The Smile Jamaica concert is considered by many to be one of the defining moments in the legacy of both Bob Marley, and music history at large. Its an amazing story, which with the help of our friend – and Bobs art director – Neville Garrick, weve chronicled in the photos posted here. We hope youll join the journey, and click to the next image.... #TodayInBobsLife Here we see Bob Marley, Joe Siblesky of Africa (right, consultant for Bob), Jamaicas junior minister Arnold Bertram (left), and other important local figures at the Jamaica House in Kingston, which was two doors down from Bobs house at 56 Hope Road, and home to the Prime Minister of Jamaica. In this photo theyre discussing the reasoning for putting on the Smile Jamaica concert in the first place. 1976 was of a time in Jamaica defined by extreme political turmoil, with the social democratic Peoples National Party (PNP) on the one side, and the conservative Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) on the other. Violence and shoot-outs had taken to the streets of Kingston, and so the concert was an idea brought about to do something free and beneficial for the people of Jamaica. Everything changed on Friday, December 3rd at 56 Hope Road, just two nights before the concert was scheduled to take place. A strange hand made its way into the cracked-open kitchen door of the rehearsal room, and began firing shots into the room until the clip had emptied. Bob turned sideways – so as to make himself a smaller target – and because of that the bullet that came his way grazed past his chest and ended up hitting him in the forearm. RitaMarley was also fortunate in that the bullet hitting her in the head did only minimal damage, and she was released the following day. Not as lucky were manager Don Taylor, who came to the hospital in critical condition, and another man from the Twelve Tribes who was shot in the stomach. Both suffered severe injuries but eventually recovered.After the shooting, everybody split (not knowing who the shooter was, or when/if he would strike again). Neville, Bob, Tyrone Downie and his girlfriend went up to a house in the mountains owned by Chris Blackwell, Strawberry Hill (in Irish Town, Jamaica), who would often let Neville use the place to work on his art projects. Rita and the kids eventually joined them later that night. Everything was very tense, nobody knew where anybody was, and Bob had no idea whether or not he was going to be able – and/or willing – to play the show. When the day came, however, everything otherwise went on as scheduled. The park was packed to the gills with 80,000+ people, all of whom were eagerly waiting Bobs arrival and set..With Bobs scheduled set time approaching, the Minister of Housing Tony Spaulding (of Trenchtown), and a fleet of policemen and squad cars showed at Blackwells home and pleaded with Bob to perform. But it was a tough decision. They still didnt know who was after them, it was an extremely open and public setting, and they still hadnt even made contact with all of the band members since the shooting (Family Man went missing, and was replaced with Richard Daley from The Third World). Eventually, however, it was Cat Coore from The Third World who convinced Bob to come down and play the show. He told Bob (by walkie talkie) how many people had come to see him perform, how positive the vibe was, and that everything was safe. As Neville tells it, at that point the group all just looked at each other and decided, lets do this. With that, they got into the police cars and headed down the hill. The crowd went wild even before they showed up, hearing the sirens in the distance and knowing exactly what that meant. The police cars were mobbed with fans upon arrival, but eventually a path was cleared, they made their way immediately to the stage, and the rest as they say, is history... #TodayInBobsLife. Watch the full concert @ youtu.be/9tnAtkWtens jah rastafari
Posted on: Sat, 06 Dec 2014 05:49:31 +0000
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