10 things that you may not know about Bob Marley

 

1- Bob Marley’s original name was Nesta Robert Marley but his middle and first name were swapped around to preserve his masculinity after a comment was made that Nesta was seen as a girl’s name.

 

2- From the age of four it was discovered Bob Marley could read palms. When Cedella (Bob’s mother) first heard of this from relatives and neighbours she took it as a joke. These palm readings invariably came true, which left his mother quite shaken. When Bob was a lot older and returned to Kingston, a woman asked him to read her palm – he replied: “I’m not reading no more hand: I’m singing now.”

 

3- In 1964, Bob Marley formed a ska group called the Wailin’ Wailers. In 1965, the group achieved their first big hit in Jamaica with ‘Simmer Down.’ The song reportedly sold 80,000 copies on the island.

 

4- Marley’s ska band had several names before becomming « The Wailers ». The original name of the band was « The Teenagers »

 

5- “Tuff Gong,” the name of Bob’s recording label, was a nickname Bob earned for himself in the Kingston ghetto of Trenchtown for being exactly the wrong guy to screw with.

6- Bob played as a professional soccer player. He also used to play ping pong in his childhood.

 

7- Once he’d found success Marley became extremely generous with this money. Having grown up in a poor family in Jamaica he knew how difficult it was to get by. He decided to put his goodwill into practice by buying houses for friends and supported many of the poor in Jamaica.

 

8- He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. (He had an airport in Jamaica named after him., He had a statue of his likeness erected at the UN., He was named honorary ambassador to the US.). Time magazine chose Bob Marley & The Wailers’ « Exodus » as the greatest album of the 20th century and « One Love » was named the song of the millennium by the British Broadcasting Corporation (the BBC).

 

9- Officials in Toronto, Canada proclaimed Feb. 6, 2013, as Bob Marley Day. « As a world ambassador of reggae music, Bob Marley was seen as the first international superstar to emerge from the developing world. The commanding and unique sound of his music captivated people of all cultures, broke music barriers and helped to introduce reggae music to the world. To this day, his music continues to be loved by many and is instantly recognized around the world, » Mayor Rob Ford states

 

10- Days before his death in 1981, Bob Marley was baptized at the Ethiopian Orthodox Church in Kingston, Jamaica, converting to a Christian Rastafarian and adopting the new name Berhane Selassie.

 

His final words to his son Ziggy before he died of cancer at the age of 36 were“Money can’t buy life.”