NAME: Bob Marley

AGE: 60, had he not died at 36

NATIONALITY: Jamaican

CLAIM TO FAME: Reggae’s most transcendent and iconic figure

SOME people and their legacy just never die. And Bob Marley is one such legendary person who is still living in the hearts of his fans. And in celebration of his music, month long festivities have kicked off in Ethiopia that will mark the Jamaican reggae superstar’s 60th birthday on February 6. Marley’s widow, Rita, together with the African Union and the UN Children’s Fund, organized the $1 million extravaganza dubbed ‘Africa Unite’ in honour of one of his most famous songs. The highlight of the festivities is Ethiopia’s largest-ever concert on Marley’s birthday.

One of the most charismatic and challenging performers of our time, Marley’s style encompassed every aspect in the rise of Jamaican music, from ska to contemporary reggae. His musical legacy has come to symbolize the Jamaican spirit of triumph through adversity. A Rastafarian, he was a follower of the former Ethiopian leader Haile Selassie. He believed in the doctrine of the repatriation to Africa of the descendants of slaves who were shipped to the West. He wrote mighty anthems of African liberation, including War, Zimbabwe and Africa Unite. But he was also the artist who more than any before or since has epitomized the Jamaican heartbeat sound of reggae.

Called “the first Third World superstar” and “Rasta Prophet,” Bob Marley was the first Jamaican artist to achieve international superstardom, in the process introducing the music of his native island nation to all corners of the globe. He gave voice to the day-to-day struggles of the Jamaican experience’s. His songs of faith, devotion and revolution created a legacy which continues to live on not only through the music of his extended family but also through generations of artists the world over touched by his genius.

Born to a middle-aged white father and teenaged black mother, he left home at 14 to pursue a music career in Kingston, becoming a pupil of local singer and devout Rastafarian Joe Higgs. Bob’s first recording attempts came at the beginning of the 1960’s. His first two tunes, cut as a solo artist, meant nothing in commercial terms, but in 1964, after forming a group called the Wailing Wailers, Bob first hit the Jamaican charts. Over the next few years they became one of the hottest groups in Jamaica. The group disbanded briefly, but reunited later to produce some of the finest music the band ever made.

The Wailers became an international hit after signing up with Island Records in 1972. With their first album, Catch a Fire started a long climb to international fame and recognition. In 1977, Exodus established Marley’s international superstar status. It remained on the British charts for 56 straight weeks, and netted three UK hit singles, Exodus, Waiting In Vain, and Jamming. Some of his other memorable hits include No Woman No Cry, Crazy Baldhead, Johnny Was, and Who The Cap Fit. Bob Marley died of cancer in 1981 at the age of 36. — S. Arshad Kamal