"Bob walked on to the stage in what I would later recognize as his unmatched saunter. It was awesome to watch him immediately memorize the crowd with his presence. His guitar slung over his shoulder, his Rasta locks flowing in unrestricted freedom, he generated a raw power of personality that overwhelmed his worshipers. Sounding his opening refrain "Hail Jah Rastafari!" and without another word he immediately launched into his opening song, "Concrete Jungle," which immediately brought the crowd to its feet." Robert Nesta Marley, was born on February 6, 1945. He was born in Nine Miles, Saint Ann, Jamaica. "Bob was the son of a white man, whom he never met. His mother Cedella also left him to be raised by his Granny Yaya and his grandfather, Omeriah." With his grandparents he grew up in one of the poorest part of Jamaica named Trench town. I feel that this had a major impact on Bob's life. In many of his songs he talks about Trench town. "Cold ground was my bed last night and rock was my pillow too." As Bob grew older he spent less time at his home with his grandparents. Instead he was out with his friends Bunny Livingston and Peter Mackintosh. Together they did many things such as walk around town, go to the beach, play soccer and probably most importantly write music. Together the three were known as the Wailing Wailers. They soon had their first release, "Judge Not," in 1963, but the single had no true success until 1964. After Writing their first single they began to experiment with their music, by slowing down the quick dance rhythms of Jamaican "ska" music and soon after scored hits with "Simmer Down" and "Love and Affection." Despite its early success, the group broke up in 1966. Peter and Bunny both wanted to pursue solo careers. I think at the time this may have been a terrible thing for Bob, but in the long run this helped him tremendously. He now knew what kind of beats and rhythms the people wanted to hear and he was now free to write his own music.
