| Bob Marley, the Natural Mystic, may yet prove to | | | | Bob Marley left behind have endured. However, in |
| be the most important musical artist of the | | | | the two decades since the great man has gone, it |
| twentieth century. Bob Marley's songs of | | | | is clear that he is without question one of the |
| determination, rebellion, and faith found an | | | | most transcendent figures of the past hundred |
| audience all over the world. Bob Marley was | | | | years. |
| reggae's leading practitioner and emissary, | | | | The last Bob Marley and the Wailers tour in 1980 |
| embodying its spirit and spreading its gospel to all | | | | attracted the largest audiences at that time for |
| corners of the globe. Bob Marley free speech | | | | any musical act in Europe. Bob Marley and the |
| carries with it some freedom to listen. | | | | Wailers was now the most important band on the |
| Reggae's most transcendent and iconic figure, Bob | | | | road that year and the new Uprising album hit |
| Marley was the first Jamaican artist to achieve | | | | every chart in Europe. Bob Marley has always |
| international super stardom, in the process | | | | defended this often maligned herb. By popularizing |
| introducing the music of his native island nation to | | | | reggae music and its marijuana celebrating lyrics, |
| the far-flung corners of the globe. Though he died | | | | Bob Marley has prompted many people to |
| prematurely at age 36, the heartbeat reggae | | | | question what they have been told, to take a |
| rhythms of the enormous body of music that | | | | fresh look at the evidence. |