Time Will Tell: 40 Songs That Shaped Bob Marley’s Legacy
On May 11, 1981, Bob Marley passed away at just 36 years old. Three years later, Island Records released the Legend compilation with the aim of reaching “suburban record buyers who were uneasy with Marley’s image of a perpetually stoned, politically driven iconoclast associated with violence,” according to the Village Voice. Legend is the best-selling reggae album of all time and one of the most successful compilations of any genre.
But even within Legend’s collection of supposedly “safe” Marley songs, like “Jamming” and the lullaby-like “One Love,” it is impossible to separate the appeal and power of Bob’s music from the politically driven iconoclasm, biblically referenced Rasta principles, and the ghetto “runnings” that shaped them.
Bob gave voice to the sufferers, as so much of the finest roots reggae did. As he went on in his career, he was unwilling to compromise his messages or musical excellence, but he also understood the importance of negotiating and sacrificing in other areas to advance his artistry. He fought his way through abandonment, poverty, homelessness, taunts for being mixed race, and the repeated exploitations of unscrupulous record producers. Ultimately he triumphantly placed reggae and his Rastafari way of life on an international platform and became one of the world’s most influential artists.