Celebrating the Roots of the Bob Marley Family Tree

"Reggae in California" poster from 1985g.c. by Laguna Beach CA/Sawdust Festival artist Brett Keast


The Stream of Conch-Us-ness with Sunny Sun-Downer (the "Un-edited Version" [only the part about the "Cave in Nepal" was cut out this time!] of the article published in the Feb. 11, 2010g.c. issue of the Desert Valley Star... Yes I En-Joy! -=0=-)
You have definitely been living in a “cave” for the past five or so decades if you have not heard of the Jamaican Legend Bob Marley and his band the Wailers’ music- and that would have to be a cave even farther out in the Himalayan Mountains than I was at in Nepal in the 1980’s, because that’s where and when I was surprised to find how far that his music had spread. He and his fellow Jamaican musicians’ spiritually-charged and revolutionary reggae music that calls for true equality, justice and freedom from oppression for all “Jah Children,” gained that kind of universal acceptance from its message of the spiritual one-love and human rights saddled with that infectious reggae rhythm, which Bob once called the “rhythm of the jungle.”
When he left us at the age of 36 in 1981, his fans were devastated to have his physical form taken from them at the height of his career, and there have always been the conspiracy theories in reggae circles that his fast-spreading brain cancer was planted by the CIA when he was hospitalized for a soccer-caused foot injury- “assassinated” as was Martin Luther King, for starting to unite the third world countries, and this from their fear that he would ignite a “revolution against the controlling powers that be.” What is true is that he and his band, the Wailers, were about to embark on a world tour with Stevie Wonder, and his message of revolution would have been heard world-wide.
As it is, his message has spread world-wide, just without the impact of the man physically imparting it for the past 29 years. Three years after his “Journey back to Zion,” a compilation album of his music titled “Legend” (released in 1984) is still reggae music’s best-selling album, going 10 times “Platinum” (or “Diamond”) in the U.S., and selling 20 million copies worldwide.
Also, not to mention, is his musical message being carried on not only by untold musicians performing his music, but by his off-spring as well. Bob’s religious tendency was Rastafari, and the Rastafarians take the Book of Genesis as gospel- as it said to “go forth and multiply,” he took the advice seriously, creating at least ten amazingly-talented children with his wife, Rita (one of his original “I-Threes” back up singers) and his various lovers. They are Cedella (named after Bob’s mother), David “Ziggy,” Stephen, Robert “Robbie,” Rohan, Karen, Julian, Ky-mani, Damian and Makeda. While Ziggy, accompanied by his brothers and sisters as “The Melody Makers,” turned on a whole new generation to the experience of their father’s musical and spiritual experience beginning in the mid 80’s, it was Damian who amazed people later, combining the styles of reggae and hip-hop. He is nick-named “Junior Gong,” after his father’s early nick-name, “Tuff Gong.” Bob’s nick-name became the name of a record label formed by the Wailers in 1970, which was in turn an echo of that nick-name given to the founder of the Rastafarian movement, Leonard “The Gong” Howell. While Stephen has won five Grammies, Ziggy and his Melody Makers four, Damian has won three. (Detailed bios of the Marley family, along with a plethora of info on Bob and his music are available at www.bobmarley.com).
Just about 29 years ago, Bob would ad-lib some lyrics to Curtis Mayfield’s song “Keep On Movin’:” “Tell Ziggy I’m fine, and to keep the dollar in line, ‘Cause we’re soon to move now, We are…” He would then sing the chorus line “Lord, I got to keep on movin, yeah, where I can’t be found…” at a sound check for a Wailers concert, singing that line over and over for about twenty minutes, bringing tears to the eyes of his band, as they knew it was his way of saying goodbye to his musical/spiritual family.
It was at about this same time that a group of reggae-lovers in Los Angeles decided to honor Bob’s Legacy with grass-roots produced reggae concerts they would offer to the people for free, called “Bob Marley Day.” I’ll always hold in my fondest memories, some of my friends from Laguna Beach, in bands aptly titled the “Friends Band,” “Jack Miller & the International Reggae All Stars,” and the “Rebel Rockers” (with dynamic performers that included Barbara Paige and Princess Morton who recorded with some of the Wailers, and Tony Chin and Fully Fullwood of the Soul Syndicate and Peter Tosh’s band, among others) playing at some of these early tributes at the Westwood Federal Building, come rain or shine.
So, it’s been quite a long haul for this dedicated (or, as the Rasta’s call it: “live-a-cated”) group to keep the tribute going over the decades, and the transformation from the old “Bob Marley Day” celebrations to the more recent “Ragga Muffins Festival” has been quite amazing to witness. Now these concerts that still honor (in every way except in name, for the inevitable legal reasons) Robert Nesta Marley in the month of his birth, end up selling out in their huge Long Beach and Oakland venues.
In this year’s Ragga Muffins Festival at the Long Beach Arena on Saturday, February 20th and Sunday the 21st, the musical line up with many LIVING LEGEND Reggae Stars is nothing short of “STELLAR.” Because of space limitations with this article, I must ask the reader to do some “home work” on the internet to find out the impact that these legends have made on World Music- unless of course you know what I mean when I give you names like Don Carlos, Frankie Paul, Yellowman, Big Youth, Barrington Levy, Gregory Isaacs, The Mighty Diamonds, Capleton, Cocoa Tea… Other performers of note are Shaggy, Gramps Morgan, Bajah & the Dry Eye Crew, the Mystic Roots Band, Yellow Wall Dub Squad, Taurus Riley, Alborosie, Konshens, David Kirton, the Lions, and Detour Posse, w/more to be announced! And of course, many of you desert-dwellers may have caught the reggae group “The Aggrolites” (performing on Sunday) “crucially moshing it up inna yard-style” at the Coachella Festival last year (and please know that the term “moshing it up,” that “reefers” to a “hard-driving dance beat” came from Jamaica long before the punkers adopted it into their physically harmful version!).
The concert’s doors open at 12 noon and you are going to want to get there early, as the festival offers “North America’s largest International Food and Crafts Fair!” Also, this “Family-Friendly Event” offers free admission to children 12 and under (when accompanied by a paid adult), and the kids-oriented activity space of the “What About the Children? Foundation” has become a welcome annual tradition, with its storytellers, face painting and other enriching activities. Ticket prices are a reasonable $38- to $60- (plus applicable service charges) and are available by phone at (800) 745-3000 or online at www.ticketmaster.com and for more information you can call the Ragga Muffins Festival hotline at (310) 515-3322 or go to raggamuffinsfestival.com and myspace.com/raggamuffinsfestival
On the local front, don’t miss the combined celebration of Bob Marley’s and all other Aquarius (or “Aquari-I”) birthdays AND the HAALOS Healing Arts Center’s One Year Anniversary in the “Vortex Construction Zone” of Desert Hot Springs, on Bob’s actual birthday, Sat., Feb. 6, 8pm on, with a live “open mic reggae jam,” dancing, refreshments and fun! (12078 Palm Dr., DHS 92240)
-Sunny Sun-Downer can be contacted at conchustimes@yahoo.com and his articles for the Desert Valley Star are archived at www.conchustimes.blogspot.com as well as www.desertvalleystar.com