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Parents Married
On June 9, 1944, Norval Marley and Cedella Malcolm got married, but Marley left the next day to Kingston, where he took a job as a foreman on a construction project, leaving Cedella behind. -
Birth
Bob Marley was born as Nesta Robert Marley, to his father, Norval Marley, and his mother, Cedella Booker. He was born in the hamlet of Camden Hall, located in the mountainous country of St. Ann, in the northern part of Jamaica. -
Period: to
Bob Marley
Bob Marley was considered a pioneer of reggae music, and increased the popularity of Jamaican music worldwide. Throughout his career, he became a Rastafari icon. In 2022, he was inducted into the Black Music & Entertainment Hall of Fame. -
Singing Debut
Bob Marley made his singing debut in 1959, at a Queens Theatre talent show, and won the equivalent of about 5 US dollars. -
Wailers formed
Bob Marley formed a band, the Wailers, with his two close friends, Bunny Livingston and Peter Tosh. -
Jamaica gains independence from Great Britain
Under British rule, Jamaica was considered the "pirate capital" of the world. -
Begins Relationship with Alvarita Anderson
By the end of 1965, Bob Marley began a relationship with Alvarita Anderson. Alvarita Anderson was an aspiring nurse and teacher who also taught Sunday school and sang with her own Motown-inspired group, the Soulettes. -
First Studio Album
In 1965, Bob Marley and the Wailers released their debut album, called The Wailing Wailers. -
Married
On February 10th, 1966, Bob Marley got married to Alvarita Anderson in Kingston, Jamaica. -
Arrested in London
In 1977, at Ladbroke Grove, in London, England, Bob Marley was arrested after being caught with cannabis. Bob Marley was of the Rastafarian faith, and Rastafarians believe that cannabis was an aid to meditation. -
Death
Bob Marley died May 11, 1981, at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, Florida. He died because of melanoma. He had a metastatic brain tumor.