 Bob Marley was born on Feb 6th, 1945, in a small little shack, in Rhoden Hall, which is in the northern part of Jamaica. His mom at the time was an 18 year old Jamaican native, and his dad was a 50 year old white navel captain. The couple got married in 1944 a year before Bob was born. Norval Marley, that was his dada's name, never really saw his son because his family did not accept the marriage. So after about the age of five or maybe six Bob Marley never saw his father again. A couple years after that Bob Marley was sent to a private school to get away from the "rude boy" gangs that were running rapant in the Jamaican streets, although he got away from it in school, when at home he learned the ways of a rude boy, one of his first and greatest songs "Simmer Down" showcased how Bob was also known as a rude boy, and would fight back if ever pushed.
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 Bob Marley has been a great influece in the lives of many present day musical artist, poets, actors, and other performers. Some of the people he grew up listening to in the trenches of Jamica are, the legendary Fats Domino, Ray Charles, Curtis Mayfield,the Drifters, and the likes of Louis Jordan. Early on in his career he tried to somewhat imate the styles of this singers, by following the same style of singing as them.  At the age of 14 Marley left school to work as a welder's apprentice, while also pursuing his musical interests with friend Neville "Bunny" Livingston (later to be known as Bunny Wailer and an older Rastafarian singer named Joe Higgs. Sessions with Higgs provided an introduction to fellow aspiring singer Winston "Peter" McIntosh (who subsequently shortened his name to just Peter Tosh, who would complete the collaborative trio within which Marley and Livingston would operate until the mid-1970s. One of his childhood friends in St. Ann was Neville "Bunny" O'Riley Livingston. Attending the same school, the two shared a love of music. Bunny inspired Bob to learn to play the guitar. Later Livingston's father and Marley's mother became involved, and they all lived together for a time in Kingston. Arriving in Kingston in the late 1950s, Marley lived in Trench Town, one of the city's poorest neighborhoods. He struggled in poverty, but he found inspiration in the music around him. Trench Town had a number of successful local performers and was considered the Motown of Jamaica. Sounds from the United States also drifted in over the radio and through jukeboxes. Marley liked such artists as Ray Charles, Elvis Presley, Fats Domino, and the Drifters. |
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