Bob Marley has been a hero of mine since childhood. Growing up in the 1980s, my Dad constantly had Bob Marley and The Wailers on his vinyl player, himself a fan from Bob's 1970s heyday. A life cut tragically short by cancer, we all know Bob’s music, his legacy as the King of Reggae, the seminal ‘Legend’ album, and his Rastafari/prophet lifestyle (and the ganja). But what about his wife, Rita? How did she influence Bob’s music, life, his early days in Trench Town, and everything that followed? If you want a unique insight into the life of a Reggae legend, this seems like a good starting point and a book that taught me a lot about a guy whose music I still listen to today. As a white man, I was interested in Bob’s mixed-race heritage and his Jamaican/African roots, which Rita Marley gives a good insight into.
Rita Marley grew up in the slums of Trench Town, Jamaica, and she met Bob Marley at a recording studio (Studio One) in Trench Town. Bob and Rita became close friends, fell in love, and soon, she and her girlfriends were singing backup for the Wailers. At the ages of 21 and 19, Bob and Rita were married.
The rest is history: Bob Marley and the Wailers set Jamaica and the world on fire. But while Rita displayed blazing courage, joy, and an indisputable devotion to her husband, life with Bob was not easy. There were his liaisons with other women, some of which produced children and were conducted under Rita's roof. The press repeatedly reported that Bob was unmarried to preserve his "image." But Rita kept her self-respect, and when Bob succumbed to cancer in 1981, she was at his side. In the years that followed, she became a force in her own right as the Bob Marley Foundation's spokesperson and a performer in her reggae group, the I-Three.
Written with author Hettie Jones, No Woman No Cry is a no-holds-barred account of life with one of the most famous musicians of all time, which I definitely recommend. I bought this on ‘World Of Books’, which is a great second-hand online bookstore.