Alfarita Constantia "Rita" Marley OJ OD ( Anderson; born 25 July 1946) is a Jamaican

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 ...

singer. She is the widow of reggae musician

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 ...

. Along with Marcia Griffiths and Judy Mowatt, Rita was a member of the reggae vocal group the I Threes, the backing vocalists for

Bob Marley and the Wailers 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 and reggae band. The founding members, in 1963, were Bob Marley (Robert ...

Early life

Rita Marley was born in

Santiago de Cuba Santiago de Cuba is the second-largest city in Cuba and the capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province. It lies in the southeastern area of the island, some southeast of the Cuban capital of Havana. The municipality extends over , and contains t ...

, to Leroy Anderson and Cynthia "Beda" Jarrett. Her parents moved to

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long spit (landform), sand spit which connects the town of Por ...

, when she was three months old. In her memoir, ''No Woman No Cry: My Life with Bob Marley'', Rita describes how she was raised by her Aunt Viola after her parents separated. She was raised in Trenchtown in

Career

Rita was a founding member of the Soulettes with her cousin Constantine Walker, and Marlene Gifford. The Soulettes released recordings including

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 ...

tunes such as "Time for Everything", " Turn! Turn! Turn!" (released in 1966, written by folk singer

Pete Seeger Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and social activist. He was a fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s and had a string of hit records in the early 1950s as a member of The Weav ...

) and "A Deh Pon Dem". "Friends and Lovers", "One More Chance" and "That Ain't Right" (featuring harmony vocals by the Wailers), as well as a duet by Marley and Bunny Wailer ("Bless You"), which was issued years later on the ''Lovers and Friends'' album. After recording for Studio One and being coached by

, Rita married Bob around February 1966, just before he moved to

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington is the List of municipalities in Delaware, most populous city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North America. It lie ...

, for a few months to make a living working at the Dupont Hotel there. Bob was replaced by her cousin Constantine "Vision" Walker, who recorded a few songs as a member of The Wailers during this period, with Rita Marley providing harmonies.

The Wailers

Upon Bob's return at the end of the summer of 1966, Bunny Wailer,

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 ...

and Bob created their independent label Wail 'n' Soul'm, which released several records by Bob Marley and the Wailers, as well as Peter Tosh and the Wailers 45RPM single records including ''Bend Down Low'', ''Hypocrites'' and Tosh's ''Dem Haffi Get a Beatin in 1966–1968. As Bunny was jailed in 1968 for cannabis possession, Rita joined the Wailers, replacing Bunny for a few months. It is at that time that The Wailers met American singer

Johnny Nash John Lester Nash Jr. (August 19, 1940October 6, 2020) was an American singer and songwriter, best known in the United States for his 1972 hit " I Can See Clearly Now". Primarily a reggae and pop singer, he was one of the first non-Jamaican art ...

, who produced a series of Wailers rocksteady recordings. In April 1968 Nash's manager Danny Sims signed Tosh, Rita Marley and her husband, Bob Marley to exclusive publishing, management, and production contracts in exchange for a few dollars and an opportunity to record in Kingston for the New York-based JAD label owned by Johnny Nash, musician Arthur Jenkins and Sims. Musicians on this 1968 Wailers session feature Tosh and the Marleys. Rita Marley sang vocals on a dozen fine rocksteady and soul tracks, most of which were not issued at the time. New recordings of ''Bend Down Low'' and ''Mellow Mood'' got issued as a single in the U.S. under the name "Bob, Rita and Peter". The original 1968 sessions including all of the original musicians — and without the horns — eventually surfaced on the ''Freedom Time'' album issued in 2003 by JAD's partner in France (55 Records) after producer Bruno Blum finally mixed them in Paris from the original four-track tapes. One song, "Play Play Play", features Rita Marley on lead vocals with harmonies sung by Peter and Bob Marley. Another Rita Marley-sung tune, "Lonely Girl", and a pop duet with Bob, "Milk Shake and Potato Chips", were finally released in 2003 on the ''Rebel'' JAD/55 long box set.

The I Threes

Following the birth of their second child, Ziggy Marley in 1968, Bob returned to Delaware in 1969 to work on the night shift in a Chrysler factory. Bunny had returned to the Wailers at the end of 1968 and Rita did not record with Bob until 1974, when her husband formed the I Three harmony vocal group featuring Marcia Griffiths and Judy Mowatt to replace Peter and Bunny, who had left the band in 1973. Together with the I Three, Bob Marley & the Wailers recorded the album '' Natty Dread'' in 1974, rising to international stardom with the track "No Woman No Cry". It was followed by the 1976 album '' Rastaman Vibration'' featuring the track "Roots, Rock, Reggae". On 3 December 1976 two days before the Smile Jamaica Concert, a large free concert organized by Bob Marley with the support of Jamaican Prime Minister Michael Manley, Rita, Bob, and manager Don Taylor were wounded in an assault on the Marley home by gunmen affiliated with Manley's enemies. Rita survived a shot to the head and Taylor sustained serious injuries from being shot in the leg. Bob had a bullet skid his chest and wound his arm, but nevertheless played this major show in Kingston with Rita by his side.

Later years

In 1981, Rita Marley purchased Ken Khouri's Federal Records recording studio, the island's first pressing plant, and the company subsequently moved from 56 Hope Road to 220 Marcus Garvey Drive, where it continues to operate. Tuff Gong studio is one of the largest Caribbean studios and features the second-largest live recording space on the island with artists, musicians, producers and tourists traveling from around the world to visit the facility. In 1986, Rita Marley decided to convert Bob Marley's home into the Bob Marley Museum. She is the founder and chairwoman of the Robert Marley Foundation, Bob Marley Trust, and the Bob Marley Group of Companies. In 2000, Rita created the Rita Marley Foundation, a non-governmental, not-for-profit, non-partisan organization that works to alleviate poverty and hunger in developing countries. It targets elderly and youth. It has given out a number of scholarships to music students in Ghana. It hosts the annual Africa Unite concerts which strives to spread global awareness about issues that affect Africa and to develop lasting solutions. She adopted 35 children in

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

and has assisted over 200 children in Konkonuru Methodist School in

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

. In 1996, Rita Marley was conferred the

Order of Distinction The Order of Distinction (OD) is a national order in the Jamaican honours system. It is the sixth in order of precedence of the Orders of Societies of Honour, which were instituted by an Act of Parliament (''The National Honours and Awards Ac ...

by the Jamaican government for her contributions to the development of Jamaican music and culture. In 2010, Rita was conferred with the prestigious Marcus Garvey Lifetime Achievement Award. On 3 August 2013, she was made an honorary citizen of

by the Ghanaian government after living there for many years. In November 2015 Marley was awarded an honorary

Doctor of Letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or '), also termed Doctor of Literature in some countries, is a terminal degree in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. In the United States, at universities such as Drew University, the degree ...

degree by the

University of the West Indies The University of the West Indies (UWI), originally University College of the West Indies, is a public university system established to serve the higher education needs of the residents of 18 English-speaking countries and territories in t ...

. In 2017 she received her second honorary Doctorate degree by

University of Fort Hare The University of Fort Hare () is a public university in Alice, Eastern Cape, Alice, Eastern Cape, South Africa. It was a key institution of higher education for Africans from 1916 to 1959 when it offered a Western-style academic education to ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. In September 2016, Marley suffered a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

while on a visit to Miami to attend a special event and has kept a low public profile since. She made her first public appearance since then at an award ceremony in Kingston on March 9, 2019, along with her fellow I Three members Marcia Griffiths and Judy Mowatt to accept the Iconic Award (For a Duo/Group), given by the Jamaica Reggae Industry Association. In 2019, Marley was honoured by the Jamaican Government with its fourth-highest national honour,

Order of Jamaica The Order of Jamaica is the fifth of the six orders in the Jamaican honours system. The Order was established in 1969, and it is considered the equivalent of a knighthood in the British honours system. Membership in the Order can be conferred upon ...

(OJ). In October 2022, Rita was awarded the Jamaican Consulate General's Lifetime Achievement Award and was also honored by the South Miami Dade Cultural Arts Center during Jamaica's National Dance Theatre Company (NDTC) On 22 March 2024, she was honoured by the International Reggae And World Music Awards (IRAWMA) for her extensive philanthropic work throughout her life. She established the Rita Marley Foundation, which focuses on alleviating poverty and hunger and providing education in Ghana and Jamaica. On 1 July 2024 on International Reggae Day, Rita received the Winnie Mandela Humanitarian Award at the JulyOne celebrations hosted by the City of Miramar in Florida and Consul General Oliver Mair. For her invaluable service to humanity through her music and philanthropic works in communities from Jamaica to Africa. Rita has six children, three with Bob and three from other relationships. Bob adopted Rita's two other children as his own and they have the Marley name. Rita's children are, in order of birth: # Sharon Marley, born 23 November 1964 (daughter of Rita from a previous relationship but then adopted by Marley after his marriage with Rita) # Cedella Marley born 23 August 1967 # "Ziggy Marley" (David Nesta Marley), born 17 October 1968 # Stephen Marley, born 20 April 1972 # Stephanie Marley, born 17 August 1974 (from Owen "Ital Tacky" Stewart, a former Jamaican soccer player) Bob adopted her, giving her official recognition as one of his children, thereby entitling her to his estate. # Serita Stewart, born 11 August 1985 (born after Bob's passing to Owen "Ital Tacky" Stewart, Stephanie's biological father)

Discography

*1966: ''Pied Piper'', Rio *1967: "Pied Piper" (single, on Club Ska '67), Mango *1980: ''Rita Marley'' – Trident *1981: ''Who Feels It Knows It'',

Shanachie Records Shanachie Records is an American, New Jersey–based record label, founded in 1975 by Richard Nevins and Dan Collins. The label is named for the Gaelic word '' seanchaí'' (anglicised as shanachie), an Irish storyteller. It was previously distr ...

*1982: "Harambe (Working Together for Freedom)", Shanachie Records *1986: "Beginning", I-Three, EMI / TUFF GONG *1988: ''We Must Carry On'', Shanachie Records *1990: ''Beauty of God's'', Shanachie Records *1990: ''Good Girls Culture'', Shanachie Records *1990: ''One Draw'', Shanachie Records *2003: ''Sings Bob Marley...and Friends'', Shanachie Records *2004: ''Play Play'',

Universal Music Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum ...

*2005: ''Sunshine After Rain'' *2006: ''Gifted Fourteen Carnation''

Appearances

*1966: The Soulettes – ''Time for Everything'' (Jamaica All Stars compilation album), Studio One *1968: The Wailers – ''Pay Play Play'' and ''Rhapsody'' (released on the ''Freedom Time'' album in 2003), JAD *1983:

John Denver Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), known professionally as John Denver, was an American Country music, country and Folk music, folk singer, songwriter, and actor. He was one of the most popular acoustic m ...

– "World Game" (with The Wailers and Marcia Griffiths), '' It's About Time'',

RCA RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...

*1996: Khaled – "Ouelli El Darek" (with the I Three), '' Sahra'', Wrasse Records

Collaborations

*1995: Rita Marley / Ignacio Scola / Gregorio Paniagua: ''Spectacles for tribuffalos'', Tabata Musica y Letra *2006: Fergie / Rita Marley & The I-3's: "Mary Jane Shoes" – '' The Dutchess''

Books

* ''No Woman, No Cry: My Life with Bob Marley'' (2004) Rita Marley, Hettie Jones, Hyperion * ''Harambe for the Holidays: Vibrant Holiday Cooking with Rita Marley'' (2014) Cedella Marley, Rita Marley

References

External links

* – official site * *
Rita Marley
biography at Starpulse.com
Rita Marley
biography at

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism for Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network that launched on January 1, 1985, and is currently owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global's networks division based in New Y ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marley, Rita 1946 births Living people Converts to the Rastafari movement 20th-century Jamaican women singers Jamaican Rastafarians Jamaican reggae musicians Jamaican reggae singers R Singers from Kingston, Jamaica The Wailers members Officers of the Order of Distinction Shanachie Records artists Naturalized citizens of Ghana Members of the Order of Jamaica