Bob Marley was undoubtedly one of the most famous and influential reggae artists of all time. Born on the 6th of February 1945 in Jamaica, he was a dedicated Rastafarian, and became known for his work in his first band called ‘The Wailers.’ This band would later develop into the act ‘Bob Marley and the Wailers’ in around 1963, and would become know worldwide in later years. He later relocated to London in the UK in 1972 and signed with CBS Records, The Wailers’ original line up disbanded shortly after in 1974. It was at this point when Bob Marley began pursuing his solo music career and the band would now officially be known as ‘Bob Marley and the Wailers, releasing the album ‘Exodus’ in 1977 which quickly established his worldwide reputation and made him one of the world’s best selling artists of all time, selling more than 75 million records. This album also managed to stay on the British Album Charts for 56 weeks in a row with 4 hit singles. after this came the album ‘Kaya’ which contained the hit ‘Is This Love.’ His greatest hits album ‘Legend’ was released in 1984, three years after his death, and this subsequently became the best selling reggae album of all time.
Sadly, Marley died in 1981, making him only 36 years old. This was 4 years after he was diagnosed with Acral lentiginmaous melano, a form of potentially serious skin cancer.
Bob Marley is credited with popularising reggae music around the world, and has since become a symbol of Jamaican culture.