These captivating Bob Marley photos show why the king of reggae is remembered not just as a musician, but as an icon to this day.
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1 of 34Bob Marley raises his first while singing onstage. 1977.Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images 2 of 34Bob Marley, being interviewed after a show at the Fox Theater in Atlanta. 1979.Tom Hill/WireImage/Getty Images 3 of 34Bob Marley performs onstage. 1978. Keystone/Getty Images 4 of 34Bob Marley performs live with the Wailers in Voorburg, Netherlands. 1976. Gijsbert Hanekroot/Redferns/Getty Images 5 of 34Bob Marley performs in Madrid. 1980.Gianni Ferrari/Cover/Getty Images 6 of 34Bob Marley and the Wailers (from left: Earl "Wire" Lindo, Aston "Family Man" Barrett, Bob Marley, Peter McIntosh "Tosh," Carlton "Carly" Barrett, and Neville "Bunny" Livingston) pose for a portrait in London. 1973.Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images 7 of 34Bob Marley performs in the UK. 1977.Vincent McEvoy/Redferns/Getty Images 8 of 34Bob Marley smokes a joint in his suite at the Plaza Hotel in New York City. 1978. Bobby Bank/WireImage/Getty Images 9 of 34Bob Marley jumps while performing at the Odeon in Birmingham, UK. 1975.Ian Dickson/Redferns/Getty Images 10 of 34Bob Marley performs onstage. 1980.Jürgen & Thomas/ullstein bild/Getty Images 11 of 34Bob Marley poses in Amsterdam. 1976.Gijsbert Hanekroot/Redferns/Getty Images 12 of 34The Jackson Five pose in a tree with Bob Marley and the Wailers in Jamaica. 1975.Fin Costello/Redferns/Getty Images 13 of 34Bob Marley plays live in London. 1976. Erica Echenberg/Redferns/Getty Images 14 of 34Bob Marley holds clogs while in the Netherlands. 1978.Rob Verhorst/Redferns/Getty Images 15 of 34Bob Marley with the Wailers in the Netherlands. 1976.Gijsbert Hanekroot/Redferns/Getty Images 16 of 34Bob Marley performs on stage. 1975. Anwar Hussein/Hulton Archive/Getty Images 17 of 34Bob Marley. Circa 1980.Sigfrid Casals/Cover/Getty Images 18 of 34Bob Marley at the Brighton Leisure Centre in the UK. 1980. Mike Prior/Redferns/Getty Images 19 of 34Bob Marley performs in the Netherlands. 1980.Rob Verhorst/Redferns/Getty Images 20 of 34Bob Marley poses with the Wailers. 1972.Charlie Gillett/Redferns/Getty Images 21 of 34Bob Marley performs in London. 1980. Peter Still/Redferns/Getty Images 22 of 34Bob Marley performs in Le Bourget, near Paris. 1980.Jacques Pavlovsky/Sygma/Getty Images 23 of 34Bob Marley performs live. 1976.Richard E. Aaron/Redferns/Getty Images 24 of 34Bob Marley and the Wailers perform at the Uptown Theater in Chicago. 1979.Kirk West/Getty Images 25 of 34Bob Marley at Denmark's Roskilde Festival. 1978.Jorgen Angel/Redferns/Getty Images 26 of 34Bob Marley sits in the offices of Island Records in London. 1975. Michael Putland/Getty Images 27 of 34Bob Marley performs at the Rainbow Theatre in London. 1977.Estate Of Keith Morris/Redferns/Getty Images 28 of 34Bob Marley performs with his female backing group, the I Threes, in Belgium. 1977. Gie Knaeps/Getty Images 29 of 34Bob Marley in concert. 1973. Gary Merrin/Keystone/Getty Images 30 of 34Bob Marley performs in Los Angeles. 1979. Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images 31 of 34Bob Marley plays live in the Netherlands. 1980.Rob Verhorst/Redferns/Getty Images 32 of 34Bob Marley performs at the Rainbow Theatre in London. 1977. Vincent McEvoy/Redferns/Getty Images 33 of 34Bob Marley on stage in New York City. 1976. Richard E. Aaron/Redferns/Getty Images 34 of 34
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33 Bob Marley Photos That Capture His Timeless Spirit View Gallery
Bob Marley was more than just a musician, he was an icon who represented a way of life that still captivates millions around the world to this day.
The man who would go on to define an entire musical movement was born on a farm in Nine Mile, Saint Ann Parish, Jamaica in 1945 to Norval Marley, a white British-Jamaican, and Cedella Booker, an Afro-Jamaican singer. When Marley was ten, his father died and he and his mother were forced to move to the Trenchtown slum of Kingston.
It was there that the young Marley was exposed to ska, rocksteady, and, eventually, reggae, a genre that Marley would ultimately popularize around the world. In Trenchtown, Marley formed the Wailers with Peter Tosh, another Trenchtown musician, and Bunny Wailer, Marley's step-brother.
In the 1960s and early 70s, these three young men honed their craft as musicians and songwriters in Jamaica, the United States, and the United Kingdom. It was also during this time that Marley and his two compatriots converted to Rastafarianism, a Jamaican Abrahamic religion that emerged in the 1930s. Ultimately, Marley and the Wailers would bring many of the ideas and practices of Rastafarianism to the mainstream in a way that had never been done before.
In 1973, the Wailers scored one of their first big hits with "I Shot The Sheriff," a classic that became even more popular after it was covered by rock musician Eric Clapton. Likewise, the album on which the song appeared, Burnin', earned the Wailers critical and commercial success. However, only a year after its release, the original group split up.
Now with a new backing band, Marley forged ahead, and became an international sensation following the release of his hit album Rastaman Vibration in 1976, preceded by Marley's breakout single, "No Woman, No Cry."
With his newfound fame, Marley attempted to calm political violence in his home country, holding a "Smile Jamaica" concert in 1976, at which he worked with Jamaican Prime Minister Michael Manley to call for an end to domestic conflict.
Though he had been shot by political extremists in a failed assassination attempt two days before the event, he played the concert anyway, and even returned to hold a similar concert two years later in 1978 called the "One Love Peace Concert."
But beyond performing in his home country, Marley toured the world as he released many more albums, wherein he spread his message of peace, love, and unity — as well as pleas for decolonization, Pan-Africanism, and marijuana legalization — to all who would listen.
However, in 1981, four years after doctors had first discovered a tumor on his toe, Marley passed away from cancer. Though he passed long before his time, his legacy remains strong today as he remains a venerated icon the world over.
The Bob Marley photos above capture the unique soul and personality of this revered artist.
After checking out these Bob Marley photos, have a look at some of the best Bob Marley quotes you'll ever read.
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