Bob Marley, complete biography, international reggae, concerts, successes and discography

Profile

Bob Marley (Robert Nesta Marley; Nine Mile, Saint Ann Parish, Jamaica, February 6, 1945 – Miami, Florida, May 11, 1981) was a singer, songwriter, guitarist, and leader of the Wailers, and a central figure in the worldwide diffusion of reggae.

Bob Marley was the first artist to bring Jamaican music consistently into international recording and touring circuits, achieving documented commercial success in Europe, North America, Africa, and Asia.

Origins and training (1940s – early 1960s)

Raised between Nine Mile and Kingston, Bob Marley was exposed from an early age to:

• ska,

• American rhythm & blues,

• Caribbean musical traditions.

In the early 1960s he lived in the working-class neighborhoods of Trench Town, an environment that fostered vocal groups and direct, practice-based learning of the music trade.

1960s: The Wailers and local success (1963–1969)

Formation and early recordings

In 1963 he founded The Wailers with:

• Peter Tosh,

• Bunny Wailer.

Key songs

• Simmer Down

• Soul Rebel

• Trench Town Rock

Activity and reception

• strong success in Jamaica,

• local radio play,

• concerts mainly in Kingston.

In this phase, success was primarily domestic, with limited international reach.

1970s (first half): shift to reggae and first international audience (1970–1974)

Albums and songs

• 1973 – Catch a Fire

  • Concrete Jungle

  • Stir It Up

• 1973 – Burnin’

  • Get Up, Stand Up

  • I Shot the Sheriff

Concerts and countries

Between 1973 and 1974 Bob Marley & The Wailers:

• performed in the United Kingdom,

• played concerts in France and the Netherlands,

• opened shows for major international rock artists.

Audiences grew quickly in Western Europe, while early success in the United States was more limited.

1970s (second half): global breakthrough (1975–1979)

Albums and songs

• 1975 – Natty Dread

  • No Woman, No Cry

  • Lively Up Yourself

• 1976 – Rastaman Vibration

  • War

• 1977 – Exodus

  • Jamming

  • Three Little Birds

  • One Love / People Get Ready

• 1978 – Kaya

  • Is This Love

  • Satisfy My Soul

• 1979 – Survival

  • Africa Unite

  • Zimbabwe

Concerts and key success areas

In this period Marley:

• toured regularly across Europe (United Kingdom, Germany, France, Scandinavia),

• performed in the United States with growing attendance,

• built an especially large following in Africa (Nigeria, Zimbabwe).

In 1978 he participated in the One Love Peace Concert in Kingston, a highly significant national event.

1980: final world tour

Album and songs

• 1980 – Uprising

  • Redemption Song

  • Could You Be Loved

Tour

• Uprising Tour (1980):

  • Europe (Germany, France, United Kingdom),

  • United States.

The Milan concert (June 27, 1980) is widely cited as one of his largest-attended European performances.

Illness and death

Bob Marley died on May 11, 1981 in Miami, aged 36, from malignant melanoma, diagnosed a few years earlier.

He died while attempting to return to Jamaica after treatment in the United States and Germany. A state funeral was held in Kingston, with broad public and institutional participation.

Musical style (practical points)

Bob Marley is recognized for:

• steady reggae rhythmic structures,

• offbeat rhythm guitar patterns,

• lyrics in English and Jamaican patois,

• arrangements designed to work effectively live and on radio.

Discography

Studio One period (1963–1966)

Studio albums

Pre-Island / independent period (1967–1972)

Studio albums

Island Records period (1973–1980)

Studio albums

Posthumous period (Island Records)

Studio albums

Documented career figures

• Over 75 million records sold worldwide (catalog-wide estimate).

• Particularly strong success in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, and Africa.

• First reggae artist to tour regularly in major European and American arenas.

• Long-term, stable international catalog presence after his death.