An essay about the life of Bob Marley.

Bob Marley

Few people throughout history had such a firm and yet docile impact on music and philosophy as Bob Marley. Bob Marley overcame prejudice, political repression, gangland warfare and the lack of a father figure in his adolescent life. He spread his beliefs and support of Rastafarianism across the globe with a docile yet infinitely effective technique - music. His music shared with the world a peaceful alternative to the oftentimes violent situations that frequently arise in our society today. In a sense his music also carries an aspect of blues with it; for any given situation of despair or umbrage a person might experience there is a Bob Marley track to free the soul.

Robert Nesta Marley was born on February 6, 1945, the son of an eighteen year old African American woman named Cedella Booker and a fifty year old white quartermaster attached to the British West Indian Regiment, named Norval Marley.

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Although Norval did provide financial support, the constant pressure applied by his family as well as the rough environment of St. Ann and the lack of a fatherly presence made Bob's childhood a hard and impoverished one. When Bob Marley was barely in his teens, his mother became fascinated with the aspect of moving to the capital of Jamaica, Kingston. Kingston was falsely tagged as the "Land of Opportunity" during that time period, an illusion that Bob's mother fell victim to. The truth of the matter was that Kingston had little to offer in terms of work and lifestyle improvement. Bob Marley and his mother Cedella moved to Kingston in the late 1950's and soon settled in Trenchtown. (Trenchtown was aptly named as it was built over a ditch that drained the sewage of Old Kingston)

It was in Trenchtown that Bob became enthralled with...