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Bob Marley - Early Life
Bob Marley was born Robert Nesta Marley on February 6, 1945. Bob was born to Cedella Marley when she was 18. Bob's early life was spent in rural community of Nine Miles, nestled in the mountainous terrain of the parish of St. Ann. Residents of Nine Miles have preserved many customs derived from their African ancestry especially the art of storytelling as a means of sharing the past and time-tested traditions that are oftentimes overlooked in official historical sources. The proverbs, fables and various chores associated with rural life that were inherent to Bob's childhood would provide a deeper cultural context and an aura of mysticism to his adult songwriting.Norval and Cedella married in 1945 but Captain Marley's family strongly disapproved of their union; although the elder Marley provided financial support, the last time Bob Marley saw his father was when he was five years old; at that time, Norval took his son to Kingston to live with his nephew, a businessman, and to attend school. Eighteen months later Cedella learned that Bob wasn't going to school and was living with an elderly couple. Alarmed, she went to Kingston, found Bob and brought him home to Nine Miles.
Bob Marley begins his music career
The next chapter in the Bob Marley biography commenced in the late 1950s when Bob, barely into his teens, left St. Ann and returned to Jamaica's capital. He eventually settled in the western Kingston vicinity of Trench Town, so named because it was built over a sewage trench. A low-income community comprised of squatter-settlements and government yards developments that housed a minimum of four families, Bob Marley quickly learned to defend himself against Trench Town's rude boys and bad men. Bob's formidable street-fighting skills earned him the respectful nickname Tuff Gong.
Despite the poverty, despair and various unsavory activities that sustained some ghetto dwellers, Trench Town was also a culturally rich community where Bob Marley's abundant musical talents were nurtured. A lifelong source of inspiration, Bob immortalized Trench Town in his songs "No Woman No Cry" (1974), "Trench Town Rock" (1975) and "Trench Town", the latter released posthumously in 1983.
By the early 1960s the island's music industry was beginning to take shape, and its development gave birth to an indigenous popular Jamaican music form called ska. A local interpretation of American soul and R&B, with an irresistible accent on the offbeat, ska exerted a widespread influence on poor Jamaican youth while offering a welcomed escape from their otherwise harsh realities. Within the burgeoning Jamaican music industry, the elusive lure of stardom was now a tangible goal for many ghetto youths.
Uncertain about the prospects of a music career for her son, Cedella encouraged Bob to pursue a trade. When Bob left school at 14 years old she found him a position as a welder's apprentice, which he reluctantly accepted. After a short time on the job a tiny steel splinter became embedded in Bob's eye. Following that incident, Bob promptly quit welding and solely focused on his musical pursuits.
At 16 years old Bob Marley met another aspiring singer Desmond Dekker, who would go on to top the UK charts in 1969 with his single "Israelites". Dekker introduced Marley to another young singer, Jimmy Cliff, future star of the immortal Jamaican film "The Harder They Come", who, at age 14, had already recorded a few hit songs. In 1962 Cliff introduced Marley to producer Leslie Kong; Marley cut his first singles for Kong: "Judge Not", "Terror" and "One More Cup of Coffee", a cover of the million selling country hit by Claude Gray. When these songs failed to connect with the public, Marley was paid a mere $20.00, an exploitative practice that was widespread during the infancy of Jamaica's music business. Bob Marley reportedly told Kong he would make a lot of money from his recordings one day but he would never be able to enjoy it. Years later, when Kong released a best of The Wailers compilation against the group's wishes, he suffered a fatal heart attack at age 37.
Cognitive Personality Theory
One of the theories that best explain Marley’s personality traits is the cognitive-social theory. This theory requires several conditions to take place for certain personality behaviors to occur. “The person must encode the current situation as relevant, endow the situation with personal meaning or value, believe performing the behavior will lead to the desired outcome, believe she/he has the ability to perform it, have the ability to carry out the behavior, and regulate ongoing activity in a way that leads toward fulfilling the goal” (Kowalski & Westen, 2005, p. 435). Bob Marley unknowingly encompassed all of the criteria set forth by the cognitive research. He believed peace and love were of specific importance in life, and thus extremely relevant. He very much believed such situations of life were personal, global, and carried significant value. He knew if he could spread the word of love and peace it would take hold, and the world would be a better place. Marley did not just believe he had the ability to make a change, he knew it. He carried out the behaviors of peace, love, and several other personality traits in his everyday life. By doing so, he very much controlled and regulated his everlasting optimism.
Humanistic Existential Approach
According to the humanistic existential approaches to psychology, “people have no fixed nature and must essentially create themselves” (Kowalski & Westen, 2005, p. 450). This theory best explains Bob Marley’s behavior, for if he did not create himself to be the man he was, then he would have been no one. As a young child, Marley was quiet, shy, uninterested, and hesitant. It was not until his teen years when Bunny encouraged in his musical talents that he emerged from nature for which he had grown accustomed. Marley in his teenage years started to create the man that the world came to know and love. He created himself an iconic image after shedding his previously worn personality. Becoming something from which he was considered nothing, pushing his religious, political, and personal beliefs to the forefront of his life and what he embodied. Without the ability to create himself a new person with views, emotions, beliefs, and stand for peace and love, he would not be who he is today.
Reference Page
(2010). Bobmarley.com. Retrieved from http://web.bobmarley.com/story/?storypage=1
