68 years ago Cedella Booker gave birth to Robert Nesta Marley. 18 years later Bob Marley and his friends formed the Wailing Wailers. 9 years after that they sign a contract with Island Records. Marley and the Wailers sold over 20 million records throughout their career. Their union was brought to a tragic end 32 years ago with Bob Marley's death May 11 1981. He death was caused by a skin cancer known as melanoma. Marley's music was posthumously released after his death in the form of an album named Confrontation. Today marks the 30th anniversary of the album's release May 23 1983. The album contains 10 songs compiled from unreleased material. The most famous of these songs is "Buffalo Soldier". The song was Marley's homage to the U.S. Cavalry's African-American regiment who fought in the Indian Wars in the late 1800's. He felt that his life's journey was relative to their fight for survival. The album's cover depicts Marley's version of the tale of St. George and the Dragon. The dragon is meant to represent "Babylon"(corruption), which Marley is slaying with his music. Though he died at the age of 36, his legacy lived on through his friends and his children. Marley had 11 children, 3 of which followed in their father's footsteps and gained notoriety. Those three are Ziggy, Stephen and Damien Marley. All have inherited their father's love for music and for Rastafari and taken their family to the status of royalty in Jamaica. Reggae is one of my favorite genres. The way it sounds and the messages it preaches can bring people of any race, gender or creed together. That was the mission of the late Bob Marley. That's the message of the surviving Wailers and of Marley's sons, and that's a message worth spreading.
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