Bob Marley was born on February 6 1949 in Nine Miles, Saint Ann, Jamaica to Norval Marley and Cedella Booker. His father was a Jamaican of English descent. His mother was a black teenager. The couple planned to get married but before the marriage Norval told Cedella that he had to leave to Kingston due to illness. Norval Marley died in 1955, seeing his son only once. It was Norval's genes that later would be blamed for the cancer that Bob Marley suffered from. Bob Marley started his career with the Wailers, a group he formed with Peter Tosh and Bunny Livingston in 1963. He married Rita Marley in February 1966, who introduced him to Rastafarianism. In 1969 Bob, Tosh and Livingston fully embraced Rastafarianism which would later have a great influence on Marley's music and on reggae music in general. The Wailers collaborated with Lee Scratch Perry resulting in some of the Wailers' finest tracks including Soul Rebel, Duppy Conquerer, 400 Years, and Small Axe. This collaboration ended in a bitter way though. The Wailers found out that Perry, thinking the record were his, sold them in England without the Wailers' consent. This, however, brought the Wailers' music to the attention of Chris Blackwell, the owner of Island Records. Blackwell immediately signed the Wailers and produced their first album "Catch a fire". This was followed by "Burnin" featuring tracks as Get up stand up" and "I shot the sheriff" and Eric Clapton's cover of 'I shot the sheriff' reached number one in the US singles. In 1974 Tosh and Livingston left the Wailers to start solo career. Marley later formed the band "Bob Marley and the Wailers", with his wife Rita as a one of three backup singers called the I-trees. This period saw the release of some ground breaking albums like Natty dread, Rastaman Vibration. During the political violence in Jamaica an attempt was made on Marley's life in 1976. Marley left for England, and lived in self-exile for around two years. In England Exodus was produced, and it remained on the British charts for 56 straight weeks. This was followed by another successful album Kaya. These successes introduced Reggae music to the Western world for the first time, and established the start of Marley's international status.

In 1977 when a wound in his big toe would not hail completely, and more tests revealed that Bob has a form of skin cancer called malignant melanoma. This form of cancer is usually contracted by Europeans and can be hereditary. It is widely believed, therefore, that Norval Marley's genes were responsible for Bob's disease. Bob refused amputation of his toe claiming it contradicts his Rastafarian beliefs, although some claim that Bob's main reason behind refusal was the possible negative impact on his dancing skills. The cancer was kept secret from the wide public, and Bob continued working. Returning back to Jamaica in 1978, Marley continued work and released Survival in 1979, and was followed by a successful European tour. In 1980 he participated at the Independence ceremony of Zimbabwe, being the only foreign artist invited. It was a time for great success for Marley, and he started an American tour to reach blacks in the United States. Bob played two shows at Madison Square Garden, but collapsed while jogging in NYC's Central Park on September 21 1980. The cancer he ignored earlier had finally caught up with him, and it now spread to his brain, lungs and stomach. Bob Marley died in a Miami Hospital on May 11,1981. He was only 36 years old.


Marley was awarded the International Peace Medal by the African delegation to the United Nations in 1978. He was also an official guest at Zimbabwe's independence celebration two years later, an honor Marley was quoted as saying was the highest he'd ever received. Survived an assassination attempt, receiving minor injuries in the chest and arm (December 1976). His posthumously released anthology collection "Legend" is one of the highest selling "greatest hits" recordings by a solo artist. His grandson Zion David was born on 3 August 1997. He is buried in a crypt at Nine Miles, near his birthplace, with his Gibson Les Paul Guitar, a soccer ball, a cannabis bud, and a Bible. Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. He was voted the 11th Greatest Rock 'n' Roll Artist of all time by Entertainment Weekly. His album 'Exodus' was chosen by Time magazine as the greatest album of the 20th century. Was voted the third greatest lyricist of all time by BBC News Online users, following Bob Dylan and John Lennon (May 2001). His song 'Rasta Man Chant' is a traditional Rastafarian chant, known to every adherent of the faith. It was announced that his wife plans to have his remains exhumed and moved to Ethiopia (January 2005). Refused amputation of his cancer-affected toe due to his religious beliefs. Was given a state funeral in Jamaica. Was a Rastafarian. Was named by his father Nesta Robert Marley after his brother who, when Bob was just born, wanted to adopt him. His youngest child, a daughter named Makeda, was born to Yvette Anderson 11 days after he died. Tuff Gong was his nickname, given to him due to his reputed physical strength. Later, Marley started his own music production company and named it Tuff Gong. One of the personalities mentioned in the song "Genius of Love" by Tom Tom Club. The others mentioned were James Brown, Smokey Robinson, Hamilton Bohannon, George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, Kurtis Blow, Lowell 'Sly' Dunbar (as Sly and Robbie) and Robbie Shakespeare (as Sly and Robbie). The City of New York renamed a portion of Church Avenue from Remsen Avenue to 98th Street in Brooklyn Bob Marley Boulevard (2006). Was of Sephardic Jewish descent on his fathers side. Bob's home for his music publishing for 10 years, most of his writing life, was Cayman Music, run by Danny Sims and Johnny Nash who also signed Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer as well as many of Jamaica's most prominent artists and writers of the time.