Bob Marley sits at number 19 on Billboard’s 100 Greatest Singers of all time. Now I don’t want to start a full-blown war over Bob’s placement, but for the record, I would like to register my disagreement with the musicologists who contributed to that poll. Nineteenth? In my mind, there are a quite a few artists ahead of Marley that I could very easily move down so as to move him up. And then I remind myself that the list is of the “Greatest Singers” and not “History’s Most Impactful Singer.”
Marley's message of resistance, of spirit as a means to defeat oppression and claim one's inherent rights, has clearly emerged as his most powerful and important legacy. It's true that many others in popular music have spoken to these same concerns, including Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Marvin Gaye, Bruce Springsteen and Tupac Shakur. But with the exception of Tupac, these voices addressed injustice, intolerance, deprivation and oppression from outside the living heart of that experience. Marley risked his life to say the things he believed, and as a result both his art and his example managed to uplift or embolden others — particularly members of the African diaspora — in cultures and conditions that no other Western pop star has entered with such authenticity. In the years since, only hip-hop has had the same international impact.
But if I know anything about the man, he’d not be very concerned about his place on any manmade catalog...especially in a time like this. Given the fact that our naked emperor seems hell-bent on leading us back to the Dark Ages, I could see Bob saying something like, “Right now man have bigger fish fi fry, yuh no seeit?” :)
On this the 72nd birthday of Bob Marley, and in this the third week of the reign of the Tiny-Fingered Groper-in-Chief, and with an emergent resistance movement, I thought we’d look to the master himself for a little inspiration. Bob was no stranger to resistance movements himself. He and the Wailers were in the forefront of the fight against apartheid in Southern Africa and for the release of Nelson Mandela from prison. The song “Zimbabwe,” for example, was written in support of the freedom fighters engaged in a war against Rhodesia’s oppressive regime.
Brother you're right, you're right,
You're right, you're right, you're so right
We gon' fight (We gon' fight)
We'll have to fight (We gon' fight)
We gonna fight (We gon' fight)
Fight for our rights!
“Get Up, Stand Up” is surely the global anthem for all those yearning for a just society.
Get up, stand up, stand up for your rights!
Get up, stand up, don't give up the fight!
Get up, stand up, stand up for your rights!
Get up, stand up, don't give up the fight!
So, we have the chairs, we have a table laden with finger-licking mouth-watering food, we have drinks, coffee, tea, and water; won’t you join us in singing some songs of freedom?
Here are a few more of my selections:
Africa Unite
Buffalo Soldier
We And Dem
Babylon System
The floor is open. Feel free to post your favorite from the man himself. All are welcome. And remember:
One good thing about music, when it hits ya feel no pain
I say one good thing about music, when it hits ya feel no pain
Hit me with music, yeah! Hit me with music now
You reap what you sow
And only Jah-Jah know
I never turn my back
I give the slum a try
I never let the children cry,
'Cause you got to tell Jah - Jah why
Trenchtown Rock
Happy Earthstrong, Robert Nesta Marley.