Bob Marley (Part 3)

The Great Posthumous Cultural Ambassador of Jamaica.


Under the Bob Marley Jamaica group of companies, there are business interests in fashion; Tuff Gong’s Fashion Company,
“ Catch The Fire Clothing”, a designer clothes label, was co-founded by Cedella Marley and Rohan Marley, the brains behind the business idea, along with business partner Stefano Aldighieri, the former creative director of 7 for All Mankind and design director for Levi Strauss & Company has studio facilities in Miami, Florida, with additional offices for customer services and distribution base in Secaucus, New Jersey.

Cedella Marley

Corporate links have been established with major retailers in North America, with chin stores such as Bloomingdales, with clothes available for sale at their  New York and Los Angeles Stores. Clothes lines are also available at two other fashion chains, Atrium (NewYork) and Harry Lehr (New York) and independent retailers across America.

The web site provides the same services as the book store. On several occasions individual family members or groups of family members have established not-for-profit companies and organisations to meet various human needs inJamaicaand across the globe. Ziggy Marley and The Melody Makers created the U.R.G.E (Unlimited Resources Giving Enlightenment).

 International offices are based in America at Bob Marley Music Inc. RE: U.R.G.E, at 632 Broadway Suite 910, New York, NY10012.
The organization’s main agenda is to give financial assistance to orphanages in Jamaica and Africa, to assist different ethnic groups such as Kehilat Israel’s “Feed the Hungry” task force (a Jewish organization that provides food each month to families who live in the Turning Point Transitional Shelter in Santa Monica, CA) and to provide funds for the victims of natural disasters.
URGE teamed up with kids from a middle school in Stamford, CT, to match the funds they raised for those affected by the recent tsunami in Asia. U.R.G.E also raises funds for health issues such as AIDS/HIV, helping abandoned children with the illness. Matthew 25:40 is one such organization based in Jamaica, which also provides financial assistance to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in America. On the education front they have provided equipment and clothing for needy children in developing countries around the world through a joint effort with Nike Corporation.

The Rita Marley Foundation, another non-profit organisation founded by Rita with the main purpose of carrying on the vision of her late husband to eradicate poverty and hunger specifically in communities in less developed countries across the globe through the creation of economic investment and development funds for improvements in education and health.
The family has gone into the tourism business with the current construction and development of a resort and spa named after Bob Marley.

The whole construction project was supervised by Rita Marley to make sure that everything was in keeping with the vision of the family. The resort and spa is going to be located in Bahamian and is scheduled to be open sometime in 2006.

Rohan Marley

The Marley family is the first family in music in Jamaica, considering their cultural and economic impact on the Jamaican economy, in the wider Caribbean and worldwide. The famous American financier David Pullman, founder of the Pullman Fund, stated that he believed the Marley estate to be worth approximately $ 100 million. Since 2000, Forbes magazine has been publishing a list of the top 10 posthumous earners who were recording artists, actors and authors.
In that list, Bob Marley has made on average $10 million per year from America record sales and merchandising. No other Caribbean artist has such a diverse portfolio of business interests that still has tremendous potential and earnings globally.

 Marley is an international cultural icon. His legacy will live on for generations to come through his family, who are all passionate about maintaining his message of liberty and equality for all mankind and determined to keep his dreams, philosophies and legacy alive. Long live the rich music of Robert Nesta Marley, better known as Bob Marley, truly the King of Reggae


                                  Researched and compiled by                            
                                                   Mr K Tomlin Music Historian 
                                                  ©RCM Music/Signaturesoundsonline2013



 

Bob Marley (Part 2)

               The Great Posthumous Cultural Ambassador of Jamaica.


After his death, the Marley family under the leadership of Rita Marley went about establishing a company to manage the intellectual property, copyrights and general merchandise of Bob Marley. The entire Marley family has worked continually with absolute clarity and focus to keep the musical vision and legacy of Bob Marley alive and well.
Tuff Gong Records was established prior to his death under a distribution agreement with Island Records under the leadership of Chris Blackwell in 1972, with the sole aim of promoting the group to international markets which he finally accomplished before he sold the label to PolyGram/Universal. Out of that distribution deal the 1984 “Legend” album achieved diamond certification on 7^thMarch 1999 for over 10 million copies sold in the USA according RIAA (Record Industry Association of America).


The Legend project is the biggest 
selling reggae album of all time.
The compilation album has sold over
14 million copies in

America with a further 25 million 
copies internationally

The album spent over 800 weeks on the Billboard Top Catalogue Album chart listings and went to number one on several occasions, the last as recently as 26^thJune 2004. In the UK the album also did very well by going to number one on the British Pop Album chart listing for 12 weeks in May 1984 and staying on the chart over 2 years, in the process selling 1.8 million copies, with a certified multiple platinum award from the BPI ( British Phonographic Industry ). One of Bob Marley & The Wailer’s songs,



  The platinum certified  album
 "Conscious Party"

“Get Up, Stand Up”, was inducted into The Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999 for lasting artistic and historical significance.

Bob’s other son Ziggy Marley, along with his brother Stephen and sisters Sharon and Cedella, has brought the Marley legacy to the Hip Hop generation via The Melody Makers, in the process obtaining tremendous success with two albums produced and released by Hip Hop generation . The musical journey started with the
The album “Conscious Party” was the first recording project by the group to receive platinum certification in America and a Grammy Award for “Best Reggae Album”.

 The album “Conscious Party” (Virgin 90878) which debuted at number 23 on the Billboard Album Pop chart listings on 14th May 1988 and was certified platinum for one million copies sold in America by 27^th September 1991.         



 "One Bright Day" was the last gold 
certified album in America

The follow-up album “One Bright Day” (Virgin 91256) debuted at number 26 on the Billboard Album Pop chart listings on 26^th August 1989 and was also certified gold for half million copies eventually sold in the USA on 16^th November 1995. In addition to these two outstanding achievements, the band’s main single “Tumblin’ Down” (Virgin 99299), extracted from “Conscious Party”, and reached number one on the Billboard R&B singles chart listings for 2 weeks on 24^thDecember 1988. The track was remixed by Hank Shocklee, well-known for his successful work with Public Enemy, to give the group a more Hip Hop sound.

                                     Researched and compiled by
                                     Mr K Tomlin Music Historian
                                 ©RCM Music/Signaturesoundsonline 2013
 

Bob Marley (Part 1)

The Great Posthumous Cultural Ambassador of Jamaica.

                                                           





The legendary Bob Marley. 
The posthumous
cultural ambassador of
 the sunny island of Jamaica

Since Bob Marley’s death on 11^th May 1981, he has become an international cultural and musical icon, representing the sunny island of Jamaica, through the Jamaican Tourist Board, with his classic song: “One Love”, which is featured on media outlets across the globe in many different languages to promote the island as a holiday destination.

Marley’s music has impacted on every cultural and ethnic group through his personal philosophy, which was based on human empowerment and emancipation from mental, physical and spiritual slavery. Economic empowerment was also part of his personal philosophy. He is a key figure in the Rastafarian religion which started in Jamaica.

Marley’s musical compositions reflect the colours of the Jamaican national flag, black, gold and green. The black signifies strength, gold symbolises the sunshine and green is a reflection of the land. The people are strong and creative, with 76.3% black, 15.1% Afro- European, 3% East Indian and Afro-East Indian, 3.2 % white and finally 1.2% Chinese and Afro – Chinese.

To honour his many achievements, the Jamaican Post Office decided to issue a Bob Marley commemorative stamp on 29^th December 1982. Then, nearly 10 years after his death, the Jamaican government decided to commemorate his birthday by proclaiming a national holiday on 1^st February 1990.

Before Marley and The Wailers developed their musical art form, they were influenced by early R&B classics recorded by legendary American artists such as Ray Charles, Sam Cooke and especially the Impressions, led at different times by Curtis Mayfield and Jerry Butler. The Impressions’ flawless harmonies seem to have had considerable impact. The output from Motown recording studios in Detroit was another major influence in the development from ska-blue beat to rock steady and finally to full blown reggae, showing the same innovation and passionate approach that Jimi Hendrix and Sly Stone exemplified and in the process creating a revolutionary sound that has made reggae commercially successful as an international musical art form.




Damian continuing his father's musical legacy

with great impact

This did not go unnoticed by music institutions such as the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS), who conduct the Grammy Award programme in USA. The organisation has now created a Reggae Awards Category. It is interesting to see that Bob’s son Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley received two Grammy awards for “Best Reggae Album” and “Best Urban/Alternative Performance” at the 48^thannual Grammy Awards . Also Damian’s mother is Cindy Breakspeare, Jamaica’s former Miss World. Damian is continuing with his father’s musical legacy with international success.


              Researched and compiled by
              Mr K Tomlin Music Historian
              ©RCM Music/Signaturesoundsonline 2013