I&I, THE NATURAL MYSTICS
Marley, Tosh and Wailer, Who Shall Be King? is a group biography of the Wailers and their rise to fame and power. Rising independent historian Colin Grant argues that these reggae stars offered a model for black men in the second half of the twenty century: accommodate and succeed (Marley), fight and die (Tosh) or retreat and live (Livingston). Where this book will differ from the crowd of biographies on Marley is Grant's eagle eye for historical details, his fantastic reputation for research, and his skilful story telling skills.
'If Reggae music had delighted and enthralled so many around the world, transformed a tiny island into a musical super-power, and given a platform to the Wailers, a trio of extraordinarily poetic and powerful natural mystics, then how could it, in the space of thirty years, rise and fall so spectacularly and end so brutally? A cultural coup had taken place, and in decades to come the lament that 'the singers must come back' haunted the land. In the 1980s, the passing of Bob Marley and Peter Tosh had left a vacuum, and on 26 December 1990, the last remaining Wailer, the region's finest Caribbean voice, had been rendered mute.'
Colin Grant
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Reggae legend Bob Marley 'blacked up with shoe polish' in order to fit in, new book reveals
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 2:40 PM on 4th December 2010Inseucure: Bob Marley's angst over his mixed-race background led him to 'blacken' his hair with shoe polish
A new book has revealed that Bob Marley was so angst-ridden over his race that he used shoe polish to blacken his hair.
I&I: The Natural Mystics: Marley, Tosh and Wailer, highlights the insecurities the Jamaican-born reggae legend - who had a white father and a black mother - faced during his teenage years.
In the book, his widow Rita Marley recalls how her husband was so aware of bullying for being mixed-race that he asked her to 'rub shoe polish in his hair to make it more black, make it more African.'
The author, Colin Grant, interviewed some of the singer's relatives and those close to him for the book, which is published in January.
Among those featured are Marley's late mother, Cedella Booker and Chris Blackwell, founder of Island Records, which released most of his music.
'When Marley moved to Trench Town in Kingston aged 13 he was thought of as a white man and would have got a lot of grief for that,' Grant told The Guardian.
'His father was a so-called white man who moved in white circles, and it was unusual to marry a black lady. But he did.
It's interesting that Marley went on to do that as well. He married a very black lady, Rita, and that was a time when people married up and out of colour. He did exactly the opposite.'
Grant added that while this part of Marley's life was well known in Jamaica, it is the first time that the extent of his insecurities and prejudices he faced has been revealed.
Marley was born in 1945. His father, Norval Sinclair Marley, was a white Jamaican of English descent, who died in 1965 when the singer was experiencing racial prejudice due to his skin colour.
He once said of his background, 'Me don't dip on nobody's side. Me don't dip on the black man's side not the white man's side. Me dip on God's side, the one who create me and cause me to come from black and white.'
Tragic star: Marley, who died in 1981 was at the height of his fame in the mid-70s when he was diagnosed with cancer
It was while living in Trench Town that he met Bunny Wailer and Peter Tosh, both of whom are also featured in the book. The trio formed the band The Wailers, whose most famous songs included Get Up Stand Up and I Shot The Sherriff.
After the band broke up in 1974 Marley continued recording as Bob Marley And The Wailers with a new backing band, and released the classic album Exodus, which included the hits One Love, Jamming and Waiting In Vain as well as the title track.
He died of cancer in 1981 aged just 36.
