Bob Marley and the Wailers (previously known as the Wailers and prior to that the Wailing Rudeboys, the Wailing Wailers and the Teenagers) were a Jamaican ska,

rocksteady Rocksteady is a music genre that originated in Jamaica around 1966. A successor of ska and a precursor to reggae, rocksteady was the dominant style of music in Jamaica for nearly two years, performed by many of the artists who helped establish ...

and

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

band. The founding members, in 1963, were

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981) was a Jamaican singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, he fused elements of reggae, ska and rocksteady and was renowned for his distinctive voca ...

(Robert Nesta Marley),

Peter Tosh Winston Hubert McIntosh (19 October 1944 – 11 September 1987), professionally known as Peter Tosh, was a Jamaican reggae musician. Along with Bob Marley and Bunny Wailer, he was one of the core members of the band Bob Marley and the Wa ...

(Winston Hubert McIntosh), and Bunny Wailer (Neville Livingston). During 1970 and 1971, Wailer, Marley and Tosh worked with renowned reggae producers Leslie Kong and

Lee "Scratch" Perry Lee "Scratch" Perry (born Rainford Hugh Perry; 20 March 1936 – 29 August 2021) was a Jamaican record producer, songwriter and singer noted for his innovative studio techniques and production style. Perry was a pioneer in the 1970s development ...

. Before signing to

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in Jamaica by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in 1959, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another ...

in 1972, the band released four albums. Two additional albums were produced before Tosh and Wailer departed from the band in 1974, citing dissatisfaction with their treatment by the label and ideological disagreements. Marley continued with a new lineup, which included the I-Threes, and went on to release seven more albums. Marley died from cancer in 1981, at which point the group disbanded. The Wailers were a groundbreaking ska and reggae group, noted for songs such as "Simmer Down", "Trenchtown Rock", "Nice Time", "

War War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

", " Stir It Up" and "

Get Up, Stand Up "Get Up, Stand Up" is a song written by Bob Marley and Peter Tosh. It originally appeared on The Wailers' 1973 album '' Burnin. It was recorded and played live in numerous versions by Bob Marley and the Wailers, along with solo versions by P ...

History

Early years

The band formed in 1963 following self-taught musician

(1944–1987) meeting the singers Bunny Wailer (1947–2021) and

(1945–1981). They developed a ska vocal group called the Teenagers. The group soon changed their name to the Wailing Rudeboys and then to the Wailing Wailers before settling on the Wailers. The band topped the Jamaican charts in 1964 with " Simmer Down", which was recorded at Studio One with the rhythm section from the studio house band

the Skatalites The Skatalites are a ska band from Jamaica. They played initially between 1963 and 1965, and recorded many of their best known songs in the period, including "Guns of Navarone (song), Guns of Navarone." They also played on records by Prince Bus ...

. "Simmer Down" was a message to the Jamaican rude boys to "simmer down, oh cool your temper" and became an overnight hit. The record played an essential role in changing the musical agenda in Jamaica from imitating foreign artists, to capturing the lives and spirit of Jamaica. Wailer, Marley and Tosh recorded with

and his studio band

the Upsetters The Upsetters was the name given to the house band for Jamaican reggae producer Lee "Scratch" Perry. The name of the band comes from Perry's nickname of Upsetter, after his song "I Am the Upsetter", a musical dismissal of his former boss Coxs ...

. They also worked with renowned

producer Leslie Kong, who used his studio musicians, called Beverley's All-Stars ( Jackie Jackson, Paul Douglas, Gladstone Anderson, Winston Wright, Rad Bryan, Hux Brown) to record the songs that would be released as an album titled '' The Best of The Wailers''. By late 1963, singers Junior Braithwaite,

Beverley Kelso Beverley Kelso (born 5 April 1948)
, ''

Cherry Smith had joined the group. The line-up consisted of Braithwaite on vocals, Marley on guitar, Tosh on keyboard, Wailer on percussion, with Smith and or Kelso on backing vocals. Kelso remembered those early recordings fondly: In 1965, Kelso left the band. Marley, Tosh, Wailer and Braithwaite took turns on lead vocals. Braithwaite left shortly after providing lead vocals for the single "It Hurts to be Alone", leaving the band consisting of the trio of Wailer, Marley and Tosh. The band's first full-length album, '' The Wailing Wailers'', was released the same year, a compilation of tracks recorded at different times. In 1966, they created a

record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...

Wail N Soul M. Constantine "Dream" Walker provided backing vocals from 1966 to 1967. In May 1970, the band recorded with renowned reggae producer Leslie Kong; producing '' The Best of the Wailers'', which they released later in 1971 as their fourth album. Over the rest of 1970 and 1971, the band worked with Lee 'Scratch' Perry, producing the bands second and third albums, '' Soul Rebels'' (1970) and '' Soul Revolution Part II'' (1971). During this time, the Upsetters members Aston "Family Man" Barrett (bass) and his brother Carlton Barrett (drums) were recruited as instrumental backing for The Wailers.

Signing to Island Records

In 1972, while in London, the Wailers asked their road manager Brent Clarke to introduce them to

Chris Blackwell Christopher Percy Gordon Blackwell OJ (born 22 June 1937) is a Jamaican-British former record producer and the founder of Island Records, which has been called "one of Britain's great independent labels". According to the Rock and Roll Hall ...

, who had licensed some of their Coxsone releases for his

. The Wailers felt they were due royalties from these releases. Blackwell was not convinced, but he was impressed by their character. He thought they "exuded power and self-possession" despite being poor. Despite not having seen the band perform live, he advanced them £4,000 to record an album. He did not even require them to sign anything, feeling they deserved a break.

Jimmy Cliff James Chambers, Jamaican Order of Merit, OM (born 30 July 1944), known professionally as Jimmy Cliff, is a Jamaican ska, rocksteady, reggae and soul musician, multi-instrumentalist, singer, and actor. He is the only living reggae musician to hol ...

, Island's top reggae star, had recently left the label. His departure may have primed Blackwell to find a replacement. In Marley, Blackwell recognized the elements needed to snare the rock audience: "I was dealing with rock music, which was really rebel music. I felt that would really be the way to break Jamaican music. But you needed someone who could be that image. When Bob walked in, he really was that image." The Wailers returned to Jamaica to record at Harry J's in Kingston, which resulted in the foundational tracks what would make up the album '' Catch a Fire''. Primarily recorded on an eight-track, ''Catch a Fire'' marked the first time a reggae band had access to a state-of-the-art studio and were accorded the same care as their rock 'n' roll peers. The tracks were taken to Island Studios in London and worked on by Blackwell, with Marley supervising. Blackwell desired the tracks to appeal to rock audiences in the United Kingdom and United States, to whom the band would be novel. To this end, he made the tracks sound "more of a drifting, hypnotic-type feel than a reggae rhythm". He restructured Marley's mixes and arrangements. The tracks were overdubbed with the help of Wayne Perkins on guitar and John “Rabbit” Bundrick on keyboard. The mix deviated from the bass-heavy sound of Jamaican music, and two tracks were omitted. The album released in April 1973, closely followed by ''Burnin in October 1973. ''Burnin contained the songs "

" (credited to Tosh and Marley) and Marley's "

I Shot the Sheriff "I Shot the Sheriff" is a song written by Jamaican reggae musician Bob Marley and released in 1973 with his band Bob Marley and the Wailers, the Wailers. Background The song was first released in 1973 on Bob Marley and the Wailers, the Wailers ...

"; a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

of the latter was

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English Rock music, rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s l ...

's first US #1 in 1974.

Tosh and Livingston departure and I-Threes

In 1974, Livingston left the band due to various disagreements with Blackwell, including not getting paid for the English leg of their Burnin' tour, and his refusal to play in the "freak clubs" that Island had booked the band. Tosh believed that producer Blackwell, whom he unfavorably called "Chris Whiteworst", was responsible for the bad relationship between the band members. He thought Blackwell favored Marley over the rest of the band, giving him more attention and money, and with the decision to release their albums under the name "Bob Marley and the Wailers" instead of "The Wailers". Marley continued with a new line-up, which included the Aston Barrett (bass), Carlton Barrett (drums), Junior Marvin (lead guitar), Al Anderson (lead guitar), Tyrone Downie (keyboards), Earl "Wya" Lindo (keyboards), and Alvin "Seeco" Patterson on percussion. Additionally, the I-Threes provided female backing vocals. The three I-Three members were Marley's wife

Rita Marley Alfarita Constantia "Rita" Marley OJ OD ( Anderson; born 25 July 1946) is a Jamaican reggae singer. She is the widow of reggae musician Bob Marley. Along with Marcia Griffiths and Judy Mowatt, Rita was a member of the reggae vocal group the ...

, Judy Mowatt and Marcia Griffiths. Their name is a spin on the

Rastafarian Rastafari is an Abrahamic religion that developed in Jamaica during the 1930s. It is classified as both a new religious movement and a social movement by scholars of religion. There is no central authority in control of the movement and much ...

" I and I" concept of the Godhead within each person. The album '' Natty Dread'' was released in 1974, the first without Tosh and Livingston and with the I-Threes. It featured " No Woman, No Cry", a seminal song in the Wailers' canon, along with "Lively Up Yourself" and the more political "Them Belly Full (But We Hungry)". In 1975 a live version of "No Woman, No Cry", recorded at the Lyceum Theatre in London during the ''Natty Dread'' tour, became Bob Marley & the Wailers' first successful single outside reggae circles, reaching #22 on the UK singles chart. Perry released two compilation albums for

Trojan Records Trojan Records is a British record label founded by Jamaican Duke Reid, Lee Gopthal and Chris Blackwell in 1968. It specialises in ska, rocksteady, reggae and dub music. The label currently operates under the Sanctuary Records Group. Th ...

in 1974, '' Rasta Revolution'' and '' African Herbsman'', which contained songs from '' Soul Rebels'' and '' Soul Revolution Part II'', respectively, and he was the copyright holder of several songs from these albums. These changes caused a major dispute between Marley and Perry, when the former saw the albums, six months after their publication, in the Half Way Road in England. Bob Marley & the Wailers' next album, 1976's '' Rastaman Vibration'', was a breakthrough success in the US, reaching #8 on the Billboard 200 chart. The song "

" featured lyrics taken directly from the text of a

Haile Selassie Haile Selassie I (born Tafari Makonnen or ''Ethiopian aristocratic and court titles#Lij, Lij'' Tafari; 23 July 189227 August 1975) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. He rose to power as the Ethiopian aristocratic and court titles, Rege ...

speech. The album credits numerous songwriters, including Bob and Rita Marley, the Barretts and Marley's childhood mentor and friend Vincent Ford amongst others. Marley was in dispute with publishing company Cayman Music and sought to avoid contractual entanglements by putting the songs in the names of his family and friends, and provide them with potential future income. Also in 1976, Bunny Wailer (Livingston) released his debut solo album '' Blackheart Man'', with Marley and Tosh contributing backing vocals and the Barretts forming the rhythm section on some tracks. Peter Tosh also released his first solo album entitled '' Legalize It''. Marley and Livingston received co-writing credits on some of the songs. Most of the then-current Wailers band (the Barretts, Anderson, Downie) played on the record, with Rita Marley providing backing vocals.

Stay in London and ''Exodus''

Following an assassination attempt at their home in Kingston in December 1976, the Marleys moved to London, England in early 1977. Most of the current Wailers line-up followed, with Marley also recruiting Jamaican-born, London-raised guitarist Junior Marvin. This line-up recorded the next Bob Marley & the Wailers album, '' Exodus'', released in June, 1977. The album title (and title track) were conceived in response to Jamaican Prime Minister Michael Manley's campaign slogan, 'We Know Where We're Going'. Featuring downbeat reggae rhythms fused with elements of soul, blues and English rock, ''Exodus'' was a top-20 hit in the US and UK while the song " Exodus" was #1 in Jamaica. ''Exodus'' also featured numerous songs which would go on to be hits and iconic Bob Marley & the Wailers tunes in their own right, including " Jamming", " Waiting In Vain", a new version of 1965's "

One Love/People Get Ready "One Love" is a ska song written by Bob Marley and recorded by his group the Wailers from their 1965 debut studio album '' The Wailing Wailers''. It was rerecorded as part of the 1970 medley "All in One", which contained reggae reworkings of ...

" and the carefree, optimistic " Three Little Birds". In 1999,

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

magazine named ''Exodus'' the greatest album of the 20th century and the album has continued to feature in best-of-all-time lists. In March 1978 the album '' Kaya'' was released. The record was coolly received by critics, who found it lightweight and uninspired following ''Exodus''. Nevertheless, ''Kaya'' went top-5 in the UK and contained the hit single " Is This Love". ''Kaya'' also contained new versions of three songs from 1971's ''Soul Revolution II''. Bob Marley & the Wailers toured Europe extensively in support of ''Kaya'', resulting in the live album '' Babylon by Bus'', also released in 1978.

Return to Jamaica and later years

Marley and the Wailers returned to Jamaica in April 1978 to play the One Love Peace Concert in Kingston, aimed at calming political tensions and violence in their home country. Near the end of the concert Marley joined hands on stage with Manley and opposition leader Edward Seaga. Bob Marley had a lifelong interest in Africa, having visited Ethiopia briefly in 1978. Themes of African independence and pan-African unity dominated 1979's overtly political album ''Survival''. Songs including "Africa Unite", "Zimbabwe" and "Wake Up and Live" made Marley's feelings plain, while the single " One Drop" employed a double-meaning of the reggae rhythm used in the song and a system of racial classification used in the USA. In 1980, Bob Marley (absent Wailers) was invited to perform "Zimbabwe" at the country's Independence Day celebrations. In 1977, following persistent pain in his right big toe, Bob Marley had been diagnosed with acral lentiginous melanoma, a rare form of skin cancer. Doctors recommended amputation of the toe, but Marley refused for religious reasons; he also feared it would hinder stage performance. Bob Marley & the Wailers pressed on, planning extensive worldwide tours. The last Bob Marley & the Wailers' album released in Bob's lifetime, '' Uprising'', appeared in June, 1980. An assertive affirmation of Marley's

Rastafari Rastafari is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic religion that developed in Jamaica during the 1930s. It is classified as both a new religious movement and a social movement by Religious studies, scholars of religion. There is no central authori ...

an beliefs, the album contained the song " Forever Loving Jah"; the solo acoustic, folk-based " Redemption Song", believed by some to be Marley's finest song; and the successful single " Could You Be Loved". The band embarked on a US tour to promote the album. One of the last performances that included Marley was in 1980 at Madison Square Garden. His final live show was performed at the Stanley Theater in Pittsburgh. By September 1980, Marley could no longer perform live. He sought alternative cancer treatments in Europe before attempting to return home to Jamaica. Marley's condition worsened on the flight and he died in a Miami hospital on May 11, 1981.

Post Bob Marley death

A Bob Marley & the Wailers album, ''Confrontation'', was released in May 1983, two years after Bob Marley's death. It contained unreleased and demo songs recorded during Marley's lifetime. Backing vocals by the I-Threes were added to several of the songs to give the album some consistency. " Buffalo Soldier", a single released from the album, was a top-10 hit in the UK. The music of Marley,

Tosh Tosh may refer to: People * Tosh (surname) * Tosh (nickname) * Tosh Townend (born 1985), professional skateboarder * Tosh Van der Sande (born 1990), Belgian professional cyclist Places * Tosh, Himachal Pradesh, India; a village * Kiryas ...

and Wailer enjoyed considerable success as reggae music continued to gain popularity during the 1980s. In 1984 Island Records released a Bob Marley & the Wailers 'greatest hits' album, entitled ''Legend''. The album contains all ten of the Wailers' top-40 UK hits, plus "Redemption Song" and three songs from the Marley/Tosh/Livingston era, "Stir It Up", "Get Up, Stand Up" and "I Shot the Sheriff". ''Legend'' went to #1 on the UK album charts and peaked at #5 in the USA, but it has stayed in the Billboard 200 and UK top 100 since release. It is officially the biggest-selling reggae album ever, with an estimated 28 million copies sold globally (as of 2024). Carlton Barrett and Tosh died —both of them murdered— in 1987. Braithwaite was murdered in 1999. The Wailers Band was formed by Aston Barrett in 1989. The Original Wailers was instead formed by Anderson and Marvin in 2008, the same year in which Cherry Smith died. The rest of the original members of the band died within a few years of each other: Earl Lindo died in 2017, and both Alvin "Seeco" Patterson and Bunny Wailer (Livingston) died in 2021. Keyboardist Tyrone Downie died in 2022, and Aston Barrett died in February 2024. Donald Kinsey died in February 2024, on Bob Marley's birthday, February 6, three days after the loss of Aston Barrett.

Legacy

In 2001, ''Catch a Fire'' was reissued as a double album, with the first part being the previously unreleased 'Jamaican' versions of the song without Blackwell's overdubs and the second part being the album as it was released in 1972. In March 2013, an overview of most of the music made by the Wailers prior to their signing to

was published by the Roots Reggae Library.

Band members

– rhythm guitar, lead vocals (1963–1981; died 1981) *

– lead guitar, keyboard, vocals (1963–1974; died 1987) * Bunny Wailer – percussion, vocals (1963–1974; died 2021) * Cherry Smith – backing vocals (1963–1966; died 2008) *

Beverley Kelso Beverley Kelso (born 5 April 1948)
, ''

Junior Braithwaite – vocals (1963–1964; died 1999) * Constantine "Vision" Walker – backing vocals (1966–1967) * Aston "Family Man" Barrett – bass (1970–1981; died 2024) * Carlton Barrett – drums, percussion (1970–1981; died 1987) * Earl Lindo – keyboards (1973, 1978–1981; died 2017) * Tyrone Downie – keyboards, percussion, backing vocals (1974–1981; died 2022) *

– backing vocals (1974–1981) * Marcia Griffiths – backing vocals (1974–1981) * Judy Mowatt – backing vocals (1974–1981) * Al Anderson – guitar (1974–1975, 1978–1981) * Seeco Patterson – percussion (1975–1981; died 2021) * Earl "Chinna" Smith – guitar (1975–1976) * Donald Kinsey – guitar (1975–1976, died 2024) * Junior Marvin – guitar, backing vocals (1977–1981)

Discography

* '' The Wailing Wailers'' (1965) * '' The Best of the Wailers'' (1970; released 1971) * '' Soul Rebels'' (1970) * '' Soul Revolution Part II'' (1971) * '' Catch a Fire'' (1973) * '' Burnin''' (1973) * '' Natty Dread'' (1974) * '' Rastaman Vibration'' (1976) * '' Exodus'' (1977) * '' Kaya'' (1978) * ''

Survival Survival or survivorship, the act of surviving, is the propensity of something to continue existing, particularly when this is done despite conditions that might kill or destroy it. The concept can be applied to humans and other living things ...

'' (1979) * '' Uprising'' (1980) * ''

Confrontation Confrontation is an element of conflict wherein parties confront one another, directly engaging one another in the course of a dispute between them. A confrontation can be at any scale, between any number of people, between entire nations or cu ...

'' (1983)

Tours

* Apr–Jul 1973: Catch a Fire Tour (England, USA) * Oct–Nov 1973: Burnin' Tour (USA, England) * Jun–Jul 1975: Natty Dread Tour (USA, Canada, England) * Apr–Jun 1976: Rastaman Vibration Tour (USA, Canada, Germany, Sweden, Netherlands, France, England, Wales) * May–Jun 1977: Exodus Tour (France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, England) * May–Aug 1978: Kaya Tour (USA, Canada, England, France, Spain, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Netherlands, Belgium) * Apr–May 1979: Babylon by Bus Tour (Japan, New Zealand, Australia, Hawaii) * Oct 1979–Jan 1980: Survival Tour (USA, Canada, Trinidad/Tobago, Bahamas, Gabon) * May–Sep 1980: Uprising Tour (Switzerland, Germany, France, England, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Belgium, Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, USA)

References

External links

*
45cat Bob Marley discographywww.MusicGonnaTeach.com – The Wailers (Bob, Peter & Bunny)
* {{Authority control First-wave ska groups Island Records artists Jamaican reggae musical groups Jamaican ska groups Musical groups established in 1963 Musical groups disestablished in 1981 Trojan Records artists 1963 establishments in Jamaica 1981 disestablishments in Jamaica Political music groups