Talk:Bob Marley/Archive 1

Archive 1

Archive 2

Archive 3

→

Archive 5

Untitled

Archive: March 24, 2004 – June 30, 2006

Opening comments

Definitely needs NPOVized, and edited. I wouldn't know where to begin. Any takers? Rgamble

Yes, I'll give it a shot. Koyaanis Qatsi

I didn't know Marley had been shot in 1976. For the sake of clarity it would be helpful to have some idea of the extent of his injuries to separate this from the information about the cancer that caused his death.Basswulf 16:16, 17 Dec 2003 (UTC)

He was shot in the arm, but it did not penetrate the bone so not a serious injury. There is a famous photo of him covered in blood examining his arm. He was discharged from hospital within an hour or two.--Squiquifox 16:42, 1 Feb 2005 (UTC)

Thanks Koyaanis Qatsi. The Bob Marley page really needs some work. I was thinking about rewriting it myself, but since you beat me to the punch it's in your court.

Alister 06:08, 24 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Deathday?

When did he die? On May 10, 1981 or on May 11, 1981? Some sources are reporting that it's the 10th...?! -- CdaMVvWgS 17:25, 6 Jul 2004 (UTC)

Death?

I thought he died of skin cancer? Selphie That is how it started, he died of a mestasized (spread) skin cancer. So he had skin cancer in his brain, but that is not where the tumours began--Squiquifox 16:49, 1 Feb 2005 (UTC)

How He Died?

I thought he died of brain cancer? His Birthday is the same as mine, I feel special!

he died of a foot tumor.

German version of this article

The german version of this article, here translated to English as some rather useful info, which someone might like to incorporate into the English version. --Rebroad 13:10, 14 Jan 2005 (UTC)

General punctuation cleanup and clarification.

I know Koyaanis Qatsi offered to rewrite this, and I look forward to a more expert article. In the meanwhile, I've cleaned up some of the more glaring punctuation errors and clarified some convoluted or confusing parts of the text to make it more readable. Hope you approve! --Dsibilly 05:42, 3 Feb 2005 (UTC)

Marijuana

I was quite surprised to find no reference or link to marijuana cannabis (drug), so have added something. Squiquifox 19:21, 8 Feb 2005 (UTC)

Charles Wesley

(Barret, Leonard E., The Rastafarians, p. 213).SqueakBox 21:47, Feb 19, 2005 (UTC)

Vandalism

This article was left vandalised 12 hours. Some kind of a record? Please put it on your watchlist. --SqueakBox 14:40, Mar 29, 2005 (UTC)

Norval Marley

..was not from Wales. See http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/north_east/3431139.stm

The Wailers Band

There should be a page for Bob Marley, but *also* a specific one for Bob Marley & The Wailers (Also would redirect "Wailers Band". This band is still going strong today, lead by Ashton "Familyman" Barrett. This is worth inclusion in Wikipedia, as Familyman was as much musically involved with Bob's music as Bob himself.

Go for it, SqueakBox 02:23, Jun 5, 2005 (UTC)

Agreed. The Wailers Band is an incredibly well-loved band, at least in New York City.

Bob Marley's religion

I know he was a Rastafarian for most of his life and that is what his music portrays, but I think that there should be reference to the fact that 7 months before he died he was converted to Eastern Orthodox Christianity (the same religion as Haile Selassie) It's kind of a big deal because alot of people who arent in Jamaica(most Jamaicans know it because it was like a huge shock when he gave up the Rasta faith) but people still call him Rastafarian and such. I just think more people should know about this and it should be on this little page here. Jah bless

Bob Marley did not give up his Rastafari faith and claiming he did is dishonest POV pushing, SqueakBox 13:53, 17 February 2006 (UTC)

Yes, this should be mentioned in the article. However I don't agree with you that he "gave up his Rasta faith". Some rastas may see people joining the Eastern Orthodox church as people who "give up their Rasta faith", but the members themselves surely don't. Teklund 07:58, 17 Jun 2005 (UTC)

Yes, I am sure he reaffirmed his commitment to Rastafari in the post chemotherapy interview he gave (with a pic without dreadlocks), and there is no evidence he gave up his Rasta faith by being baptised into the Eastern Orthodox church, SqueakBox 15:43, Jun 17, 2005 (UTC)

I have just put an article with the Christafari point of view about his Ethiopian Orthodox Church conversion. I don't like this group and don't agree with them, SqueakBox July 1, 2005 18:33 (UTC)

Even if you don't like the group Christafari are'nt the quoted sources enough to prove he gave up Rastafarianism? also is there anywhere that I may read the post chemotherapy interview where you said he reaffirmed his faith in Ras Tafari?. Jah bless. Also Im not to good with words so I just want everyone to know im not trying to start an argument, if I sound that way at all I apologize.

The more I read about Christafari the less certain I am of their reliability. They have a strong evangelical Christian agenda, and seem happy to manipulate tghe truth in support of this agenda, so I certainly don't see it as proof. I can't remember where exactly I saw the interview. It must have been in the UK, and was a newspaper, either a music paper or a tabloid. I really should research the issue more. No, you don't come across as at all argumentative (even without the disclaimer). You get to spot the argumentative types working here, SqueakBox July 4, 2005 15:35 (UTC)

The Christafari group has very legit sources. I think that you are being way too prejudice simply because they're a Christian group. So far all I see is an anti-Christian agenda to try and make it seem like Marley would never give up the Rasta. Lets be fair with the sources and not pick at the people providing them. Marley died a Christian, not a Rasta.

That is a such a minority belief that it doesn't need to be mentioned, and there is no evidence for it. As he claimed his Rasta beliefs were stronger than ever months after his baptism we have a source that he did not die a Christian. The problem I find withg Christafari is the aggressive way they try to convert Rastas into Christians, SqueakBox 00:21, August 24, 2005 (UTC)

The Christafari website mentions freely their sources as evidence and proof that Bob Marley converted to the Eastern Orthodox religion before he died. He was buried in an Eastern Orthodox church; in Jamaica, it was widely known. Personally, I feel that Bob is too intelligent to think that Mr. Selassie was Christ reincarnated, when Mr. Selassie himself denied that he was divine. Squeakbox, you are obviously biased against Christians. The least you can do, to be on even footing in a debate with the Christafaris, is provide evidence and cite your sources, instead of just stating your personal beliefs. - et3rnal D

That is your point of view. There is no doubt that he baptised in the EO faith but that doesn't mean he stopped being a Rasta, and for us to claim that he did would be unacceptable POV. We are not here to debate the validity of Selassie I as God or not. Until you can provide a source that he abandoned his Rastafari faith it musn't go in the article, SqueakBox 00:17, 14 September 2005 (UTC)

I think that you are both "right " to a degree. Bob Marley was Baptized into the Ethiopian Orthodox Church seven months before he died, and this can be substantiated by the fact that he was given an Ethiopian Orthodox funeral. This Church would not have performed a funeral ceremony for anyone who was not a member, and in order to become a member you had to denounce the belief that Haile Selassie was christ reincarnate. Thus, Bob must have done this in order to recieve a funeral that was endorsed by the EOC. The second set of evidence that would support his conversion to the Christian faith is in the interview with the EOC's then Arch Bishop Yesehaq, who described Bob's conversion process in detail as a half hour of weeping. Now, even though he may have been converted to the Christian faith insofar as the fundamental teachings of the Bible, that certainly does not mean that he was somehow taken away from his culture. This is where there is a lot of confusion, because people tend to blend culture and religion into one rigid formula. Since the white westerners are primarily a Christian people, the Christian faith is commonly tied in as a "white-man's" practice. However, just because the white western culture practices the Christian faith, that does not mean that it is exclusive to white people, or to any one race for that matter. Quite conversely, the original figures of the Bible were indeed not white, and the teachings of the Christian faith are that of freedom (with the exception of some of the more radical man-made factions). So aside from the misplaced worship of Haile Selassie, Bob Marley pretty much followed the inherent principles of the Christian faith to begin with.

Whether or not he was a 'true' Rastafarian at the time of his death depends on how you define Rastafari. If it means that you believe that Haile Selassie is God, then no, Bob Marley was no longer a Rastafarian. However, if by 'Rastafarian' you meant that he still sported his Dreads and believed in the uprising of the black people, then yes he may still have been a Rasta. In my opinion though, I don't think that he was a Rastafarian. Being a political activist for a racial group is a completely seperate object from one's faith, with the exception being Rastafari because it espoused the belief that a living black man was God. Thus, if he rejected this in the end of his life, then it is impossible to continue to regard him as a Rastafarian. Keep in mind that my last statement was completely my own opinion.

Here are some of the sources that I used:

-In a newspaper interview with Archbishop Abuna Yesehaq done by Barbara Blake Hannah,November 25, 1984, in the Gleaner's Sunday Magazine (pages 2,3,11), titled 'Abuna Yesehaq Looks Back on 14 Years of Ministry in Jamaica' the following was said about Bob Marley's baptism.

"Bob was really a good brother, a child of God, regardless of how people looked at him. He had a desire to be baptised long ago, but there were people close to him who controlled him and who were aligned to a different aspect of Rastafari . But he came to Church regularly. I remember once while I was conducting the Mass, I looked at Bob and tears were streaming down his face...When he toured Los Angeles and New York and England, he preached the Orthodox faith, and many members in those cities came to the Church because of Bob. Many people think he was baptised because he knew he was dying, but that is not so...he did it when there was no longer any pressure on him, and when he was baptised, he hugged his family and wept, they all wept together for about half an hour."

-In an Interview the following year (9th July, 1995) on the JBCTV (now called TVJ) program "Profile" he was asked by host Ian Boyne about the bapistim of Bob Marley. Below is a clip from that interview

Ian: You baptized Bob Marley? Yesehaq: I did baptize Bob Marley in the presence of his wife Rita Marley and his children. Only the family, because he was not so willing to have it officially, it was difficult for him...which I don't want to describe.

I think on the strength of your sources that to put in the article that he left his Rasta faith to become a Christian would be original research. I don't see any evidence that Marley stopped being a Rasta or stopped worshipping Haile Selassie. You haven't sourced your claim that one has to denounce Rastafari to be baptised EOC, and I believe this claim is incorrect. Your own POV comes out with his misplaced worship of Haile Selassie to then claim Bob Marley pretty much followed the inherent principles of the Christian faith to begin with. I don't agree with either statement. All you have proven is that he was baptised EOC, and we know that anyway SqueakBox 16:14, 19 September 2005 (UTC)

Okay, perhaps I was a little vague in my explanation, so let me try again. First of all, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church is indeed a Christian Church. Thus, the doctrine of said Church would have to revolve around the teachings of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, and the aknowledgement that he died upon the cross so that the sins of man may be forgiven. This can be seen on this website at Christianity, and also in the New Testament of the Bible. In fact, you can go and read the scriptures in several different versions of the Bible at this website; http://www.ibs.org/bibles/amharic/index.php. I have it linked to the Amharic Bible which is the official translation of it into the primary language of Ethiopia. In any translation, no matter what the different historical facts or date disputes may be, the central key to the religion across any denomination is the worship of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

So now, since we know that Christianity requires the worship of Jesus Christ of Nazareth as God, we can compare it to the Rastafari doctrine in detail. Look at the Wikipedia page for Rastafari here Rastafari. It clearly states that the distinguishing belief between any Christian doctrine and that of Rastafari is that Rastafarians believe that Haile Selassie is God in the flesh. They believe that he has come back down to Earth in the form of this man, and so they worship him as their Lord and Savior. Therefore, it would make sense to believe that Bob Marley did reject Haile Selassie as his God at the time of his baptism because it goes against the doctrine of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. You cannot believe that Jesus Christ is God at the same time as you believe that Haile Selassie is God in the Christian religion. The Haile Selassie factor makes Rastafari a completely seperate religion from Christianity, in the same way that Judaism is a seperate religion despite its background in the Old Testament. Of course, you could argue that certain passages of the Bible support the belief that Jesus would come back to Earth with a new name and a new appearance, thus making it viable that Haile Salassie is God. However, that argument would be obsolete in this case because the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, to which Haile Selassie himself belonged, did not endorse that idea. In fact, as can be seen here Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia, Selassie had commissioned the Arch Bishop to set up in Jamaica in order to convert them to the proper teachings of the Christian doctrine, which in essence is the worship of Jesus Christ, and not Haile Selassie. So it is highly unlikely that Bob still held to his belief in Haile Selassie when he was Baptized into a Christian Church. Of course, as you say, there is no interview with Bob that directly explains about his conversion. However, based upon the nature of both Christianity and Rastafari, and the fact that the EOC was in Jamaica for the specific purpose of dispelling their belief in Haile Selassie as God reincarnate, I cannot see how it is possible for Bob to have been baptized while holding strong to his original beliefs

Now there is the question of whether or not he was a Rastafarian at the time of his death. In order to be able to answer this, you would have to define what a Rastafarian is. On the Rastafari page of this website, it says that the principle of the Rastafarian movement for the most part was the adoption of Haile Selassie as God. So if you were to base whether or not Bob was a Rastafarian on that alone, then no, he was not. The fact that he was baptized into the EOC is very strong evidence that he did not believe this any longer. On the other hand, if you mean Rastafari as a culture, then he was indeed still a Rastafarian. By culture, I mean appearance and practices. For example, the sporting of the Dreadlocks, and the use of Marijuana. Both of these are cultural practices that can exist wiothout the central ideological belief in Haile Selassie.

To agree with you a little, I can't say that I knew exactly what was going through Marley's mind as he left this Earth. There is still the possibility that he retained his belief in Haile Selassie despite his baptism. Unfortunately, neither of us will ever know this for sure. I do find it odd, though, that Bob Marley would have actively sought his own membership in the EOC if he didn't plan on changing his beliefs. No one coerced him to do it, so it was of his own free will.

On one last note, can you provide some source of evidence that would favor the idea that he did still believe in Haile Selassie after his baptism? Or is that just your POV? What makes you believe that he did?

I haven't really been following this discussion, I just wanted to say that Wikipedia is not here to answer conclusively the question of what Marley's religion was at any point in his life. If he said he was Rastafarian, and then he said he was Ethiopian Orthodox, then we can report that. If those two religions are incompatible with each other theologically, then we can explain that. However, it is entirely possible for an individual to hold idiosyncratic ideals irrespective of their religion. My own father goes to a church whose teachings (some of them) he vehemently disagrees with, and there are numerous Catholics who don't know or don't care that their Church requires them to believe in stuff that they find absurd. It's entirely possible that Marley wanted to be Ethiopian Orthodox for whatever reason, despite feeling that he was also Rastafarian -- he wasn't a theologian and was entitled to hold whatever beliefs he wanted to, even if they're inconsistent with each other and/or with the beliefs of the church(es) he belonged to. I also would like to note that I believe one of the core tenents of Rastafari is that specific doctrine is not important (the whole "ism and schism" thing) -- he might have considered it a very good Rasta thing to do to hold inconsistent religious beliefs. In the end, though, we should not be speculating about Marley's beliefs where he has not clarified. If he was Rastafarian for awhile, and then adopted a different religion without renouncing the other, then let the article say that. We don't need to be drawing conclusions for the reader. Tuf-Kat 06:19, 20 September 2005 (UTC)

I think what we have in the death sub-section is sufficient. There is no serious belief or evidence that he renounced Rastafari or even considered changing his religion. All there is are certain Christian groups who try to discredit Rastafari, and one of the ways they do this is by claiming that he converted to Christianity. We have stated the fact that he was baptised into the EOC, and to do anything else would definitely be original research. I don't believe the Christafari etc view is anywhere near mainstream enough to consider adding it to this article. If their views were to get widely reported we could do so, but as long as they are a tiny minority group, and the only source for their ideas are their own websites, we should let things be as they are, SqueakBox 16:17, 20 September 2005 (UTC)

I just wanted to say, that there are several Christian Rastas, who do not beleive that Selassie was a God in the flesh. However, they still keep the nazarene vow. The most famous ones are Yabby You and Ras Michael. Ras Michael is a memeber of Ethiopian Orthodox Church. 70.48.39.96 04:38, 24 September 2005 (UTC)

Ras Michael is a Rasta. Listen to his music. There is no such thing as a Rasta who does not believe in Selassie I and to claim so for POV reasons is an insult to the faith. Are there any Christians who don't believe in Jesus? Of course not or they would not be Christians, SqueakBox 13:53, 17 February 2006 (UTC)

But when you think about it , it makes sense that people would try to cover up the fact that he converted. There are reliable sources including Judy Mowatt (one of bob's back up signers) and Tommy Cowan - a friend of Bobs who both speak of his conversion as fact and as something that later on led them to also convert. The media loves Bob Marley and the whole movement that is Rasta , It is a marketable idea , and they would have suspected that leaking such knowledge into the mainstream would have caused serious damage to the impact and money making ability of Rasta as a movement.. Consider

What makes sense is people fostering the lie that he dropped his Rasta faith in order to promote their own Christian POV. This is not a forum and is not the place to promote Christian views. Christianity is the multi-billion dollar industry not Rastafari, SqueakBox 13:53, 17 February 2006 (UTC)

I dont think I'ts fair to talk about something without knowing anything about it. There are major differences between the different christian denominations, and probably some western types of christianity are a multi-million dollar industry, but to put that stamp on the Ethiopian Orthodox Church is really offensive. As an orthodox christian (even though I'm from eastern europe), I really dont see my church as a money-making machine, since it doesnt ask for money from the believers (except natural disasters when the church is involved in the relief effort), even though some people choose to donate money for the restauration or construction of a church. But that doesnt qualify as a "multi-billion dollar industry", I think... Dizzee ignorant

SqueakBox I humbly come with I opinion. I resent your statement that "there is no such thing as a Rasta who does not believe Selassie I" Because it's not true and its not a proper representation of Rasta. There are many Rastas who believe in Yeshua Moshiach as Lord and Saviour. Were called Jesus Dreads or Rastas of Christ Doctrine. Famous one is Yabby You whom was the original Jesus Dread (having been given the title by a Rasta bredren who knew he was praising Yeshua and not Selassie I) also the prophet Gad(or Gadman) leader of the 12 Tribes of Israel mansion of Rastafari (which is the largest mansion by the way) worships Yeshua and one of the distinct differences between 12 Tribes and the other mansions is the fact that they do NOT believe in the divinity of H.I.M. Haile Selassie I. Messian Dread is also a well known Jesus Dread. InI is also a Jesus Dread. While all of us Jesus Dreads worship the true saviour Yeshua, we do as well Honor H.I.M. as we know he is a descendant of King Solomon and a defender of the faith. Sorry I just felt I had to say something. It might be the case that Bob Marley had become a Jesus Dread before he died. Iman know he was influenced alot by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, Archbishop Abuna Yesehaq, and also the prophet Gad. And in an interview with Bob's wife she stated she was confused one day when Bob was in extraordinary pain one day from his cancer and he cried out "Jesus take me!" and she wondered why he said "Jesus" instead of "Selassie". These are only InI humble opinions. JAH RasTafari!

JAH bless

Well my point is that the name rastafari is relaqted specifically to Selassie I. Are there Christians who don't believe in Jesus? Muslims who dont believe in Allah. If people want to worship Yeshua they should be called Yeshuans, etc. There are those who see selassie as the living God, these are the Rasta people. Having said this my above comments were aimed at the anti-rastafari sect Christafari whose members have been editing various Rastafari based articles, SqueakBox 18:47, 26 May 2006 (UTC)

I think that where Bob Marley stands for is major to the contradictions of religions. I think the article should just state the fact that he was baptized, nothing more and nothing less. :)

Awards and Honors

I was just wondering shouldn't BBC naming One Love song of the millineum be under the section of Awards and Honors? Jah bless

HappyKilla5

"the Charles Wesley of the Rastafari movement"?

"He has been called the Charles Wesley of the Rastafari movement." By who? In 30 years of following Marley's career I've never heard or read this anywhere. (EDIT: Okay, I missed this reference: (Barret, Leonard E., The Rastafarians, p. 213).SqueakBox 21:47, Feb 19, 2005 (UTC) --- but it's obscure and it has to be the only place it's been written...)

Also, Rastafarians would contend that it is not a religion, but rather "a way of life." This is an important distinction, and Marley himself often corrected journalists who asked him about his "religion."

I read a little about Charles Wesley. It seems he was quite a Bob Marley of his era.Ezeu 03:05, 16 August 2005 (UTC)

Cannabis category

You cannot compare Marley, who did so much to promote cannabis and whose image is very cannabis, with Clinton (who was embarrassed about his use of cannabis) let alone Bush and hard drugs. If you look at the people in the cannabis cat surely Marley deserves to be there, SqueakBox 00:31, September 13, 2005 (UTC)

I guess so. Maybe I was a bit quick to judge. Come think of it, I am ashamed I mentioned his name in the same sentence with Bush. --Ezeu 00:44, 13 September 2005 (UTC)

What we should be asking is if bob did convert why did he feel the need could it be that he supported rastafari vai sallise all his musicle life then got struck down by cancer maybe he thought why would anyone who is a god and who i have done so much for killing me off love you uncle nesta,,jimmy

Inspiration

Somone needs to write about the inspiration of hope he had on generations of people, as well as opening his home to lots of people from the poor community, etc. -joe 9/19/05.

I agree and generally find this article seriously lacking for such a great man, SqueakBox 01:23, 20 September 2005 (UTC)

"Seriously lacking" is putting it mildly, but a rewrite would take a bit of doing... Smog.net

Good article

I disagree. It has the makings of a good article, and what is here is great, but it lacks detail about his extended music career, SqueakBox 13:34, 5 December 2005 (UTC)

The Hon. and OM

I'm removing The Hon. (I am using the same rationale as I did at Mandela OM), however, I am not removing Jamaican Order of Merit because it is a local award. I do not hold a strong opinion on this issue, but at least explain if you disagree with me. Bisso na bisso, motema "One Love" / Ezeu 00:57, 8 December 2005 (UTC)

Yes I agree with you on this one. Peerage titles should be kept, but courtesy titles should not, we're not writing a letter to him or addressing him. Taco325i 02:12, 8 December 2005 (UTC)

Posthumous reputation

It seems odd to me to include Bob Dylan in what is essentially a list of dead legends. I'm sure whoever wrote that knows Dylan isn't dead and is just referring to his status as a cultural icon. But in a list of Bob Marley, Elvis Presley, John Lennon, and Bob Dylan... one of them just doesn't seem to fit. Kafziel 15:48, 29 December 2005 (UTC)

I am not comfortable with the comparisons at all, partly because they seem unnecessary so I have deleted the others and just said he has mythical status. The fact is he has far more of a mythical status in the third world (where he was from) than any of the others mentioned, which is another reason not to compare, SqueakBox 16:22, 29 December 2005 (UTC)

Sounds good to me. Kafziel 16:36, 29 December 2005 (UTC)

Bob Marley is the best (Francis Rioux)

Discography

I boldly moved the discography to Bob Marley discography. --Ezeu 22:17, 27 January 2006 (UTC)

I think it would be cool if there were still a short paragraph summarizing his recording career and discography in the main article, with the whole list in the article you created. Something like "Between 1966 and 1980, Bob Marley recorded X albums and Y singles with a variety of ensembles. Much of his best known music was recorded with Bunny Wailer and Peter Tosh. ... Since his death, numerous compilations and best-of albums have appeared. etc." Mike Dillon 02:12, 3 February 2006 (UTC)

Yes, that would be cool.--Ezeu 08:15, 3 February 2006 (UTC)

Comment by 82.16.48.101

John lennon good man fighting for peace bob dilan good man for simging elvis presley a king while he was makink millions bob was still poor"cold ground was my bed last night and rock was my pillow too"theres so many ways too compair im sure elvis did something too help people in the world just has lennon dillan did thats speculation i dont know this as fact im just guessing with all there millions they helped the more needy what i do know his bob marley used too get thousands upon thousands of people knocking on his door giving him there own storie some genuine some just out too get what they can now comming up on the same boathe could of had bounces at his door he could of had people tell them to go way but he didnt he handed out thousands upon thousands of pounds a week to people who needed it he fed thousands of people in jamaica he didnt go buy a privet jet and his own fair ground ride he sung about the people in the gutter trying to pull them up with him what made him so special there was lots and lots of reggae artist around at the same time as the wailers why did they get where they did becouse bob had something he was bullied growing up for being half white then the people who bullied him worshiped him as there hero he couldnt win so much pressure on his head he came he left us his messege you listen to his songs you will get it he got greif of his fellow jamaicans for exiling to england but it was his fellow jamaicans who burst gun fire in to his house bob didnt die natural he was murded you read about the c.i.a plot he was given a pair of boots as he put one of them on something pricked his foot some sort of copper wire which was diped with toxins which made him develope cancer and when he was poorly there where making him still tour when he got special food sent to help with the cancer it was being eaten by his friends before it got to him just love him studie him not speculate ,,yours nevill livingston

who murded nesta robert marley,haselden

http://www.bobmarleymagazine.com/articles/blunt.htm —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 82.16.48.101 (talk • contribs) .

That is how things work in poor countries withou tb welfare. in the rich countries the rich donb't get hasled by the poor as there is welfare. In poor countries the patronage systemn works and Marley was acting like a Jamaican with financially poor roots and money in this case, SqueakBox 13:59, 2 February 2006 (UTC)

Lauryn Hill

Lauryn Hill is married to Rohan Marley, not Ziggy Marley. Please look at their respective bios. Mike Dillon 22:41, 1 February 2006 (UTC)

Rewrite

I have restructured the article a bit, mainly to make clear the "The Wailers" and the "Bob Marley and the Wailers" periods. Also added some more about his music. I removed the part that said his father left a few weeks before marrying his mother. Many sources, including bobmarley.com say they were married. There is a large gap in the article vis-a-vis Marley's relation to Rastafarianism, and his appreciation of Ganja. --Ezeu 16:19, 3 February 2006 (UTC)

Nice work. Mike Dillon 17:03, 3 February 2006 (UTC)

I have long felt this is one of the poorer articles in the wikipedia given Marley was such a great man, ie he should have one of the best, most detailed articles. I certainly believe there is a huge room for expansion but with contributions such as Ezeu's work I am sure we will eventually get a good article and it is the lack of detail, not only about Rastafari but about his musical carrer, that is the problem, what we have is fine. I read both the biographies that came out not long after he died but unfortunately they are 5000 miles away from me living here in the Caribbean right now, SqueakBox 17:38, 3 February 2006 (UTC)

Birthday a Holiday in Jamaica?

Bob: from http://www.earthcalendar.net/_php/lookup.php?mode=date&m=2&d=6&y=2006 I learned that Marley's birthday is observed as "Bob Marley Day" in Jamaica, and from http://www.bobmarley-foundation.com/t41.html I learned: "On May 11, 1981 Robert Nesta Marley died at the age of 36. Later that year the Government of Jamaica awarded him the Order of Merit (O.M.), and in 1991 proclaimed his birthday be observed as "Bob Marley Day"." ... Should Bob Marley Day be mentioned in this article? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Bob the Hamster (talk • contribs) .

Yes it should be included. It should also be mentioned that "Marley Day" is commemorated worldwide by his fans. --Ezeu 16:20, 6 February 2006 (UTC)

Joe Higgs

According to many sources, Joe Higgs was the true mentor to Bob Marley. Many do not know this and credit this honor to the likes of Peter Tosh, etc. However, Joe Higgs is the true bearer of this title and should be honored as such at Wikipedia.com.

If that's the case, Joe Higgs should be mentioned in the article. 'Cause I don't know who he is and I thought Peter was! Peter certainly claimed to be, in interviews. "I put the guitar in Bob Marley's hands..." Joe has his own article already so you can just put in a few sentences talking about his importance to Bob. --Bluejay Young 18:21, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

Respect

I just have to give thanks and praises to Robert Nesta Marley 'cause his birthday was 4 days ago. Rest In Peace man, you gave meaning to my life!

Featured Music Project evaluation

Bob Marley has been evaluated according to the Featured Music Project criteria, most recently affirmed as of this revision. The article's most important issues are listed below. Since this evaluation, the article may have been improved.

The following areas need work to meet the criteria: Lead - Comprehensiveness - Sales - Pictures - Audio - References - Discography

The space below is for limited discussion on this article's prospects as a featured article candidate. Please take conversations to the article talk page.

• Lead: Too short, 2-3 paragraphs
• Comprehensiveness: More on musical style, influences, legacy, social impact, critical reception
• Sales: Barely mentioned
• Pictures: Needs a fair use rationale, has one free pic
• Audio: More, work into article body
• References: Needs more, inline citations, formatting
• Discography: None
• Format and style seem generally good —The preceding unsigned comment was added by TUF-KAT (talk • contribs) .

"To do" list created, based on the above. --Ezeu 18:42, 17 February 2006 (UTC)

Spelling

Please do not change the spelling to US version. Marley was not American and nor is this encyclopedia, SqueakBox 15:06, 19 February 2006 (UTC)

Calling the American spelling a "misspelling" in your edit summary was not appropriate. It isn't at all clear cut which spelling this article should use according to Wikipedia:Manual of Style#National varieties of English, but either way it is not appropriate to denigrate one another's spelling conventions. Mike Dillon 16:32, 19 February 2006 (UTC)

P.S. I don't think Bob would have supported calling Americans' spelling conventions "misspelling" Mike Dillon 16:37, 19 February 2006 (UTC)

Since Jamaica is an English-speaking country, we should be using Jamaican spelling conventions. This is presumably more or less the same thing as British spelling, though I don't really know that. Tuf-Kat 17:43, 19 February 2006 (UTC)

Semi protection

Normally, I'm not big on needless protection, but I've been thinking about requesting semi-protection (no anonymous editing) for this article. If you look at the history, it is almost entirely anonymous vandalism and people reverting it. I watch this article pretty much for the sole purpose of reverting (usually) anonymous garbage. Does anyone else think this is the right way to address the problem?

Just as a matter of illustration, there have been about 100 edits in the last two weeks since Ezeu worked on the article organization. If you look at the diff, though, barely anything has happened in those 100 edits; it's almost all vandalism/cleanup. As I said, I'm not big on protection, but cleaning up after vandals seems like a waste of everyone's time. On the other hand, Gay isn't even protected as far as I can tell, so maybe I'm asking for too much. Mike Dillon 15:31, 20 February 2006 (UTC)

I suspect it is Bob Marley as a person which attracts the vandalism and that semi-protection would only be a semi-fix. Perhaps it should be listed on the most vandalised page, SqueakBox 02:45, 22 February 2006 (UTC)

Good idea. I've added it (the page is Wikipedia:Most vandalized pages for those interested). Mike Dillon 05:54, 22 February 2006 (UTC)

Rasta in the opening

I see someone has removed his being a Rastafarian from the opening. Please source the claim he was a spreader of faith. Sounds like one of the religiously motivated anti-Rastafarian Christafarian types who inhabit these pages. Well I have put it back, SqueakBox 03:22, 23 February 2006 (UTC)

Please source that he is renowned for spreading faith as it looks like original research to me, SqueakBox 14:40, 6 March 2006 (UTC)

It's been documented in several of the biographies and film documentaries that his musical popularity did a great deal to bring Rastafari to the attention of people all over the world who didn't know about it. Also, he was well known for devoting a short portion of his concert to explaining who Haile Selassie I was and what Rastas believe; he also discussed the faith at length in interviews. Today's Rastas credit him as a world evangelist of the faith. --Bluejay Young 18:17, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

Why the Wailers?

Bob Marley and The Wailers is a redirect to here. Please kindly explaoin why we can't put the other members of the Wailers names in this article when they already havge articles here. This article is immensely lacking in detail. Why try to keep it that way? SqueakBox 03:52, 12 March 2006 (UTC)

Please add more details. Details about Bob Marley. There are articles about The Wailers, Wailers Band, the I Threes, Aston Barrett, Carlton Barrett, Tosh, Braithwaite, Livingston etc. etc. They have not been disregarded. Why I reverted your edit (which I darent do again, because I could be wrong) is because this article is about Bob Marley, and neednt list all non prominent members of the band. --Ezeu 07:43, 12 March 2006 (UTC)

The problem is in the excess of articles, I have changed the first 2 to redirects here as Bob Marley and The Wailers already is. This is where we need to treat the issue of the Wailers not in hidden, unlinked articles, SqueakBox 14:38, 12 March 2006 (UTC)

So we now have articles on the individual members of the band (okay by me) and on the I Threes but all the Wailers redirects lead to here. Hopefully this will encourage us to build a decent article, SqueakBox 14:42, 12 March 2006 (UTC)

I also disagree with your claims about them being non-prominent members. Is Ropn Wood a non-prominent member of the Rolling Stones? They were such a big band that even non-prominent members of the band are prominent in the world and we thus must include them, SqueakBox 14:57, 12 March 2006 (UTC)

Re: your message to my talk page. This article is about Bob Marley. Why are you redirecting The Wailers and Wailers Band to this article? I am unwatching these articles from my watchlist for a few days so you can have it your way. Fed up of having to explain the obvious. --Ezeu 16:11, 12 March 2006 (UTC)

Why is it obvious we must keep 2 duplicate articles and generally avoid clearing up a mess? SqueakBox 23:32, 12 March 2006 (UTC)

And Bob Marley and The wailers? Which of the 2 duplicating articles would you choose to retain. I do wonder why you kept 2 duplicatinmg articles on your watchlist? SqueakBox 23:30, 12 March 2006 (UTC)

I agree with Ezeu that there should be separate articles for the two incarnations of the Wailer's band, one for the original Wailers and one for the later "Bob Marley & the Wailers". The problem was that the articles were not properly linked and cross-referenced from one another, not that they existed at all. Adding details about Wailers band members to Bob Marley's biography is not appropriate, but it is appropriate for a Wailer's article if there is not enough information for a separate article on the person. In short, I don't think the Wailer's articles should redirect here; it should be sorted out properly. Mike Dillon 16:54, 12 March 2006 (UTC)

There were 2 Wailers articles and Bob Marley and The Wailers led here. If you want to sort everything out do so but don't leave the mess there was this am. Even were the Wailers to have a separate article wouldn't be any reason to not include his close colleagues over several years from appearing in this article which is desperately in need of more detail not less as it is extremely patchy about his music carreer. If you want to help this article you should be adding detail not taking it away, SqueakBox 23:28, 12 March 2006 (UTC)

number of children with Rita?

Bob's page says he had 3 children with Rita. Rita's page says they had 4 children. Which is right? Tonyhansen 15:52, 14 March 2006 (UTC)

Removed matter of opinion

I have removed the section that said:

"And you can understand why, these tracks are heavily orchestrated with violins etc .. These tracks couldn't be further removed from what was about to come."

That is a matter of personal opinion. --Ezeu 01:14, 26 March 2006 (UTC)

Rolling Stone Cover

I don't think that this should be included in the article, but a little interesting fact is that Bob Marley did not like to be photographed very often, but when he did the cover for Rolling Stone magazine, his dreadlocks covered the title in a way so that the title read "Roll One", which I thought was funny.

Biased external link which shouldn't really be here

May I ask why this article was included? Frankly it seems both arrogant and ignorant (quite a lethal combination if you ask me) and I have no idea why it has been included. I'll admit that I don't care much for Legend or the identical compilations that have attempted to outshine it, but this idea that Blackwell somehow commercialised his music is ludicrous. The author says that, after Burnin', "[his music] became steadily more mellow and digestible" and tries to back himself up by comparing 1970's "Mr Brown" with 1977's "Natural Mystic".

I don't know what point he's trying to make. Natural Mystic was first written back with Mr Brown in 1970, and while I admit that I prefer the original version, I know that this is simply my personal taste. There is nothing wrong with Exodus and if it succeeded in spreading his message, then it's probably a very healthy candidate for Time magazine's award.

okay, just to clarify...

while the wailers were popular in the 1960's, they released no albums then. however, 'catch a fire', their debut, contains songs from that era. is this correct? Joeyramoney 02:25, 5 June 2006 (UTC)

As far as I understand it, "Catch a Fire" was The Wailers' first album whereas they had released several singles earlier.--Ezeu 01:36, 27 June 2006 (UTC)

In the 1960s the Wailers were only really known in Jamaica and perhaps amongst Jamaican immigrants and ska/reggae fans in the UK. One album was released in Jamaica at this time, The Wailing Wailers, collecting their Jamaican hits recorded at Studio One in the mid-60s. Then in the early 1970s several albums were released: The Best of the Wailers and Soul Rebels in 1970 and Soul Revolution/Soul Revolution Part II in 1971. As most Jamaican groups at the time, most of the group's output did not appear on albums, but on singles instead. The Jamaican music scene has always relied more on singles than albums, unlike the Western music world which is album-centered. Catch A Fire was their mainstream debut, released on a large international record label and did recieve marketing and publicity, which the previous albums really hadn't had any of. Teklund 20:22, 27 June 2006 (UTC)

Linke to "Bob Marley Biography"

Hi, I want to recommend a link for a Bob Marley Biography (yet another, but nicely made) on the following URL: http://www.rootsreggaeclub.com/culture_reggae_afro/artists/ae/bob_marley_biography.htm

How can I know if it will be accepted or not?

Wisebwoy 17:01, 7 June 2006 (UTC)

I dont see how it adds anything, given that the information on that page is taken from bobmarley.com, which is already linked to. --Ezeu 13:12, 15 June 2006 (UTC)

Collaboration

Are there any editors here who have a copy of any the books there at the bottom as references, and if so, do you think there's any way to quickly find the pages where the article gets most of its information? Generally, I don't think an article like this could become an FA unless the references were very specifically cited since there's only 4 books :/. Homestarmy 15:45, 30 June 2006 (UTC)

Assessment comment

The comment(s) below were originally left at Talk:Bob Marley/Comments, and are posted here for posterity. Following several discussions in past years, these subpages are now deprecated. The comments may be irrelevant or outdated; if so, please feel free to remove this section.

Already listed as good article.

Last edited at 23:55, 25 August 2006 (UTC). Substituted at 20:24, 3 May 2016 (UTC)