Bob Marley & Reggae Across the Globe
By Kenny Beardmore 6th November 2013
Bob Marley once said that “the term Reggae comes from the Spanish term
for The King’s Music”. Davis and Simon
(1979) States” The word reggae means
regular in that Jamaicans are regular people who are suffering”. Culturally reggae music has allowed
many Jamaicans to define themselves since it first surfaced in mid-1960’s. It
has since evolved to have several of its own subgenres such as Dub, Roots,
Skinhead, Dancehall, Reggaeton (a mix of reggae and dancehall) and Lovers rock.
Reggae music is a compilation of genres and styles such as Ska, R&B and
Afro Caribbean music. Ska music evolved into Rocksteady which later saw the
evolution of reggae. With reggae came songs that emphasised the social,
political and spiritual notions within their lyrics. This gave the lower social
classes the opportunity to express their feelings in regards to their social
wellbeing. Therefore reggae musicians became the “Prophets, social commentators
and shamans” within the communities of Jamaica (Davis & Simon 1979). Due to the
ability of being able to speak freely through reggae music it became more than
just entertainment and began the uprising for political and social remarks
therefore becoming a “threat to the Jamaican government” (King et al. 2002).
During this period the Jamaican people gained a new confidence which allowed
them to speak out against their injustice within their country. Due to this new
self-preservation African and Jamaican culture gained a new relationship,
therefore changing the role of music within Jamaica’s community as it addressed
oppression, crime, economic shortages and racial discrimination (Davis &
Simon 1979).
Reggae is seen as music that satisfies the emotional and spiritual needs
of the Jamaican people. It could quite possibly be the first example of a third
world country exporting its music in such a way that there is nowhere on earth
you can go that reggae has not already been. The export of reggae music has
given Jamaica exceptional global prominence and popular culture has never been
influenced by a country of similar size (Chang & Chen 1998).
Typically
using a 4/4 with emphasis on the second and forth beat it would be very common
for Reggae to have just one or two chords giving it an almost hypnotic effect.
Whilst playing at a slower tempo at around 80bpm it’s the Bass that drives the
rhythm in an offbeat style giving the drums plenty of space to experiment. This
gives the impression that many reggae songs are both fast and slow at the same
time. This concept is known to some as the concept of “RIDDIMS”. ( L Metz, 2012).
Catch a Fire
Although there are many artists responsible for the rise of reggae such
as Peter Tosh, Jimmy Cliff, Bunny Wailer and Desmond Dekker none helped its international popularity more than Bob Marley.
Born on 6th February 1945, named Robert Nesta Marley, Bob was 2 born to a white British
father Captain Norval Marley who left shortly after his birth. His Jamaican
born mother Cedalla Booker was only 16 at this time. Growing up having a white
father and black mother would prove to be hard for Bob leaving him feeling
isolated for most of his childhood. (ref)movie
The1950’s were proving to be difficult times in Jamaica and jobs were very
scarce. Bob at the age of seven moved with his mother, single parent Toddy
Livingston and his son, Neville, aka “Bunny” from St. Ann to Trenchtown, West Kingston to look for
work. Both families shared one of the housing projects also known as the
government yards. As they were both reaching their teens sound systems had also
reached Kingston. This gave the youth a chance to hear the sounds that were “at
the time” shaping the world. This was a fundamental time in music as
rock’n’roll and Beatlemania stormed across the oceans into people’s homes
worldwide and now it had reached Trenchtown (Dave Thompson 2012).
Livingston and close friend
Desmond Dekker encouraged Bob to start writing his own songs. He entered many
of the Kingston talent contests and even won £1 performing one of his songs
“Fancy Curls”. This gave Bob the confidence to approach Desmond Dekker’s
Producer, Leslie Kong, in February 1962. Bob was given an audition and got only
halfway through his first song “Judge Not” when Kong told him to stop. Kong
then recorded the track and released it under the pseudonym Bobby Martell. The
Kingston Music industry was not an easy place for young hopefuls and certainly
didn’t pay very well with Bob getting £20 for his recording of “Judge Not” and
“One cup of Coffee”. He wouldn’t see another penny from Kong (Dave Thompson
2012).
At the same time that Bob started to lose his confidence that Leslie
Kong could do nothing for him he also gave up his job as an apprentice welder
and decided to pursue a new project with Livingston, a vocal group. Singer Joe
Higgs and drummer Alvin Patterson held informal singing lessons that Bob and
Livingston attended. It was here they would meet Peter Tosh. It was also at
this point they met Junior Braithwaite and backing singers, Beverley Kelso and
Cherry Green. Now all together they formed a group called The Teenagers. They were to change the
band name twice, firstly to The Wailing
Wailers and then The Wailing Rudeboys before
finally settling on just The Wailers. After playing various gigs and talent
contests they finally landed an audition with Clement Coxsone Dodd on his Studio One Label. They played several of their songs but the one
that interested Coxone most was Simmer Down. An instant hit spending two months
at the top of the Jamaican chart with sales in excess of 70,000 Coxone offered
The Wailers an exclusive contract and salary of three pounds a week. Coxone
became their manager and Bob actually lived at the studio after his mother
moved to Delaware. They continued recording new material and tried out many
different approaches including collarless suits as The Beatles had made famous.
Coxone would often have the band stay over late at the studio listening to
R&B imports such as James Brown and Curtis Mayfield in a bid to help
influence The Wailers sound. This is quite clear and present in their 1964-65
material (Dave Thompson 2012).
Everything that the Wailers produced had been pretty much the works of
Marley, Tosh and Livingston so when vocalists Beverly Kelso and Cherry Green left the group their departure was
hardly noticed. The Departure of Braithwaite had more of an impact as his
rather unique voice and high range fitted well amongst the other Wailers. Bob
took over on lead vocals whilst Peter Tosh concentrated more on his guitar
playing (Dave Thompson 2012).
In 1966 Bob married Rita Anderson (a singer from
trio group The Soulettes) before flying out to the US to see about better
financing his music. He stayed in the US for eight months. Upon his return home
the band now simply known as The Wailers evolved from Ska to Rock Steady. This
would see the end of their relationship with Coxsone as the band had felt he
hadn’t been exactly fair with the money he had made from them (Dave Thompson
2012). By 1967 the influence of the Rastafarian movement had become the main influence in
their music. Rastafari became one of the main influences in reggae because of
the repatriation to Africa and helped identify pride among the people (Prahlad 2001).
1970 saw the label Tuff Gong make an appearance. Tuff Gong (a nick name of Bob) was The Wailers second
and more successful label due to their well established presence throughout the
Caribbean. They were however still unknown internationally. This would change
when they met Chris Blackwell, Island Records. One of the UK’s most prestigious
record labels and responsible for the release of Catch A Fire.
Released on Islands Records this
was the first debut album on a major label that transformed Bob Marley and the
Wailers to international stars. The somewhat powerful lyrics addressed the
world’s problems and gave an optimistic view of the future. Concrete Jungle is not the
most famous Bob Marley and the Wailers song but it helped play a significant
part in reggae history. Listening to the first notes of Concrete jungle you are
literally hearing the sounds that took reggae from the island of Jamaica and
presented it to the world.
Jamaica 1976
“Jamaica great, mon, the greatest place on earth. But is funny place,
y’know. De people dem love you so much they would kill you,” (Bob Marley
1976,p3).
One of the most successful albums of all time Exodus has everything from
melodic, warm love songs to politically charged masterpieces. Although Catch A
Fire had made Reggae and Bob Marley known all over the world it was Exodus that
propelled Bob and The Wailers to superstardom.
Jamaica at this time had many problems. There were people being shot and
killed on the streets, political upheaval had caused a whirlwind of hate
between the two sides. Michael Manley and opposition leader Edward Seaga were
both responsible for hiring ghetto gunmen to go out killing the opposition’s
supporters. After accepting to play at the Smile Jamaica concert (which would
take place December 1976) Bob had received many threats as members of the JLP
(Jamaican Labour Party) didn’t want him promoting a concert that had been
endorsed by the PNP (People’s National Party), especially as the elections were
very close (Michael Deibert 2001).
At 56, Hope Road Bob Marley and the Wailers had been rehearsing for the
concert when a gunman started shooting from outside through a gap in the
doorway. Bob and Rita had both been hit but suffered only minor wounds. The
concert still went ahead and Bob Marley and the wailers still played. This
helped give the people a certain strength to stand together against all of the
hate and fear that had become part of their daily lives. It did scare Bob and
he left the following day for England where he exiled himself for two years. It
was whilst in the UK that Bob Marley recorded Exodus.
In 1978 Claudie Massop (One of the gunmen turned
spokesperson between the poor and the political parties) flew to the UK to talk
Bob Marley into returning to Jamaica to play at the One Love Peace Concert.
Although at first reluctant to return he finally agreed. The return of Bob Marley
to Jamaica helped draw a crowd of over 32,000 people. It was at this concert he
made a spontaneous decision to bring on stage both Manley and Seage whilst
performing Jamming. Bob took the hands of both men, joined them with his own
and raised them in the air to signify unity. A truly magical moment.
The
perfect example of how the small island of Jamaica went global with its infectious reggae beats has to be UB40. It’s
also a great example of how reggae changes across the globe. Instead of singing
about slavery and oppression the lyrics had taken on a somewhat different
approach. The 1970’s were a dark time in the UK and the one thing there had
been a lot of was unemployment. Times were tough and music had changed
dramatically since the 1960’s.
Bob Marley had once covered songs from British pop
idols such as the Beatles and had even donned the collarless shirts and suits
to gain popularity. Here on the other side of the pond were eight individuals
putting their own spin on the hypnotic rhythm of reggae. These eight boy’s from
Brum had two things in
common, firstly their love for reggae music and lastly all were unemployed.
Robin and
Ali Cambell had grown up in Birmingham’s Balsall Heath during the 1960’s
listening to the sounds of ska and mowtown. Balsall Heath at the time had a
reputation for prostitution and had a largely immigrant culture. Both brothers
would quite often find themselves running errands to buy condoms and cigarettes
for the local prostitutes. Ali still compares his childhood memories to the
Tenement yards of Jamaica. (Ali & Robin Cambell 2005).
