All Artists
Bob Marley
Artist Profile

Bob Marley

1963–1981

Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981) was a Jamaican reggae singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Considered one of the pioneers of the genre, he was renowned for his distinctive vocal and songwriting style. Marley increased the visibility of Jamaican music worldwide and became a global figure in popular culture. He became known as a Rastafarian icon, and he infused his music with a sense of spirituality. Marley is also considered a global symbol of Jamaican music, culture and identity and was controversial in his outspoken support for democratic social reforms. Marley also supported the legalisation of cannabis and advocated for pan-Africanism.

Born in Nine Mile, Jamaica, Marley began his career in 1963, after forming the group Teenagers with Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer, which became the Wailers. In 1965, they released their debut studio album, The Wailing Wailers, which included the single "One Love", a reworking of "People Get Ready". It was popular worldwide and established the group as a rising figure in reggae. The Wailers released 11 more studio albums, and after signing to Island Records, changed their name to Bob Marley and the Wailers. While initially employing...

Read full biography on Wikipedia →

Roots Reggae

Listen to Bob Marley

Stream Bob Marley's full catalog directly below — powered by Spotify.

Spotify
YouTube

Albums

Bob Marley & The Chineke! Orchestra

4 tracks · 2022

The Capitol Session '73

2 tracks · 2021

EXODUS 40: The Movement Continues

1 tracks · 2017

Easy Skanking in Boston '78

7 tracks · 2015

Africa

1 tracks · 2008

Chant Down Babylon

9 tracks · 1999

Forever

20 tracks · 1994

Reggae Legend

1 tracks · 1994

Live Au Zenith (Paris)

8 tracks · 1993

Talkin Blues

8 tracks · 1992

Songs of Freedom

21 tracks · 1984

Confrontation (Remastered)

11 tracks · 1983

Uprising (Remastered)

10 tracks · 1980

Survival Remastered

11 tracks · 1979

Babylon By Bus (Live)

17 tracks · 1978

Kaya

11 tracks · 1978

Exodus (30th Anniversary Edition)

10 tracks · 1977

Rastaman Vibration

10 tracks · 1976

Natural Mystic

1 tracks · 1976

LIVE!

14 tracks · 1975

Natty Dread (Remastered)

10 tracks · 1974

Burnin'

12 tracks · 1973

Catch a Fire

11 tracks · 1973

The Best of The Wailers

10 tracks · 1971

Soul Revolution Part II

8 tracks · 1971

Soul Rebels

11 tracks · 1970

The Wailing Wailers

12 tracks · 1965

Most played

Bob Marley songs ranked by plays from JamaicansMusic listeners.

Counting plays…

Recently added

New tracks from recent catalogue imports.

Riddims Bob Marley voiced

Riddim Guide →

No Woman, No Cry Riddim

9 versions · 1975 · Tuff Gong/Island

Natural Mystic Riddim

7 versions · 1977

Hypocrites Riddim

7 versions · 1999 · Greensleeves

Exodus Riddim

5 versions · 1984 · Tuff Gong/Island

Rebel Music Riddim

6 versions · 1978

One Drop Riddim

6 versions · 1995

I'm Still Waiting Riddim

6 versions · 1992

Stir It Up Riddim

4 versions · 1978 · Tuff Gong/Island

Songs on JamaicansMusic

295 playable tracks in the catalog.

Browse all 295 songs →

Suggest a song by Bob Marley

Missing a tune by Bob Marley?

Vinyl & Discography — Bob Marley

Powered by Discogs
Browse all on Discogs →

Discography data refreshes on each site build. Browse vinyl and releases for Bob Marley on Discogs now.

Browse Bob Marley on Discogs →
From the archive

Career timeline

Stories about Bob Marley from the JamaicansMusic archive, oldest first · 1964–2013

All news →

  1. 1964

    Music

    ‘Simmer Down’: Five Trench Town Teenagers Walk Into Studio One and Leave as The Wailers

    Coached by Joe Higgs under a mango tree on Second Street, Bob Marley, Bunny Livingston, Peter Tosh, Junior Braithwaite and Beverley Kelso record ‘Simmer Down’ for Coxsone Dodd with the Skatalites behind them. By February 1964 it is No. 1 in Jamaica — a warning to the rude boys, sung by a boy from the government yard.

  2. 1972

    Music

    The Crown Prince of Reggae: Bob Marley’s Favourite Singer and a Title That Stuck

    Bob Marley calls Dennis Brown the best reggae singer in the world and dubs him the Crown Prince. The nickname follows Brown from his teenage years at Studio One through three decades of recording — and outlives him.

  3. 1973

    Music

    ‘Catch a Fire’: Stranded in London, The Wailers Take Chris Blackwell’s Advance, Go Home to Kingston and Make the Album That Takes Reggae to the World

    Released by Island Records on April 13, 1973 in a hand-riveted Zippo lighter sleeve, ‘Catch a Fire’ is the first reggae album marketed like a rock record. Cut on eight-track at Dynamic, Harry J’s and Randy’s, then overdubbed at Basing Street by Wayne Perkins and John ‘Rabbit’ Bundrick, it sells 14,000 copies in its first weeks — and sets Bob Marley on the road out of Trench Town.

  4. 1977

    Music

    ‘Exodus’: Shot at Hope Road, Bob Marley Plays Smile Jamaica Two Days Later, Then Leaves for London and Records the Album of the Century

    On December 3, 1976 gunmen enter 56 Hope Road and wound Bob Marley, Rita Marley and manager Don Taylor. On December 5 he plays a 90-minute set for some 70,000 at Smile Jamaica. Then he leaves. Recorded at Island’s Basing Street and Fallout Shelter studios in the first months of 1977, ‘Exodus’ is released on June 3, spends 56 straight weeks on the UK chart — and in 1999 Time names it the best album of the 20th century.

  5. 1978

    Music

    One Love Peace Concert: Bob Marley Comes Home and Joins the Hands of Michael Manley and Edward Seaga at the National Stadium

    Lured back from London by rival gang leaders Claudie Massop and Bucky Marshall, who had made peace in a shared jail cell, Bob Marley headlines a 16-act bill on April 22, 1978. Shortly after midnight, during ‘Jamming’, he calls the Prime Minister and the Opposition Leader on stage and raises their clasped hands above his head. In June the United Nations gives him its Peace Medal of the Third World.

  6. 1981

    Music

    Robert Nesta Marley, O.M., 1945–1981: Jamaica Buries Its Cultural Ambassador at Nine Mile After a State Funeral in the National Arena

    Bob Marley dies at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital in Miami on Monday, May 11, 1981, aged 36, on his way home from a clinic in West Germany to receive the Order of Merit conferred a month earlier. His body lies in state at the National Arena on May 20–21; the state funeral blends Ethiopian Orthodox and Rastafari rites; Michael Manley and Edward Seaga shake hands for the first time since the Peace Concert. He is laid to rest in the St Ann hills where he was born.

  7. 2013

    Music

    Reggae at the Grammys: A Bob Marley Tribute on the Main Stage While Toots and the Maytals Are Nominated for Reggae Got Soul: Unplugged on Strawberry Hill, 2013

    At the 55th Grammy Awards on February 10, 2013, Bruno Mars, Sting, Rihanna and the Marley sons pay tribute to Bob Marley on national television — while Toots Hibbert, reggae’s other founding export, sits in the Best Reggae Album field for Reggae Got Soul: Unplugged on Strawberry Hill.

    Music

    Bob Marley and the Wailers' 'Legend Remixed' full album stream

    Being released June 25th on Tuff Gong/UMe, 'Legend: Remixed' features reworkings of 15 of the album's original 16 cuts, all of which you can now check out in this album stream.

86 more stories about Bob Marley in the archive →

Support the archive

Keep Jamaican music history free and online.

JamaicansMusic.com has documented artists, riddims and culture since 2008 — independently run by a small team. Ads and sponsors pay the hosting bill; readers keep it alive.

  • Sponsor or advertise Reach a global reggae & dancehall audience.
  • Suggest an artist Know more about Bob Marley? Help us improve the entry.
MusicBrainz ↗ Wikipedia ↗