History Trivia / BobMarley

* TheSixthRanger: Although he was only briefly an official member of The Wailers, Constantine Vision Walker was part of their circle since they met him, and occasionally contributed to songs later.
* TheSmurfettePrinciple: Beverley Kelso and her successor Rita Marley were this to the Studio One and Wail N Soul M'/JAD lineups of The Wailers respectively. In the JAD period Johnny Nash and Danny Sims specifically felt Rita's presence would make the group more marketable internationally and renamed the band to "Bob, Rita and Peter" on the 1968 single "Bend Down Low/Mellow Mood". After this period, Rita left the group, but made a comeback in 1974 upon Bunny and Peter's exit, bringing Judy Mowatt and Marcia Griffiths with her to form The I-Threes, who quickly became a focal point of Bob's solo career.
* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: It's easy to forget now, but "Zimbabwe" was written at a time the country was still called Rhodesia, and to use the intended African name in a song was considered quite revolutionary. In fact, the song was so popular in then-Rhodesia that it was banned there. What really hammers the point home is that the single sleeve features Robert Mugabe, who was campaigning to lead an independent Zimbabwe. He was successful, but he turned the country into a dictatorship, [[HarsherInHindsight which he ruled for 40 years.]]
* UnreliableNarrator: Bob's mother Cedella Booker wrote a book about his upbringing, whose timeline becomes noticeably inaccurate and confused as soon as Bob starts to find success in music. Three particular claims: that he only went by Robert Marley because of her sponsoring him to travel to the US (he had already taken it as his professional name, as seen on his first single "Judge Not"), that he was a rasta before he went to the US in 1966 (Rita and others claimed he converted after he came back) and that he stayed in the US several more years than went to England to record for Island Records (Not only did he go back to Jamaica later in 1966, but his records were in fact, always recorded in Jamaica or the US up until the late 70s when he actually moved to England).
* VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory: The book "Catch A Fire" by Timothy White is a novel based on Bob's life that is advertised as a biography. For many years, it was considered the best book on him, but much has come out after his death that has contradicted the assertions made in the book, so it is best seen as a curio which embellishes some details of his early life. An example of its inaccuracy is the part on the founding of Wail'N'Soul M' records in 1966 - it states the first single was "Bend Down Low/Mellow Mood" (when the actual b-side was "Freedom Time" - the combo used is a pairing done for the JAD rerecordings two years later), that the follow up was "Hold On To This Feeling" (which is a cover of a Jr Walker And The All Stars song from three years later and was in fact the first Tuff Gong single) and that the group continued to release several singles for Coxsone at this time (who they had left after he agreed to help distribute "Bend Down Low/Freedom Time" yet withheld money).

** "Terror", from 1962. Intended to be the B Side of "One Cup Of Coffee", but the tape was lost and has still not appeared after 50 years.

* MoneyDearBoy: Bob's attempts at pop-reggae for the Western market, with Johnny Nash in 1968 and 1971 respectively, both of which made no money and were promptly disowned. Ironically, when a remixed selection of both called "Chances Are" was released soon after his death, it was a huge seller.

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: It's easy to forget now, but "Zimbabwe" was written at a time the country was still called Rhodesia, and to use the intended African name in a song was considered quite revolutionary. In fact, the song was so popular in then-Rhodesia that it was banned there led to it. What really hammers the point home is that the single sleeve features Robert Mugabe, who was campaigning to lead an independent Zimbabwe. He was successful, but he turned the country into a dictatorship, [[HarsherInHindsight which he ruled for 40 years.]]

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: At one time he was considered for nomination as Jamaica's eighth National Hero. The idea was shot down very quickly. These days he would easily win this place. He is the reason the general public has heard of Jamaica, and tourism off his image has stimulated the economy, which previously relied mainly on sugar and moderate amounts of tourism.
** Prior to Catch A Fire, Bob had toured with Johnny Nash for a few months, resulting in getting signed to CBS. The plan was to make it internationally as a solo artist in the soft-reggae vein of Nash (who had recorded some of Bob's songs). Several songs were recorded, but the lead single "Reggae On Broadway" flopped. Ultimately, Chris Blackwell visited Bob and suggested The Wailers sign to Island. Some of the songs used on Catch A Fire, such as "Stir It Up", "Rock It Babe" and "High Tide Or Low Tide" are likely to have appeared on the JAD LP had it seen release.

* UnreliableNarrator: There are a lot of these due partly to foggy memories and partly due to the tendency to omit facts that would make the narrator look bad. Nowhere is it better showcased than Roger Steffens' book "So Much Things To Say", in which interviewees are presented with information that another person there at the time has said, quite often dismissing it out of hand. To name a few, Bunny Wailer, Chris Blackwell, Rita Marley, Lee "Scratch" Perry and Bob's manager Don Taylor have all at times said things that have been contradicted by the testimony of others who were there at the time. Not by coincidence, they have all criticised each other for the same reason.

* TheFaceOfTheBand: After ''Music/NattyDread'', Bob became increasingly marketed as the star of his own band. This was one of the reasons why Music/PeterTosh eventually left and started a solo career.

* CriticalResearchFailure: A minor one, but modern reissues of The Best Of The Wailers (Beverleys) have a beige background when it should be white. The reason for this is that most original vinyl copies of the album have yellowed over time due to the card used, and the cover was touched up by someone who didn't realise this. On the rare occasion a sealed original has appeared, the cover is clearly white.
** There is a surprisingly large amount of this in books. From Timothy White's book "Catch A Fire", which at times skews the facts for a more entertaining story, to the booklet of Songs Of Freedom with vague liner notes written without listening to the actual songs. One of the strangest is the assertion in "Bob Marley: The Untold Story" that the group were performing "Bad Card" and the Bunny Wailer track "Crucial" despite neither being released until the early 80s, and that both were used as campaign songs by local politicians.

* DidNotDoTheResearch: There is a surprisingly large amount of this in books. From Timothy White's book "Catch A Fire", which at times skews the facts for a more entertaining story, to the booklet of Songs Of Freedom with vague liner notes written without listening to the actual songs. One of the strangest is the assertion in "Bob Marley: The Untold Story" that the group were performing "Bad Card" and the Bunny Wailer track "Crucial" despite neither being released until the early 80s, and that both were used as campaign songs by local politicians.

** Early versions of "She's Gone", the song itself dating back to 1972.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: At one time he was considered for nomination as Jamaica's eighth National Hero. The idea was shot down very quickly.
** These days he would easily win this place. He is the reason the general public has heard of Jamaica, and tourism off his image has stimulated the economy, which previously relied mainly on sugar and moderate amounts of tourism.

** A large number of home recorded tapes dating from the late 60s through to 1980 were stolen from Marley's mother's house after his death, and bootlegged. Furthermore, some tapes were leaked courtesy of ex-musicians. Only a very small handful of home recordings have seen official release, such as the Acoustic Medley from 1971 as well as "Cry On" and "Heat Of The Day" from 1980.

** "Sophisticated Psychedelication", from 1970. A Best Of The Wailers outtake that never came out.

** ''Music/CatchAFire'' was delivered to Island including the songs "High Tide Or Low Tide" and "All Day All Night". Chris Blackwell felt that "High Tide Or Low Tide" was too soft for the militant rock image he thought the group should focus on, and that "All Day All Night" was too similar to other tracks and made the album drag on a bit too long. Bob Marley (who wrote both songs) was ok with this, and the tracks did not receive the overdubbing and editing the rest of the album did. Eventually the tracks were released, but not reinstated till the album as intended until the original mix appeared on the Deluxe Edition many years later. Blackwell said that he loves the tracks and that cutting them was a mistake that made business sense at the time. "High Tide Or Low Tide" has been VindicatedByHistory from its appearance as a central theme in the Marley movie.

** "Chant Down Babylon" was supposed to be the opening track on ''Music/{{Uprising}}'', but Bob wrote "Coming In From The Cold" at the last minute. "Chant Down Babylon" later appeared on Confrontation. Similarly, the 'band version' of "Redemption Song" was supposed to be on Uprising but replaced by the acoustic version as Chris Blackwell felt it had more crossover potential (which it did). The band version was later a B-Side.
* ExecutiveMeddling: A good example. Chris Blackwell, head of Island Records, suggested Bob included the acoustic version of "Redemption Song" on ''Music/{{Uprising}}'' instead of the band version. This ended up making the song feel much more poignant, and to be seen as a fitting "goodbye" song. It also made it a stand out track on the album, leading to its release as a single, something which probably wouldn't have happened if the band version had been included.

* TheFaceOfTheBand: After ''Music/NattyDread'', Bob became increasingly marketed as the star of his own band. This was one of the reasons why Peter Tosh eventually left and started a solo career.

* ExecutiveMeddling: A good example. Chris Blackwell, head of Island Records, suggested Bob included the acoustic version of "Redemption Song" on ''Uprising'' instead of the band version. This ended up making the song feel much more poignant, and to be seen as a fitting "goodbye" song. It also made it a stand out track on the album, leading to its release as a single, something which probably wouldn't have happened if the band version had been included.

* TheFaceOfTheBand: After ''Natty Dread'', Bob became increasingly marketed as the star of his own band. This was one of the reasons why Peter Tosh eventually left and started a solo career.

* NoHitWonder: In the United States, that is. His only song to make the Billboard Hot 100 was "Roots, Rock, Reggae", and it only climbed up to #51. Compare that to the UK where he had eight Top 10 hits.

* NoHitWonder: In the United States, that is. His only song to make the Billboard Hot 100 was "Roots, Rock, Reggae", and it only climbed up to #51. Compare that to the UK where he had eight Top 10 hits.

* NoHitWonder: In the United States, that is. His only song to make the Billboard Hot 100 was "Roots, Rock, Reggae", and it only climbed up to #51. Compare that to the UK where he had seven Top 10 hits.