Pioneering reggae artist Bob Marley would have been celebrating his 80th birthday on Thursday, February 6.
Known for popular tracks including No Woman, No Cry, One Love, Three Little Birds and Could You Be Loved, Marley’s music carries a lot of deep meaning and his profound understanding and compassion for the human predicament were frequently evident.
No Woman, No Cry speaks to the hopes and hardships of people everywhere. Meanwhile, Three Little Birds is often interpreted as hope and reassurance, and Could You Be Loved urges listeners to live authentically, not letting others change them.
His songs are still being listened to today. Could You Be Loved was the most played track of the 21st century on UK radio and TV, according to music licensing company Phonographic Performance Limited (PPL). The song has been played an average of 15 times a day since the turn of the century.
Unfortunately, Marley fell ill and died on May 11, 1981, at the age of 36 at the peak of his career.
How did Bob Marley die?
The singer was diagnosed with a form of skin cancer called melanoma, under his big toenail in 1977.
Marley initially believed it to be a football injury, but after a second doctor performed a biopsy, it was determined to be cancer.
Marley chose to get the nail and some of the damaged tissue removed even though the doctor advised amputating the toe. For the following five years, Marley went without medical attention while touring the world and putting out music.
His illness had started to spread by September 1980, and he fell while working out in Central Park following two performances at Madison Square Garden. Doctors found that his disease had spread to his brain, lungs, and other organs when he was brought to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
Danny Sims, Marley's manager, recalls a doctor telling him that he had “more cancer in him than I've seen with a live human being” in an interview with The New Yorker. Marley was only expected to live for a few months.
He cancelled the rest of his tour, and after not responding well to chemotherapy, Marley went to Germany to attempt alternative therapies like exercise, ozone injections, and vitamins.
As Marley's illness worsened, he decided to end the treatment and fly back to Jamaica to spend his last moments there. However, his condition deteriorated during the flight, and the aircraft made an emergency landing in Miami, where Marley died. He never got to return to his home country.
Marley's wife, Rita Marley, brought his children from Jamaica to be with him at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital in the final days of his life.
“I brought up all the kids who was in Jamaica. Some of them not my kids, some from other mothers. So I gathered everyone and said, ‘Come. Daddy want to see you all’,” Rita said in the 2012 documentary film Marley.
Remembering his last words, his son Ziggy spoke to People in 2024: “[He said] ‘On your way up, take me up. On your way down, don’t let me down.’
“We share a certain spiritual foundation - my father, myself, my brothers and my sisters. So that word means exactly what I’m supposed to be doing, I’m doing. It just means that I don’t have to think about it, really, because I was doing it anyway.”
How many children did Bob Marley have and who are they?
The official Bob Marley website acknowledged 11 children, however, some sources suggest he has 12.
The late singer had three children with his wife Rita called Cedella, Ziggy and Stephen, and adopted her daughters Sharon and Stephanie from other relationships. Marley also had other children from different mothers - Robbie, Rohan, Karen, Julian, Ky-Mani and Damian.
However, some sources suggest Makeda Jahnesta Marley is Marley’s 12th child.
Marley’s children have launched careers in music, entrepreneurship, and activism. The oldest son, Ziggy, continued his father's musical career. The vocalist has collaborated with a variety of musicians, including Paul Simon, Ben Harper, and Busta Rhymes.
Ziggy has received eight Grammy Awards and numerous other honours since the release of his first studio album in 2003. He is also a philanthropist and activist who supports environmental preservation and social justice.
Stephen, Damian, Sharon, Julian, Ky-Mani have also ventured into the music industry earned Grammy nominations and collaborated with well-known artists.
The rest of his children have either taken the path of business, modelling or have lived privately.
