As his motorcade passed her, he waved and nodded to her in his open palm, she believed she saw the nail prints of the crucifixion, and from that moment on, her faith was unwavering. When Selassie visited the island, she turned out with thousands of others to see him for herself, hoping for a sign. Rastafarianism, the religion that holds that Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia was the risen Christ who would lead blacks the world over to freedom, was beginning to exert a powerful influence in Kingston during the late 1960s, but Rita Marley remained skeptical. Record company -Shanachie Records, 37 East Clinton St., Newton, NJ 07860. Proprietor of Ethiopian restaurant, Kingston, Jamaica manager of Bob Marley museum, Kingston executive of Tuff Gong Records.Īddresses: Home -Kingston, Jamaica. Producer with Rita Marley Records producer and manager for the Melody Makers. Began performance career, mid-1960s, sometimes under pseudonyms Esete and Ganette member of the Soulettes, mid- to late 1960s member, with Marcia Griffiths and Judy Mowatt, of trio I Threes, beginning in early 1970s with I Threes, toured North and South America, Europe, and Africa with Bob Marley and the Wailers, 1974-80. For the Record …īorn Alpharita Constantia Anderson in 1947 in Cuba married Robert Nesta Marley (a musician), Februchildren: (with Marley) David (Ziggy), Cedella, Stephen, Stephanie Sharon, Serita.
His attitude toward the Soulettes remained professional, critical, and distant, so Rita was astonished when Bunny Wailer delivered a handwritten note to her from Bob, in which he declared his love for her. Their early hits - performed in the light “ska ” style that preceded the development of the reggae sound -included “Pied Piper ” and “I Love You Baby, ” arranged by Bob Marley. He proved to be a stern taskmaster, but his hard-driving ways soon paid off the Soulettes quickly became almost as popular as the Wailers. He set Rita up in an all-female trio called the Soulettes and gave Bob Marley the responsibility of developing their sound.
She gathered her courage to call out to them, begging them to arrange an audition for her at Dodd ’s. Rita, a Sunday school teacher in the Christian church at the time, found their tough appearance somewhat intimidating but the sweet sound of their music convinced her that they could not be as bad as they looked. The Wailers captured Rita ’s attention as they passed by her house every day on their way to rehearse at Coxsone Dodd ’s recording studios. He was a couple of years older than she, and along with his friends Bunny Wailer and Peter Tosh, he was enjoying the first flush of fame with his musical trio, the Wailers. She was eighteen years old, the mother of an illegitimate child, living with her aunt in a shack made of sheet metal. But the music called “reggae ” had not yet emerged when Rita first met the young man who would develop into its greatest proponent, Robert Marley. During the 1960s she achieved stardom in her own right as a solo artist (sometimes singing under the pseudonyms Esete and Ganette) and as a member of the Soulettes after marrying Marley, she co-wrote many of his best-loved songs and shared the world stage alongside him as a member of his backing group the I Threes after his death, she took her solo career to new heights and helped guide the Melody Makers to their triumphs.īorn in poverty in Cuba, Rita Marley was raised from early childhood in Trenchtown, a Kingston, Jamaica, ghetto that nurtured many of reggae ’s greatest musicians. But Rita Marley ’s own musical achievements are as impressive as those of her family tree. Even if she had never sung a note in her life, few would question her right to be so called, for she is the widow of the late reggae master Bob Marley and mother of all the members of the Grammy Award-winning reggae quartet the Melody Makers. “Queen of Reggae ” is a title often used to describe Rita Marley.
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