Part 2: His Children.
It’s uncommon to see the children of successful and skilled artists also have very successful musical careers. It makes sense that the majority of people think those skills are not “hereditary”. The narrative for Bob Marley, however, deviates significantly from the usual. Seven of his eleven children—singers, producers, or songwriters—are known to have worked or to be working in the music industry. The fact that Bob Marley reportedly asked his first four children to start their band, “The Melody Makers”, suggests that he was aware of his children’s musical prowess.
The Melody Makers
The first four children of Bob Marley; Ziggy Marley, Cadella Marley, Sharon Marley, and Stephen Marley, made up the band, Ziggy Marley and The Melody Makers. Ziggy was the band’s frontman and Bob Marley’s third child. The Melody Makers, who were founded in 1979, released their debut single, “Children Playing in the Streets”, which was penned by Bob Marley in 1975 as a gift to be shared with children all over the world, which they most definitely accomplished. Despite being formed in 1979, the band didn’t truly start to gain popularity until after Bob Marley’s death in 1981.
The Melody Makers released their debut album, “Play the Game Right”, in 1985. They went on to release a total of 10 Studio Albums, 1 Live Album, and 4 Compilation Albums, earning 8 Grammy Nominations and 3 wins before breaking up in 2002. It’s safe to say that they were a band that enjoyed great success.
Breaking up the band didn’t stop Bob Marley‘s kids from making music; instead, they continued on to find success in their own music careers, which is remarkable given that people would have high expectations given their father’s status as a legend in the industry, but that didn’t stop them from expressing their talents and creating quality sounds.
One of the most popular and famous Raggae artists alive is David Nesta Marley (often known by his stage name, Ziggy Marley), who is the first son of the renowned Bob Marley. He is the joint most Grammy-award winning Raggae artist ever thanks to his 8 wins from 15 nominations. Additionally, Ziggy Marley has won a Daytime Emmy award. 8 solo studio albums, 2 compilation albums, 4 live albums, and 1 video album have all been released by him.
Besides being a brilliant musician, Stephen Marley; Bob Marley’s second son, excels as a producer, earning numerous accolades. Alongside his elder brother, Ziggy, he is also the joint most Grammy-award winning Raggae artist ever with 8 wins from 11 nominations, two of those wins coming as a result of his production work on two of Damian Marley’s albums. He has released four solo studio albums that were all self-produced. Since the breakup of the Melody Makers, Cadella Marley and Sharon Marley have taken on other responsibilities and aren’t particularly involved in the music industry anymore; Cadella has only released one track since then, and Sharon has released just two, with both coming in the past one year.
In addition to the four kids who made up the Melody Makers, Bob Marley has other kids who are also doing well in the music business, Julian Marley being one of them. Similar to Stephen Marley, Julian Marley is a producer as well as a musician. He has four studio albums to his credit and has made numerous other contributions, such as playing guitar on a few tracks of the legendary Lauryn Hill’s album “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill” and helping his brother Stephen Marley, in the production of “Chant Down Babylon”, the Bob Marley remix album by various Hip-Hop and Rock artists. Julian Marley has received two Grammy nominations.
Another child who has achieved success in the music industry is Ky-Mani Marley, the tenth of Bob Marley‘s eleven children. Like many of his other siblings, Ky-Mani Marley began playing music as a teenager. He took the inspiration seriously and has since turned music into a profession. Since making his debut in 1996, he has released 8 studio albums, and he has received a Grammy nomination.
The 11th child of Bob Marley, Damian Robert Nesta “Jr. Gong” Marley, has received some of the highest praise from critics. In 1992, Damian Marley founded a band with two of his mates, which was the beginning of his musical career. The band disbanded in the 1990s, which launched Damian Marley‘s solo endeavours. When he was 18 years old, in 1996, he published his debut album, “Mr. Marley”, and the Reggae music scene responded favorably. “Welcome To Jamrock”, his third album, landed in the top 10 of the Billboard 200, as did “Distant Relatives”, his Nas-collaboration, which also debuted in the top 10.
Damian Marley has put out five collaborative albums in addition to four solo studio albums. He has received a total of 5 Grammy nominations, and he has won 4 of them. Three of his four solo studio albums have also been nominated. In addition to being the first Reggae performer to ever win in the Urban/Alternative performance category, Damian Marley is the only Jamaican Reggae musician to ever win two Grammy Awards on the same night. Among his many certifications, is the RIAA Platinum certification for “Make It Bun Dem”, his collaboration with Skrillex. His third album’s main single, “Welcome to Jamrock”, debuted at No. 55 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was included in the list of the Top 100 Songs of the Decade 2000–2010. Damain Marley is one of Bob Marley’s kids that has achieved extraordinary success in the music business.
Beyond his many successful musical children, Bob Marley‘s legacy endures. Currently, Skip Marley, one of his grandchildren, is flourishing and establishing himself in the business. Who knows whether there are still others being created? With all this, we can be certain that Bob Marley and the Marley Music Dynasty‘s legacy will endure for a very long time in people’s memories.