The legend of Bob Marley
- July 25, 2004
- Rated 5 of 5 by
cdjoni from Cuenca , Spain
Whoever is thinking of traveling to Jamaica will be advised to learn something about the island´s music. It forms an integral part of the culture and the people will love you even more if you can talk to them about one of their most passionate subject...
Bob Marley was almost an unknown singer and performer in the Jamaica I grew up in during the 1960s. There were groups and singers that were really good and much better than he was. They were also much more popular in Jamaica, at that time.
Then Bob formed a group called Bob Marley & the Wailers. They were good but not great. They were just one more of the dozen of groups that were around at that time.
So this group went on tour in the United Kingdom. They became very popular in the UK, where there was a huge Caribbean population and musical influence.
Bob´s antics and showmanship on the stage became famous. So much so, that he was invited to perform in Germany, the musical capital of all Europe.
In Germany he became a superstar. They loved, adored and worshipped him. All his concerts were sold out weeks in advance. This popularity trickled back into the UK.... slowly.
Remember, that there were a lot of good singers and performers that were good and even better than Bob in those days. But the Germans immortalized him forever.
So in the Christmas season of 1969 -1970, Bob went back to Jamaica to be with his friends and family for the holidays. He returned with a brand new car from Germany. Once there, he told everyone that he was a superstar in Germany. He claimed that the Germans loved him so much that they even built a car for him. He boasted that the Germans had put his initials on this car.
The local newspapers picked up on this amazing story and printed a picture of Bob Marley sitting on the bonnet of his new car that the Germans had built for him.
On the bonnet you could read and see the initials and the logo of this car. The headlines read... Bob Marley & The Wailers immortalized by German carmaker.
The initials of the group were on this car...BMW.
Those were the days when very few people from Jamaica had ever heard of this carmaker. We all believed that Bob was telling the truth.
Bob Marley loved to play jokes and pranks with his friends. By the time the real story was revealed, the masses of musical followers didn’t care. They loved him too much.
This is a secret national joke in Jamaica and forms a part of the legend of Bob Marley, the man who brought Jamaican reggae music to the rest of the world.
From journal Montego Bay, Gateway To The Rest Of Jamaica