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
Ska (; , ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a w ...
,
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 O'Riley Livingston (10 April 1947 – 2 March 2021), known professionally as Bunny Wailer, was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and percussionist. He was an original member of reggae group The Wailers along with Bob Marley and Peter Tosh. ...
(Neville Livingston).
During 1970 and 1971, Wailer, Marley and Tosh worked with renowned reggae producers
Leslie Kong
Leslie Kong (20 December 1933 – 9 August 1971) was a Jamaican reggae producer.
Early life
Kong was born into a Chinese-Jamaican family. He had a "relatively comfortable upbringing" and attended St. George's College in Kingston.
Career ...
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 ...
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
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 ...
(1944–1987) meeting the singers
Bunny Wailer
Neville O'Riley Livingston (10 April 1947 – 2 March 2021), known professionally as Bunny Wailer, was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and percussionist. He was an original member of reggae group The Wailers along with Bob Marley and Peter Tosh. ...
(1947–2021) and
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 ...
(1945–1981). They developed a
ska
Ska (; , ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a w ...
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
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 ...
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
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 ...
producer
Leslie Kong
Leslie Kong (20 December 1933 – 9 August 1971) was a Jamaican reggae producer.
Early life
Kong was born into a Chinese-Jamaican family. He had a "relatively comfortable upbringing" and attended St. George's College in Kingston.
Career ...
, who used his studio musicians, called Beverley's All-Stars (
Jackie Jackson
Sigmund Esco "Jackie" Jackson (born May 4, 1951) is an American singer and songwriter best known as a founding member of the Jackson 5, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997. Jackson is the second child of the Jac ...
Junior Braithwaite
Franklin Delano Alexander "Junior" Braithwaite (4 April 1949 – 2 June 1999) was a reggae musician from Kingston, Jamaica and the youngest member of the vocal group, The Wailing Wailers.
Early career
The Wailing Wailers was a vocal group B ...
Cherry Smith
Cherry Smith (born Ermine Ortense Bramwell, 22 August 1943 – 24 September 2008) was a backing vocalist for the original Wailers from 1963 to 1966. She was also called Cherry Green (her half-brother Carlton had that surname).
Early beginni ...
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
''The Wailing Wailers'' is the 1965 eponymous debut studio album by the Wailers, later known as Bob Marley and the Wailers. Released on the Studio One label, the album is a compilation of various recordings made between 1964 and 1965 by Nevill ...
'', was released the same year, a compilation of tracks recorded at different times.
In 1966, they created a
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 ...
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
Wail 'N Soul 'M was a rocksteady record label created in 1966 by Bob Marley and the Wailers.
History
In July 1967, Bunny Wailer was sentenced to 14 months in jail. The group then consisted of Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and Rita Marley.
In March 1 ...
. 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
Aston Francis Barrett, Order of Distinction, CD (22 November 1946 – 3 February 2024), often called "Family Man" or "Fams" for short, was a Jamaican musician and Rastafari movement, Rastafarian. He was best known as the bass-guitar bandleader ...
(bass) and his brother
Carlton Barrett
Carlton Barrett (17 December 1950 – 17 April 1987) was a Jamaican musician best known for being the long-time drummer for Bob Marley & The Wailers. Recognized for his innovative style, which featured a highly syncopated, broken triplet patt ...
(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
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 ...
. 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
''Catch a Fire'' is the fifth studio album by the reggae band The Wailers (aka Bob Marley and the Wailers), released in April 1973. It was their first album released by Island Records. After finishing a UK tour with Johnny Nash, they had sta ...
''. 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 "
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 ...
" (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
Junior Marvin (born Donald Hanson Marvin Kerr Richards Jr., June 22, 1949), also known as Junior Marvin-Hanson, Junior Hanson, Junior Kerr, and Julian Junior Marvin, is a Jamaican-born guitarist and singer best known for his association with B ...
Tyrone Downie
Tyrone Downie (20 May 1956 – 5 November 2022) was a Jamaican keyboardist and pianist best known for his involvement as a member of Bob Marley and the Wailers.Foster, Chuck (1999) ''Roots Rock Reggae'', Billboard Books, , p. 66, 116
He studie ...
(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
Judith Veronica Mowatt, (born 1952) is a Jamaican reggae artist. As well as being a solo artist, from 1974 she was also a member of the I Threes, the trio of backing vocalists for Bob Marley & The Wailers.
Early life
Mowatt was born in Gordo ...
and
Marcia Griffiths
Marcia Llyneth Griffiths (born 23 November 1949) is a Jamaican singer best known for the 1989 remix of her single " Electric Boogie", which serves as the music for the four-wall " Electric Slide" line dance. It is the best-selling single of ...
. 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
"No Woman, No Cry" is a reggae song performed by Bob Marley and the Wailers. The song was recorded in 1974 and released on the studio album '' Natty Dread''.
The live recording of this song from the 1975 album '' Live!'' was released as a ...
", 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
''Rastaman Vibration'' is the eighth studio album by Jamaican reggae band Bob Marley and the Wailers, released in April 1976.
Critical reception
Reviewing for ''Rolling Stone'' in 1976, Robert Palmer said that on the album Marley consummately ...
'', was a breakthrough success in the US, reaching #8 on the Billboard 200 chart. The song "
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 ...
" 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
Vincent Ford (10 November 194028 December 2008), known as "Tata" or "Tartar", was a Jamaican songwriter best known for receiving writing credit for " No Woman, No Cry", the reggae song made famous by Bob Marley & The Wailers, as well as three ot ...
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.
Kingston
Kingston may refer to:
Places
* List of places called Kingston, including the six most populated:
** Kingston, Jamaica
** Kingston upon Hull, England
** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia
** Kingston, Ontario, Canada
** Kingston upon Thames, ...
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
Junior Marvin (born Donald Hanson Marvin Kerr Richards Jr., June 22, 1949), also known as Junior Marvin-Hanson, Junior Hanson, Junior Kerr, and Julian Junior Marvin, is a Jamaican-born guitarist and singer best known for his association with B ...
. 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
Michael Norman Manley (10 December 1924 – 6 March 1997) was a Jamaican politician who served as the fourth prime minister of Jamaica, from 1972 to 1980, and from 1989 to 1992. Manley championed a democratic socialist program, and has been ...
'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
"Waiting in Vain" is a song written by reggae musician Bob Marley and recorded by Bob Marley and the Wailers, for their 1977 album '' Exodus''. Released as a single, it reached number 27 on the UK Singles Chart.
The single was one of only a ...
", 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 ...
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
The One Love Concert (OLPC) was a large concert held on 22 April 1978 at the National Stadium in Kingston, Jamaica.
This concert was held during a political civil war in Jamaica between opposing parties Jamaican Labour Party and the People's ...
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
Edward Philip George Seaga ( ; 28 May 1930 – 28 May 2019) was a Jamaican politician and record producer. He was the fifth Prime Minister of Jamaica, from 1980 to 1989, and the leader of the Jamaica Labour Party from 1974 to 2005.
.
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
Rebellion is an uprising that resists and is organized against one's government. A rebel is a person who engages in a rebellion. A rebel group is a consciously coordinated group that seeks to gain political control over an entire state or a ...
'', 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
Carlton Barrett (17 December 1950 – 17 April 1987) was a Jamaican musician best known for being the long-time drummer for Bob Marley & The Wailers. Recognized for his innovative style, which featured a highly syncopated, broken triplet patt ...
and Tosh died —both of them murdered— in 1987. Braithwaite was murdered in 1999.
The Wailers Band
The Wailers Band is a Jamaican reggae band formed by former members of Bob Marley and the Wailers after Marley's death in 1981. It was led by bassist Aston "Familyman" Barrett until 2016, when he passed the role onto his son, Aston Barrett J ...
was formed by
Aston Barrett
Aston is an area of inner Birmingham, in the county of the West Midlands, England. Located immediately to the north-west of Central Birmingham, Aston constitutes a ward within the metropolitan authority. It is approximately from Birmingham C ...
Cherry Smith
Cherry Smith (born Ermine Ortense Bramwell, 22 August 1943 – 24 September 2008) was a backing vocalist for the original Wailers from 1963 to 1966. She was also called Cherry Green (her half-brother Carlton had that surname).
Early beginni ...
died.
The rest of the original members of the band died within a few years of each other:
Earl Lindo
Earl Wilberforce "Wire" Lindo (7 January 1953 – 4 September 2017), sometimes referred to as Wya (the way it is pronounced), was a Jamaican reggae musician. He was a member of Bob Marley and the Wailers and collaborated with numerous reggae ar ...
died in 2017, and both Alvin "Seeco" Patterson and Bunny Wailer (Livingston) died in 2021. Keyboardist
Tyrone Downie
Tyrone Downie (20 May 1956 – 5 November 2022) was a Jamaican keyboardist and pianist best known for his involvement as a member of Bob Marley and the Wailers.Foster, Chuck (1999) ''Roots Rock Reggae'', Billboard Books, , p. 66, 116
He studie ...
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
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 ...
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 ...
– rhythm guitar, lead vocals (1963–1981; died 1981)
*
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 ...
– lead guitar, keyboard, vocals (1963–1974; died 1987)
*
Bunny Wailer
Neville O'Riley Livingston (10 April 1947 – 2 March 2021), known professionally as Bunny Wailer, was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and percussionist. He was an original member of reggae group The Wailers along with Bob Marley and Peter Tosh. ...
– percussion, vocals (1963–1974; died 2021)
*
Cherry Smith
Cherry Smith (born Ermine Ortense Bramwell, 22 August 1943 – 24 September 2008) was a backing vocalist for the original Wailers from 1963 to 1966. She was also called Cherry Green (her half-brother Carlton had that surname).
Early beginni ...
Junior Braithwaite
Franklin Delano Alexander "Junior" Braithwaite (4 April 1949 – 2 June 1999) was a reggae musician from Kingston, Jamaica and the youngest member of the vocal group, The Wailing Wailers.
Early career
The Wailing Wailers was a vocal group B ...
Aston "Family Man" Barrett
Aston Francis Barrett, Order of Distinction, CD (22 November 1946 – 3 February 2024), often called "Family Man" or "Fams" for short, was a Jamaican musician and Rastafari movement, Rastafarian. He was best known as the bass-guitar bandleader ...
– bass (1970–1981; died 2024)
*
Carlton Barrett
Carlton Barrett (17 December 1950 – 17 April 1987) was a Jamaican musician best known for being the long-time drummer for Bob Marley & The Wailers. Recognized for his innovative style, which featured a highly syncopated, broken triplet patt ...
– drums, percussion (1970–1981; died 1987)
*
Earl Lindo
Earl Wilberforce "Wire" Lindo (7 January 1953 – 4 September 2017), sometimes referred to as Wya (the way it is pronounced), was a Jamaican reggae musician. He was a member of Bob Marley and the Wailers and collaborated with numerous reggae ar ...
– keyboards (1973, 1978–1981; died 2017)
*
Tyrone Downie
Tyrone Downie (20 May 1956 – 5 November 2022) was a Jamaican keyboardist and pianist best known for his involvement as a member of Bob Marley and the Wailers.Foster, Chuck (1999) ''Roots Rock Reggae'', Billboard Books, , p. 66, 116
He studie ...
– keyboards, percussion, backing vocals (1974–1981; died 2022)
*
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 ...
– backing vocals (1974–1981)
*
Marcia Griffiths
Marcia Llyneth Griffiths (born 23 November 1949) is a Jamaican singer best known for the 1989 remix of her single " Electric Boogie", which serves as the music for the four-wall " Electric Slide" line dance. It is the best-selling single of ...
– backing vocals (1974–1981)
*
Judy Mowatt
Judith Veronica Mowatt, (born 1952) is a Jamaican reggae artist. As well as being a solo artist, from 1974 she was also a member of the I Threes, the trio of backing vocalists for Bob Marley & The Wailers.
Early life
Mowatt was born in Gordo ...
– backing vocals (1974–1981)
* Al Anderson – guitar (1974–1975, 1978–1981)
*
Seeco Patterson
Alvin "Seeco" Patterson (born Francisco Aloysius Willie, 30 December 1930 – 1 November 2021) was a Cuban-born Jamaican percussionist. He was a member of The Wailers Band.
Early life
Patterson was born as Francisco Willie in Havana, Cuba in ...
– percussion (1975–1981; died 2021)
*
Earl "Chinna" Smith
Earl "Chinna" Smith (born 6 August 1955), a.k.a. Earl Flute and Melchezidek the High Priest,Johnson, Richard (2013)The Melchizedek way, ''Jamaica Observer'', 6 October 2013. Retrieved 12 October 2013 is a Jamaican guitarist active since the late ...
– guitar (1975–1976)
* Donald Kinsey – guitar (1975–1976, died 2024)
*
Junior Marvin
Junior Marvin (born Donald Hanson Marvin Kerr Richards Jr., June 22, 1949), also known as Junior Marvin-Hanson, Junior Hanson, Junior Kerr, and Julian Junior Marvin, is a Jamaican-born guitarist and singer best known for his association with B ...
– guitar, backing vocals (1977–1981)
Discography
* ''
The Wailing Wailers
''The Wailing Wailers'' is the 1965 eponymous debut studio album by the Wailers, later known as Bob Marley and the Wailers. Released on the Studio One label, the album is a compilation of various recordings made between 1964 and 1965 by Nevill ...
Catch a Fire
''Catch a Fire'' is the fifth studio album by the reggae band The Wailers (aka Bob Marley and the Wailers), released in April 1973. It was their first album released by Island Records. After finishing a UK tour with Johnny Nash, they had sta ...
Rastaman Vibration
''Rastaman Vibration'' is the eighth studio album by Jamaican reggae band Bob Marley and the Wailers, released in April 1976.
Critical reception
Reviewing for ''Rolling Stone'' in 1976, Robert Palmer said that on the album Marley consummately ...
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
Rebellion is an uprising that resists and is organized against one's government. A rebel is a person who engages in a rebellion. A rebel group is a consciously coordinated group that seeks to gain political control over an entire state or a ...
'' (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)
See also
*
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 ...
The Wailers Band
The Wailers Band is a Jamaican reggae band formed by former members of Bob Marley and the Wailers after Marley's death in 1981. It was led by bassist Aston "Familyman" Barrett until 2016, when he passed the role onto his son, Aston Barrett J ...
* White, Timothy "Catch A Fire: The Life of Bob Marley" (1983). St. Martin's Griffin. ISBN 978-0-8050-8086-5
* Masouri, John (2007) ''Wailing Blues: The Story of Bob Marley's "Wailers"'' Wise Publications
* Farley, Christopher (2007). ''Before the Legend: The Rise of Bob Marley'', Amistad Press
* Goldman, Vivien (2007) ''The Book of Exodus: The Making and Meaning of Bob Marley and the Wailers' Album of the Century'' Three Rivers Press
* Colin Grant (2011) ''The Natural Mystics : Marley, Tosh, Wailer'', Jonathan Cape 978-0-224-08608-0 (U.K.), W.W. Norton & Company (U.S.)