marley talks of reggae and rasta
DESCRIPTION
INTERVIEW WITH BOB MARLEYTRANSCRIPT
Fridav, Ju lv f l . 1976 Journal-News. Hamilton,Ohio Page 11
Records Marley talks of Raggae and RastaBy MAUY CAMPBELL
AP Newsffatures"If God don'l give you a song lo sing, you still ain't
got no song to sing."That is Bob Marley talking, explaining that although
ho is the most popular reggae performer in his nativeJamaica and in the Unites Stales, "no one is greaterlhan Ihe other."
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Reggae — the word comes from a 1968 song hit —isn't a big segment of the popular music scene inAmerica. However, records py Bob Marley and IheWailers sell well, Their newest LP. "UastamanVibration," on Island Records, was No. 14 on thenational best-selling chart of June 19, and climbing.
Somesay that Americans can't dance to reggae andlhat reggae records are no good for discotheque forthat reason. The music has constant drumming, loudbass and rhythmic emphasis on the first beat insteadof the second.
Marley says it isn't true that Americans can't danceto it. On a six-week tour of 18 cities, his fourth lour inthe Uniled Stales, he says. "If they got space theydance to it. It they go in a theater, they stand up attheir scats and shake. The beat is bomb, bomb, bomb,bomb; Ihe rhythm goes on. You must dance creativelylo reggae music; you must do whatever you want to dowith dancing. It's like cooking; one cook is differentfrom the other cook."
Marley is sitting, slouched back and relaxed, in abig hotel room with several members of the seven-man Wailers. a few women cooking pungent-smellingfood and a few small children. "I like to have youngbabies around." he says. "They bring blessings." Hehas lots of children of his own. he says, but they aren'ton Ihe tour. Published reports say seven.
fn Jamaica, where reggae started, "dubs" arcmade of hit records. That is a five guitar, drum, bassrhythm track, no singing. Those dub records are usedfor dancing there.
In 1974, Kric Clapton had a big record wilh Marley'ssong. "I Shot the Sheriff." Lots of musicians whoaren't Jamaican have made reggae records and goneto Kingston lo record. Some have been crilicized forwatering down reggae music, to make it commercialin America.
Marley doesn't speak against any of those per-formers. Neither docs he put down calypso. "Yes mon.I love calypso, I like all music. There used to be somebad. bad meaning great calypso singers like theMighty Sparrow. We still have some. too.
"Calypso don't play a lot on radio stations in.lamiaca. It is more a kind of tourist-like thing now
Bui calypso is good music. It developed as any music;il developed for Ihe people."
Marley is a member of Ihe Rasta sect. He says."Hiiile Selassie is the Almighty. We belong to Africa.Everyone in Ihe world will have lo respect Africa.Now when a lot of people speak of Africa, they don'lrespect that. Unt i l we all realize that civilizationstarted from Ethiopia and we multiplied from that andspread out. there will be pure war and our lives will bein torment and vexation. We have to respect Africa tof ind peace of mind.
"Tlic Devil may tell you we have no link in Africabut we have to stop letting the Devil tell us — whitepeople and black people both — and we have to Ihinkfor ourselves." His hair is in the sect's approved"dreadlocks," long, liny braids or corkscrew curls.
Some of Marley's songs talk about the sect and thefollowers, known as Rastafarians; some talk aboutslums in Jamaica. "At limes songs are aboutsitualions that exist in Jamaica but they are in-ternational situations — they also exist in other partsof the world. People suffer everywhere, in every cityand ghelto.
"But it is really dub music. II is hard rock. It iscarrying a good feeling, you know. It is really happymusic."
The group has a live album which sold well inEngland which Marley would like to have released inAmerica. Soon, he says, he's goijg to tour in Englandagain.
He's 30 and says. "The Wailers have been together
Leisureabout Ihe last live years. We worked as session 'musicians before we got the group together. At firstwe used to just sing — no instruments. Wo have a 'group still — just singing."
A lot of music the group plays is written by Marleybut not all of it. "I write some of my stuff. People arevery creative in Jamaica. I do other songs otherpeople write.
"We like to record. We like to get it on live, too. Welove music. I like to talk to pretty women. I likeeverything which is good. Everything is cool with ourgroup. We're entitled lo have a good lime. It is ourright, you know.
"God is a positive vibration. There is righteousnessin every living thing. I believe it. It is time the peoplef ind God. get it together and be cool."
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