Robert Nesta Marley
...d started. Although discouraged, Marley moved forward and decided that the next step in pursuing his badly desired singing career was with a group. After much deliberation, he decided to revert back to his childhood band (Marley). Marley’s childhood band, now much larger and renamed The Wailing Wailers, did not get off to a good start. After his bad run-in with Kong, Marley and his band were introduced to the Coxsone Dodds Studio One Company producer, Clement Dodd. Shortly after they began recording with Coxsone, Cherry Smith, Beverly Kelso, and Junior Braithwait, three of the band’s six members, quit, leaving only Marley, Wailer, and Tosh (Marley). Through Coxsone, The Wailing Wailers were able to reach mainstream Jamaica and create quite a name for themselves with the few albums they had released. Marley’s life continued to better when he married Rita Anderson on February 10, 1966 (Henke). Although Marley had finally acquired an audience, more disappointment was in store for him. After the release of the first few albums with The Wailing Wailers, Marley decided to take a vacation. His mother, now remarried and living in America, sent him a plane ticket, but after only eight months of living there, Marley returned to Jamaica. During his stay in America, the Ethiopian emperor and founder of Rastafarianism, Haile Selassie, had made a state visit to Jamaica. By the time Marley returned there, the Rastafarian movement was gaining new popularity. Marley was unusually drawn towards the customs of Emperor Selassie, and in 1976 he converted to Rastafarianism, a form of Christianity following primitive Jewish and Egyptian customs (Cedomil). As a practicing “Rasta,” Marley grew his hair in dreadlocks and smoked marijuana, which he considered a sacred herb (Henke). His new faith badly conflicted with Coxsone, and his band was dropped from that label. Feeling that they could do without Clement Dodd, The Wailing Wailers changed their name to The Wailers and started their own record label, Wail ‘N’ Soul, in 1967 (Marley). They managed to release a couple of successful singles on that label, including “Bend Down Low” and “Mellow Mood,” before it crashed that same year (Henke). Despite the folding of their label, The Wailers were already popular throughout the Caribbean. Thriving on this attention, the band formed a second label with new members Aston “Family Man” Barret and his younger brother, Carlton. The group called their new label Tuff Gong, a name given to Marley for his hard rhythmic beats. The Wailers, now bigger and more determined, flew to London to promote their single, “Reggae on Broadway,” but were once again left penniless. Hanging on his last thread of hope, Marley walked into the Basing Street Studio of Island Records unannounced and asked to speak to its founder, Chris Blackwell. Blackwell, having already been a fan of The Wailers, signed the band on the spot. For the first time, a Reggae band had access to the best recording facilities. In 1973, the band was invited to open an American tour, which headlined with such greats as Bruce Springsteen and Sly & The Family Stone. Four shows into the tour, however, the band was taken off the bill, apparently having been too good that they discounted the main attractions (Marley). The Wailers released two albums between 1972 and 1973, and were on their way to international success (Cedomil). After releasing their album “Burnin” in 1973, Tosh and Wailer left the band to pursue solo careers. Marley took center stage as singer, songwriter, and rhythm guitarist. Wailer and Tosh’s missing harmonies were replaced with a first-rate band and a vocal trio called I-Threes, comprised of Marley’s wife Rita, together with Marcia Griffiths and Judy Mowatt (Henke). In 1975, the now renamed Bob Marley and The Wailers released “Natty Dread,” and it became their first album to hit the charts in America. Between 1976 and 1980, the band released six albums, each of which also made the charts in America (Marley). Marley’s life was greatly improving at a rapid speed, and it seemed as if nothing could slow him down. In 1976, Marley decided to use his fortune for a good cause. On December 5, he and his band were scheduled to play a free concert, which was sanctioned by a leader of a Jamaican political party, and was aimed at reducing tensions between warring political factions (Marley). Jamaica at this time was still politically unstable, and many people were angry that Marley agreed to play the benefit. On December 3, several gunmen hired by the opposing faction broke into Marley’s studio, injuring him, his wife, and two friends. Two days later, both Marley and his wife took the stage and performed in front of 80,000 people – a gesture of survival that only heightened his notability (Henke). The next year, the b...