Bob Marley

In 1966, the catholic Bob Marley converted to 'Rastafari' religious faith, inculcating the movement's rituals and culture into the reggae music he played. He also used marijuana, and continued using it despite being arrested once for possession of the drug.

Marley got married to Alpharita Constantia Anderson, commonly known as Rita, on February 10, 1966, in Kingston. The couple had three children, Cedella, Ziggy, and Stephen.

The singer had children from other relationships too, though he was married only to Rita. He had also adopted the children Rita had borne from other affairs.

Robert Nesta Marley was born to Norval Sinclair and Cedella Booker, in Nine Mile, Jamaica, on February 6, 1945. Norval worked as the supervisor at a plantation, when Bob was born, and Cedella was a singer-songwriter.

The young boy pursued his education from the institution 'Stepney Primary and Junior High School', located in the Saint Ann Parish, Jamaica. His father succumbed to a heart failure when Bob was but a child of ten years.

In school, the child had a friend, Neville Livingston, (later known as Bunny Wailer), whose father, Thadeus had a daughter, Pearl, with Bob's mother, Cedella. The two boys began collaborating on music, and soon formed a band along with friends, Beverley Kelso, Junior Braithwaite, and Peter Tosh.

It was in 1962, that Marley first released his singles, 'Do You Still Love Me?', 'Judge Not', 'Terror', and 'One Cup of Coffee', with the help of recording artist Leslie Kong.

The following year, the music band changed its name several times, finally to 'The Wailers'. It was initially 'The Teenagers', then 'The Wailing Rudeboys', and after that 'The Wailing Wailers'. It was when they became 'The Wailers', that record company owner, Coxsone Dodd, took notice of them.

In 1964, ‘The Wailers’ produced their debut track, 'Simmer Down', under Coxsone's banner. The next year, the reggae band released their first album, 'The Wailing Wailers', with the successful single, 'Rude Boy'.

In 1966, however, lead artistes, Junior Braithwaite and Beverley Kelso, left the band to pursue their solo careers.

'The Wailers' released their first international album, 'Soul Rebels' in 1970, with the help of recording artist, Lee "Scratch" Perry. The album was produced by 'Trojan Records' in the United Kingdom, and it became highly successful, being released later on several occasions by different music companies.

Bob Marley is best known for his 1976 album, 'Rastaman Vibration', which broke all records in the United States. The track 'War' on the same album became historically famous owing to its strong condemnation of the practice of apartheid in South Africa. The song made it to the 'Billboard Soul Charts', as one of the top 50 numbers.