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Evan Van Nortwick
Professor Coll-Smith
I&E
September 29, 2017
The Beautiful Life of Bob Marley and the Impact He Made
Why do you think most people instantly thinks of Bob Marley when the word ‘Reggae’ is
mentioned? Why do some associate the word ‘peace’ with Marley? This simply demonstrates
how incredible his impact was on people all around the world. There will never be a time where
people forget about this man because, in his short life, he accomplished his goal of making world
peace more of a possibility. I am going to talk about his life and how he became who he is
known as today, a legend who left the world just a little bit better than it was when he came into
it.
Bob Marley has been gone for over 35 years, but he still remains a world-renowned
reggae artist and peacemaker. In today’s society, in order to become internationally recognized
for this long, you have to have done something incredibly special and near impossible. You
could say with great confidence that Marley did both of those things. Uniting millions of people
and changing the way people listen to music, Marley’s words meant something. The people of
Jamaica, in particular, could relate to everything because of what was going on in the country at
the time. The government was trying to overpower all of its citizens, but Marley stepped up and
informed the country that they need to take a stand. He was an international inspiration.
Bob Marley by no means had an easy life. He grew up in Jamaica with only his mother to
rely on. At a young age, he started to get into music and he started by learning the guitar. Marley
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was an exceedingly quick learner, as he was talked about by everyone in town early on. As he
got a little older into the teens, Marley was forced to move to one of the poorest cities in
Kingston, Trench Town. Having to live in poverty may have been good for him, because without
it, he may not have been able to find musical inspiration because he was able to gain new ideas
from artists he learned on the streets. As Marley perfected his voice, he started to get attention
from a record producer named Leslie Kong who had him record a few singles to no avail.
Luckily, Marley had some extremely talented friends and, at only age 18, Marley and his friends
formed the Wailing Wailers.
After a few members left to pursue other things, Marley saw that as a good time to visit
his mother in the U.S. While he was there, he met a woman named Rita Anderson, a cuban-born
Jamaican-Ghanaian singer. After almost a year, Marley returned to Jamaica. At this time, Marley
