for Pan-Africanism, reducing inequality and misery. Bob Marley is also among the best-selling musical artists of all time, while his style has influenced artists across different genres. Over 200 million records have been sold worldwide.
With 13 albums he released in the studio and 2 live recorded during his lifetime, Bob Marley is the most prolific in terms of the number of reggae albums released first with the Wailers and then solo. Jamaica honored him posthumously shortly after his death, appointing him to the Jamaican Order of Merit.
Taken from the internet