Bob Marley as a musician, left behind a legendary and lengthy list of what he accomplished in his musical career as well as his social lifestyle. He is remembered to date as an advocate of social change as well as an icon of cultural transformation who always encouraged his fanatics to put their troubles away and dance along to the music. His artistic expression was a great influence on the global culture as it was embraced by a huge number of people in almost all the continents he visited and countries where his music was played on the airwaves.
Bob Marley died on 11th May 1981, however, his legacy still lives on to this day, with his music becoming more and more popular with the generations that came after he had already passed on. His music was centered on the theme of social transformation and the message engraved in the music was often meant to identify oppressors, while championing for social change. He was a dynamic musician who could come up with unique music.
In 1994, thirteen years after his death, Bob Marley was inducted into Hall of Fame, precisely the Rock and Roll category. In 1999, one of Bob Marley’s album which was produced in 1977 titled ‘Exodus’ was labelled album of the century by ‘Time Magazine.’ This achievement depicted the legacy he left behind many years after his death. In the same year 1999, a song titled ‘One Love’ in the album ‘Exodus’ was named the song of the millennium by BBC, for the positive change it had brought in the society by encouraging people to embrace one love and peace for a better world (Nelson, Adams, and Salter).
Throughout the lifetime of Bob Marley he was never nominated for the ‘Grammy Awards’ popularly termed as the Grammy which is awarded by the national academy of recording arts and sciences of the U.S, the award is a symbol of recognition for the greatest achievers in the field of music and poetry and it is held annually (Nelson, Adams, and Salter). In 2001 Bob Marley was accorded an award at the Grammy event in the lifetime achievement category. He was termed as having contributed immensely in the field of art. In that year Bob Marley was also accorded the 2171st on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in California, this distinctive accord saw him join internationally renowned musical legends such as Stevie Wonder, Carlos Santana and The Temptations.
Bob Marley came from a humble background, in Kingston Jamaica and in a skillful way he was able to navigate his way to the top of the musical field. He was able to overcome the challenges which rocked the musical industry in Jamaica back in the 1970s, at the same period he was also able to make a political impact in terms of shunning partisan political violence in Kingston, Jamaica (Hall 25).
Culturally he is still remembered as one of the most challenging and charismatic stage performer of the twentieth century. He is a cultural icon who motivated his listeners to establish their history and original culture of their society. His style of approach was rebellious, however, he was nonviolent, maintaining that his rebelliousness had a purpose of ensuring that he preached peace and love among all the diverse groups in the world. He always maintained that every human being is equal in terms of ability and he was against any form of discrimination among different social groups.
One of the greatest songs by Bob Marley was ‘One Love’ which was written in 1976 amid an election crisis in Jamaica. Supporters of different political candidates, Michael Manley, and Edward Seaga were staging protests and fighting each other. Bob Marley chose to remain politically neutral and preach peace through the lyrics of the song which depicted the value of peace within the society. The song became a tool of transformation within the society and the different groups of supporters shunned their aggression towards each other (Hall 24). The song has also had great influence in countries which have been rocked by politically and ethnic-based violence over the years after it was released.
Works Cited
Hall, Herman. “Bob Marley & Me: The Real Story.” Everybody’s 19 (1995): 30. Print.
Nelson, Jessica C, Glenn Adams, and Phia S Salter. “The Marley Hypothesis: Denial of Racism Reflects Ignorance of History.” Psychological science 24.2 (2013): 213–8. Web.
