Robert Macomber "Bob" Akin, III was a successful business executive, journalist, television commentator and champion sports car racing driver.

Biography[link]

Bob Akin was born March 6, 1936, in North Tarrytown, N.Y., and was raised in Sleepy Hollow Manor. He was educated at Hackley School in Tarrytown and later served on its board for 30 years and as president from 1980 to 1990. At Columbia University, he earned a bachelor's degree in engineering and a master's degree in business administration. He spent 40 years with the Hudson Wire Company in Ossining, N.Y., which was founded by his grandfather in 1901, and was president from 1974 until he retired in 1995. In 1989 the company was dominating the worldwide aircraft and aerospace wiring market when it was sold to the Phelps Dodge Corporation.

Akin began his racing career in 1957, competing in outboard boat racing and in drag racing in 1957 and 1958. He switched to road racing, acquiring his amateur SCCA national racing license in 1959 and hired legendary sports car racer John Fitch as his driving coach. Proving a quick study, he piloted an Alfa Veloce Spider to his first win in only his third race at Bridgehampton. He drove a front engine Volpini Formula Junior in 1960, then switched to a 1957 Ferrari 500 TRC for several races during the early part of the 1961 season, before retiring in July of that year, to concentrate on the family business.

Almost by accident, Akin returned to racing in 1973, after accepting an invitation from his friend, Sam Posey, to drive a few laps in his Mercedes-Benz 300SL, at the July 4th, 1973 Vintage Sports Car Club of America event at Lime Rock Park. Within a month, he was back at it in earnest, driving a Lotus 11 in vintage racing events until switching to the 1959 Cooper-Monaco that would prove to be his favorite racer, in 1975.

In 1978, he purchased a Porsche RSR Carrera thinking it would be fun to run in the 1978 12 Hours of Sebring. They ran what was considered to be a test run at Daytona, before the Sebring event, then continued on racing a full season that would include racing at Le Mans with a Porsche 935 Turbo. Now solidly back in the drivers seat, compiled an impressive list of achievements, highlighted by a 6-Hour win at Watkins Glen, '79 and '86 12 Hours of Sebring victories, two second-place finishes in the '81 and '82 24 Hours of Daytona, six appearances, including a fourth overall in '84, at Le Mans. He won the IMSA Camel GT series in 1986 and had four top-10 finishes in IMSA Endurance Championship points standings. He was also a member and former president of the prestigious Road Racing Drivers Club.

Akin retired from professional racing in 1991 but stayed quite active in the sport. He returned to racing his beloved vintage and historic cars, competed in the Fastmasters racing series, wrote articles for Road & Track magazine, and did on-air commentary for Speedvision, TBS and ESPN television. Following his retirement from Hudson Wire Company, in 1995, Akin also devoted his time to the management of Bob Akin Motorsports (Now Hudson Historics), which specializes in the restoration and race preparation of historic race cars.

On April 25, 2002, he was gravely injured in a violent crash while testing a powerful (900-plus horsepower, twin-turborged V-6) 1988 Nissan GTP ZX-Turbo for the Walter Mitty Challenge for historic cars at Road Atlanta. His injuries included a broken neck, left leg, left shoulder and right arm, along with third-degree burns over 15 percent of his body. He was airlifted to Grady Memorial Hospital after the accident. After briefly rallying, the 66 year old succumbed due to complications from his injuries on April 29, 2002.

The Bob Akin Memorial Motorsports Award[link]

In memory of the late Bob Akin, the Road Racing Drivers Club (RRDC) established the Bob Akin Memorial Motorsports Award, in 2003. The selection committee consists of Brian Redman, Archie Urciuoli and Bob's son, Bobby Akin. The permanent trophy, designed by Steuben Glass, in Corning, New York, is inscribed with the name and year of award of each annual recipient, and displayed at the International Motor Racing Research Center at Watkins Glen, New York. Individual replica trophies are given to each honoree.

“The Akin award is for ‘speed with style’ which aptly describes Bob Akin” said RRDC President Bobby Rahal. “Not every member of the RRDC is a professional driver, but every one loves racing and is a good guy, and that perfectly describes Bob.” The Road Racing Drivers Club presents the Bob Akin Memorial Motorsports Award annually to the race driver who exemplifies the characteristics for which Bob was known and respected:

• A passion for motorsports and automobiles
• A history of successful amateur and/or vintage racing
• A high level of sportsmanship and fair play
• An articulate and courteous presence
• A sharp wit and mischievous sense of humor
• A broad range of interests and meticulous attention to detail
• A record of contribution to motorsports and the community
• A devotion to family and friends

Bob Akin Memorial Motorsports Award Recipients[link]

2003 – Sam Posey

2004 – Charlie Gibson

2005 – John Fitch

2006 – Jim Haynes

2007 – Cameron Argetsinger

2008 – Jim Downing

2009 – Steven J. Earle

2010 – Augie Pabst

Primary Information Sources[link]

Bob Ong, or Roberto Ong, is the pseudonym of a contemporary Filipino author known for using conversational Filipino to create humorous and reflective depictions of Philippine life.^[2][3] His actual name is not known.

Website[link]

The pseudonym Bob Ong came about when the author was working as a web developer and a teacher, and he put up the Bobong Pinoy website in his spare time. The name roughly translates as "Dumb Filipino," used fondly as a diminutive term.^[4] "Although impressed," Bob Ong notes, "my boss would've fired me had he known I was the one behind it." When someone contacted him after mistaking him as an actual person named Bob Ong, his famous pseudonym was born.^[2] The site received a People's Choice Philippine Web Award for Weird/Humor in 1998, but was taken down after former President Joseph "Erap" Estrada was ousted after the Second People Power Revolution.^[5]

Pseudonym[link]

There have been occasional confusions between Bob Ong and Chinese-Filipino author Charlson Ong. However, Bob Ong himself refutes this in his account in Stainless Longganisa, saying his surname is not "Ong" and neither is he even Filipino-Chinese. The family name was instead derived from wordplay on the name of his website.^[1]

The poet Paolo Manalo has also been put forward as Ong, but he has denied this.^[6] Internet rumors also persist that Lourd de Veyra, a popular TV personality, writer, and musician is Ong himself, but he has not yet confirmed nor denied this.^{[citation needed]}

Published Works[link]

Acclaim[link]

The six books he has published thus far have surpassed a quarter of a million copies.^[2] One reviewer notes (translated from vernacular Filipino):

" Filipinos really patronize Bob Ong's works because, while most of his books may have an element of comedy in them, this is presented in a manner that replicates Filipino culture and traditions. This is likely the reason why his first book - and those that followed it, can be considered true Pinoy classics."^[7]

References[link]

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Todd Akin
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Missouri's 2nd district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2001
Preceded by	Jim Talent
Member of the Missouri House of Representatives from the 86th district
In office 1993–2001
Preceded by	John Hancock
Succeeded by	Jane Cunningham
Member of the Missouri House of Representatives from the 85th district
In office 1989–1993
Preceded by	Franc Flotron
Succeeded by	Chris Liese
Personal details
Born	William Todd Akin (1947-07-05) July 5, 1947 (age 64) New York City, New York
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Lulli Akin
Residence	Wildwood, St. Louis County, Missouri
Alma mater	Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Covenant Theological Seminary
Occupation	Engineer, plant manager
Religion	Presbyterian Church in America
Military service
Service/branch	United States Army National Guard
Years of service	1972-1980
Unit	Missouri

William Todd Akin (born July 5, 1947) is the U.S. Representative for Missouri's 2nd congressional district, serving since 2001. He is a member of the Republican Party.

The district includes the western St. Louis suburbs of Ballwin, Kirkwood, Chesterfield, Wildwood, Town and Country, and Des Peres located along Interstate 270 in West County and the northwestern exurbs of St. Charles and St. Peters in St. Charles County.

Early life, education, and business career[link]

Akin was born in New York City, the son of Nancy Perry (née Bigelow) and Rev. Paul Bigelow Akin.^[1] He moved to St. Louis and attended John Burroughs School. After graduating, he attended the Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Massachusetts where he earned a degree in management engineering, and in 1984 he earned a Master of Divinity degree at Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis. During college he was member of Phi Gamma Delta fraternity.

From 1972 to 1980, Akin served in the Missouri National Guard.^[2] After his military career, he took up work at IBM as an engineer and later became a manager at Laclede Steel Company.

Missouri House of Representatives[link]

Elections[link]

Akin was elected to the Missouri House of Representatives representing western St. Louis County (West County) in 1988. He won re-election in 1990 (59%),^[3] 1992 (100%),^[4] 1994 (70%),^[5] 1996 (67%),^[6] and 1998 (66%).^[7]

Tenure[link]

As a State Representative, Akin earned a reputation as one of the most conservative members of the Republican caucus. He voted for carrying concealed weapons, voted against the parks and soils sales tax, voted against the 1993 tax increase and education spending increase.^[8] Akin sponsored legislation to prohibit casino companies from contributing to Missouri state lawmakers.^[9] In 1995, he fought Democrat Governor Mel Carnahan on state-funding for abortion, which Akin opposed.^[10]

Committee assignments[link]

He was a member of the Ways and Means House Committee.^[11]

U.S. House of Representatives[link]

Akin is listed in the House roll as "R-St. Louis". The likely reason is that many areas in the St. Louis County portion of the district, including one of his district offices, have St. Louis addresses, even though the district does not include any part of the city of St. Louis itself.

Elections[link]

In 2000, Republican U.S. Representative Jim Talent vacated the seat in his unsuccessful run for Governor of Missouri. Akin won a closely contested Republican primary election to replace Talent, defeating former St. Louis County Executive Gene McNary and State Senator Franc Flotron.^[12] He defeated Democratic State Senator Ted House in the general election, winning 55 percent of the vote.^[13] In 2010, Akin won re-election with 67.9% of the vote.^[14] He had been challenged for the seat by Democratic nominee Arthur Lieber, Libertarian nominee Steve Mosbacher, and write-in candidate Patrick M. Cannon.

Tenure[link]

Akin was an outspoken opponent of abortion and embryonic stem cell research, a supporter of the right to keep and bear arms, and is generally opposed to increases in taxation and spending. As a U.S. Representative, he has continued to support these views, earning a 96% rating from the American Conservative Union in 2008, and 100% in 2007.^[15]

Akin is a staunch advocate of a federal prohibition of online poker. In 2006, he co-sponsored H.R. 4411, the Goodlatte-Leach Internet Gambling Prohibition Act,^[16] and H.R. 4777, the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act.^[17]

Home of record

In May 2011, questions were raised about Akin's official address for voting. According to the Associated Press and St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Akin has continued to list his family home in the Town and Country section of St. Louis County as his home of record, despite having lived in the suburb of Wildwood since at least 2009, and perhaps as early as 2007, when he and his wife purchased a home there. As recently as April 2011, Akin signed a polling place logbook attesting to his living in Town and Country. According to the Missouri Secretary of State's office, anyone knowingly giving false information to election workers is guilty of a felony violation of state election laws.^[18][19]

Liberalism and God

In late June 2011, Akin was discussing NBC's recent removal of the words "under God" from a video clip of the Pledge of Allegiance. Akin told radio host Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council that:

Well, I think NBC has a long record of being very liberal, and at the heart of liberalism really is a hatred for God and a belief that government should replace God.... This is a systematic effort to try to separate our faith and God, which is a source in our belief in individual liberties, from our country. And when you do that you tear the heart out of our country.^[20]

Two days later, Akin said in a radio interview there he would not apologize, since he meant that not all liberals hate God, only that liberals have "a hatred for public references for God." The next day, he said:

People who know me and my family know that we take our faith and beliefs very seriously. As Christians, we would never question the sincerity of anyone's personal relationship with God. My statement during my radio interview was directed at the political movement, Liberalism, not at any specific individual. If my statement gave a different impression, I offer my apologies.^[21]

In August 2011, a group of local pastors was still trying to arrange a meeting with Akin to discuss his statement and apology.^[22]

Committee assignments[link]

• Committee on Armed Services
  • Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces
  • Subcommittee on Seapower and Expeditionary Forces (Chairman)
• Committee on the Budget
• Committee on Science, Space and Technology
  • Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics
  • Subcommittee on Energy and Environment

Caucus memberships[link]

• Republican Study Committee
• Tea Party Caucus

2012 U.S. Senate election[link]

In mid-May 2011, Akin announced his intention to seek the Republican nomination in 2012 to unseat first-term Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill.^[23] Other candidates in the August 2012 Republican primary include businessman John Brunner,^[24] author and business executive Mark Memoly,^[25] and former Missouri Treasurer Sarah Steelman,.^[26]

Electoral history[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• U.S. Congressman Todd Akin official U.S. House site
• Todd Akin for Congress official campaign site
• Biography at WhoRunsGov.com at The Washington Post
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Congressional profile at GovTrack
• Congressional profile at OpenCongress
• Issue positions and quotes at On the Issues
• Financial information at OpenSecrets.org
• Staff salaries, trips and personal finance at LegiStorm.com
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Campaign contributions at the National Institute for Money in State Politics
• Appearances on C-SPAN programs
• Profile at SourceWatch

Bob Marley
Bob Marley performing in concert, circa 1980.
Background information
Birth name	Robert Nesta Marley
Also known as	Tuff Gong
Born	(1945-02-06)6 February 1945 Nine Mile, Saint Ann, Jamaica
Died	11 May 1981(1981-05-11) (aged 36) Miami, Florida, U.S.
Genres	Reggae, ska, rocksteady
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, musician
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, piano, saxophone, harmonica, percussion
Years active	1962–1981
Labels	Studio One, Upsetter, Tuff Gong
Associated acts	Bob Marley & The Wailers, Wailers Band, The Upsetters, I Threes
Website	bobmarley.com

Robert Nesta "Bob" Marley, OM (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981) was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and musician. He was the rhythm guitarist and lead singer for the ska, rocksteady and reggae band Bob Marley & The Wailers (1963–1981). Marley remains the most widely known and revered performer of reggae music, and is credited with helping spread both Jamaican music and the Rastafari movement to a worldwide audience.^[1]

Marley's music was heavily influenced by the social issues of his homeland, and he is considered to have given voice to the specific political and cultural nexus of Jamaica.^[2] His best-known hits include "I Shot the Sheriff", "No Woman, No Cry", "Could You Be Loved", "Stir It Up", "Get Up Stand Up", "Jamming", "Redemption Song", "One Love" and, "Three Little Birds",^[3] as well as the posthumous releases "Buffalo Soldier" and "Iron Lion Zion". The compilation album Legend (1984), released three years after his death, is reggae's best-selling album, going ten times Platinum which is also known as one Diamond in the U.S.,^[4] and selling 25 million copies worldwide.^[5][6]

Early life and career[link]

Bob Marley was born in the village of Nine Mile in Saint Ann Parish, Jamaica as Nesta Robert Marley.^[7] A Jamaican passport official would later swap his first and middle names.^[8] His father, Norval Sinclair Marley, was a white Jamaican of mixed and English descent whose family came from Sussex, England. Norval was a captain in the Royal Marines,^{[citation needed]} as well as a plantation overseer, when he married Cedella Booker, an Afro-Jamaican then 18 years old.^[9] Norval provided financial support for his wife and child, but seldom saw them, as he was often away on trips. In 1955, when Bob Marley was 10 years old, his father died of a heart attack at age 70.^[10] Marley faced questions about his own racial identity throughout his life. He once reflected:

I don't have prejudice against meself. My father was a white and my mother was black. Them call me half-caste or whatever. Me don't deh pon nobody's side. Me don't deh pon the black man's side nor the white man's side. Me deh pon God's side, the one who create me and cause me to come from black and white.^[11]

The Bob Marley House in Nine Mile is a home that he shared with his mother during his youth

Although Marley recognised his mixed ancestry, throughout his life and because of his beliefs, he self-identified as a black African, following the ideas of Pan-African leaders. Marley stated that his two biggest influences were the African-centered Marcus Garvey and Haile Selassie. A central theme in Bob Marley's message was the repatriation of black people to Zion, which in his view was Ethiopia, or more generally, Africa.^[12] In songs such as "Black Survivor", "Babylon System", and "Blackman Redemption", Marley sings about the struggles of blacks and Africans against oppression from the West or "Babylon".^[13]

Marley and his step brother Bunny Wailer (Bob's mother had a daughter with Bunny's father, younger sister to both of them) started to play music while he was still at school, which he left at the age of 14 to make music with Joe Higgs, a local singer and devout Rastafari. At a jam session with Higgs and Livingston, Marley met Peter McIntosh (later known as Peter Tosh), who had similar musical ambitions.^[14] In 1962, Marley recorded his first two singles, "Judge Not" and "One Cup of Coffee", with local music producer Leslie Kong. These songs, released on the Beverley's label under the pseudonym of Bobby Martell,^[15] attracted little attention. The songs were later re-released on the box set Songs of Freedom, a posthumous collection of Marley's work. Marley was also known to use an Epiphone guitar for much of his career.

Bob Marley Epiphone guitar at his birthplace in Nine Mile, Jamaica.

Bob Marley & The Wailers[link]

1963–1974[link]

Marley in concert in 1980, Zurich, Switzerland

In 1963, Bob Marley, Bunny Wailer, Peter Tosh, Junior Braithwaite, Beverley Kelso, and Cherry Smith formed a ska and rocksteady group, calling themselves "The Teenagers". They later changed their name to "The Wailing Rudeboys", then to "The Wailing Wailers", at which point they were discovered by record producer Coxsone Dodd, and finally to "The Wailers". By 1966, Braithwaite, Kelso, and Smith had left The Wailers, leaving the core trio of Bob Marley, Bunny Wailer, and Peter Tosh.^[16]

In 1966, Marley married Rita Anderson, and moved near his mother's residence in Wilmington, Delaware in the United States for a short time, during which he worked as a DuPont lab assistant and on the assembly line at a Chrysler plant, under the alias Donald Marley.^[17]

Though raised in the Catholic tradition, Marley became captivated by Rastafarian beliefs in the 1960s, when away from his mother's influence.^[18] Formally converted to Rastafari after returning to Jamaica, Marley began to wear his trademark dreadlocks (see the religion section for more on Marley's religious views). After a conflict with Dodd, Marley and his band teamed up with Lee "Scratch" Perry and his studio band, The Upsetters. Although the alliance lasted less than a year, they recorded what many consider The Wailers' finest work. Marley and Perry split after a dispute regarding the assignment of recording rights, but they would remain friends and work together again.

Bob Marley's flat in 1972 at 34 Ridgmount Gardens, Bloomsbury, London, his first UK address.^[19][20]

Between 1968 and 1972, Bob and Rita Marley, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer re-cut some old tracks with JAD Records in Kingston and London in an attempt to commercialise The Wailers' sound. Bunny later asserted that these songs "should never be released on an album ... they were just demos for record companies to listen to". Also in 1968, Bob and Rita visited the Bronx to see Johnny Nash's songwriter Jimmy Norman.^[21] A three-day jam session with Norman and others, including Norman's co-writer Al Pyfrom, resulted in a 24-minute tape of Marley performing several of his own and Norman-Pyfrom's compositions. This tape is, according to Reggae archivist Roger Steffens, rare in that it was influenced by pop rather than reggae, as part of an effort to break Marley into the American charts.^[21] According to an article in The New York Times, Marley experimented on the tape with different sounds, adopting a doo-wop style on "Stay With Me" and "the slow love song style of 1960's artists" on "Splish for My Splash".^[21] An artist yet to establish himself outside his native Jamaica, Marley lived in Ridgmount Gardens, Bloomsbury, London during 1972.^[19][20]

In 1972, the Wailers entered into an ill-fated deal with CBS Records and embarked on a tour with American soul singer Johnny Nash. Broke, the Wailers became stranded in London. Marley turned up at Island Records founder and producer Chris Blackwell's London office, and asked him to advance the cost of a new single. Since Jimmy Cliff, Island's top reggae star, had recently left the label, Blackwell was primed for a replacement. In Marley, Blackwell recognized the elements needed to snare the rock audience: "I was dealing with rock music, which was really rebel music. I felt that would really be the way to break Jamaican music. But you needed someone who could be that image. When Bob walked in he really was that image."^[22] Blackwell told Marley he wanted The Wailers to record a complete album (essentially unheard of at the time). When Marley told him it would take between £3,000 and £4,000, Blackwell trusted him with the greater sum. Despite their "rude boy" reputation, the Wailers returned to Kingston and honored the deal, delivering the album Catch A Fire.

Primarily recorded on eight-track at Harry J's in Kingston, Catch A Fire marked the first time a reggae band had access to a state-of-the-art studio and were accorded the same care as their rock'n'roll peers.^[22] Blackwell desired to create "more of a drifting, hypnotic-type feel than a reggae rhythm",^[23] and restructured Marley's mixes and arrangements. Marley travelled to London to supervise Blackwell's overdubbing of the album, which included tempering the mix from the bass-heavy sound of Jamaican music, and omitting two tracks.^[22]

The Wailers' first major label album, Catch a Fire was released worldwide in April 1973, packaged like a rock record with a unique Zippo lighter lift-top. Initially selling 14,000 units, it didn't make Marley a star, but received a positive critical reception.^[22] It was followed later that year by Burnin', which included the standout songs "Get Up, Stand Up", and "I Shot the Sheriff", which appealed to the ear of Eric Clapton. He recorded a cover of the track in 1974 which became a huge American hit, raising Marley's international profile.^[24] Many Jamaicans were not keen on the new "improved" reggae sound on Catch A Fire, but the Trenchtown style of Burnin' found fans across both reggae and rock audiences.^[22]

During this period, Blackwell gifted his Kingston residence and company headquarters at 56 Hope Road (then known as Island House) to Marley. Housing Tuff Gong Studios, the property became not only Marley's office, but also his home.^[22]

The Wailers were scheduled to open 17 shows for the number one black act in the States, Sly and the Family Stone. After 4 shows, the band was fired because they were more popular than the acts they were opening for.^[25] The Wailers broke up in 1974 with each of the three main members pursuing solo careers. The reason for the breakup is shrouded in conjecture; some believe that there were disagreements amongst Bunny, Peter, and Bob concerning performances, while others claim that Bunny and Peter simply preferred solo work.

1974–1981[link]

Bob Marley & The Wailers live at Crystal Palace Park during the Uprising Tour

Despite the break-up, Marley continued recording as "Bob Marley & The Wailers". His new backing band included brothers Carlton and Aston "Family Man" Barrett on drums and bass respectively, Junior Marvin and Al Anderson on lead guitar, Tyrone Downie and Earl "Wya" Lindo on keyboards, and Alvin "Seeco" Patterson on percussion. The "I Threes", consisting of Judy Mowatt, Marcia Griffiths, and Marley's wife, Rita, provided backing vocals. In 1975, Marley had his international breakthrough with his first hit outside Jamaica, "No Woman, No Cry", from the Natty Dread album. This was followed by his breakthrough album in the United States, Rastaman Vibration (1976), which spent four weeks on the Billboard Hot 100.^[26] On 3 December 1976, two days before "Smile Jamaica", a free concert organised by the Jamaican Prime Minister Michael Manley in an attempt to ease tension between two warring political groups, Marley, his wife, and manager Don Taylor were wounded in an assault by unknown gunmen inside Marley's home. Taylor and Marley's wife sustained serious injuries, but later made full recoveries. Bob Marley received minor wounds in the chest and arm.^[27] The shooting was thought to have been politically motivated, as many felt the concert was really a support rally for Manley. Nonetheless, the concert proceeded, and an injured Marley performed as scheduled, two days after the attempt. When asked why, Marley responded, "The people who are trying to make this world worse aren’t taking a day off. How can I?" The members of the group Zap Pow, which had no radical religious or political beliefs, played as Bob Marley's backup band before a festival crowd of 80,000 while members of The Wailers were still missing or in hiding.^[28][29]

Marley left Jamaica at the end of 1976, and after a month-long "recovery and writing" sojourn at the site of Chris Blackwell's Compass Point Studios in Nassau, Bahamas, arrived in England, where he spent two years in self-imposed exile. Whilst there he recorded the albums Exodus and Kaya. Exodus stayed on the British album charts for 56 consecutive weeks. It included four UK hit singles: "Exodus", "Waiting in Vain", "Jamming", and "One Love" (a rendition of Curtis Mayfield's hit, "People Get Ready"). During his time in London, he was arrested and received a conviction for possession of a small quantity of cannabis.^[30] In 1978, Marley returned to Jamaica and performed at another political concert, the One Love Peace Concert, again in an effort to calm warring parties. Near the end of the performance, by Marley's request, Michael Manley (leader of then-ruling People's National Party) and his political rival Edward Seaga (leader of the opposing Jamaica Labour Party), joined each other on stage and shook hands.^[31]

Under the name Bob Marley and the Wailers eleven albums were released, four live albums and seven studio albums. The releases included Babylon by Bus, a double live album with thirteen tracks, were released in 1978 and received critical acclaim. This album, and specifically the final track "Jamming" with the audience in a frenzy, captured the intensity of Marley's live performances.^[32]

Survival, a defiant and politically charged album, was released in 1979. Tracks such as "Zimbabwe", "Africa Unite", "Wake Up and Live", and "Survival" reflected Marley's support for the struggles of Africans. His appearance at the Amandla Festival in Boston in July 1979 showed his strong opposition to South African apartheid, which he already had shown in his song "War" in 1976. In early 1980, he was invited to perform at the 17 April celebration of Zimbabwe's Independence Day. Uprising (1980) was Bob Marley's final studio album, and is one of his most religious productions; it includes "Redemption Song" and "Forever Loving Jah".^[34] Confrontation, released posthumously in 1983, contained unreleased material recorded during Marley's lifetime, including the hit "Buffalo Soldier" and new mixes of singles previously only available in Jamaica.^[35]

Personal life[link]

Religion[link]

Bob Marley was a member of the Rastafari movement, whose culture was a key element in the development of reggae. Bob Marley became an ardent proponent of Rastafari, taking their music out of the socially deprived areas of Jamaica and onto the international music scene. He once gave the following response, which was typical, to a question put to him during a recorded interview:

• Interviewer: "Can you tell the people what it means being a Rastafarian?"
• Bob: "I would say to the people, Be still, and know that His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia is the Almighty. Now, the Bible seh so, Babylon newspaper seh so, and I and I the children seh so. Yunno? So I don't see how much more reveal our people want. Wha' dem want? a white God, well God come black. True true."^[36]

Observant of the Rastafari practice Ital, a diet that shuns meat, Marley was a vegetarian.^[37] According to his biographers, he affiliated with the Twelve Tribes Mansion. He was in the denomination known as "Tribe of Joseph", because he was born in February (each of the twelve sects being composed of members born in a different month). He signified this in his album liner notes, quoting the portion from Genesis that includes Jacob's blessing to his son Joseph. Marley was baptised by the Archbishop of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church in Kingston, Jamaica, on 4 November 1980.^[38][39]

Family[link]

Bob Marley had a number of children: three with his wife Rita, two adopted from Rita's previous relationships, and several others with different women. The Bob Marley official website acknowledges eleven children.

Those listed on the official site are:

1. Sharon, born 23 November 1964, to Rita in previous relationship
2. Cedella born 23 August 1967, to Rita
3. David "Ziggy", born 17 October 1968, to Rita
4. Stephen, born 20 April 1972, to Rita
5. Robert "Robbie", born 16 May 1972, to Pat Williams
6. Rohan, born 19 May 1972, to Janet Hunt
7. Karen, born 1973 to Janet Bowen
8. Stephanie, born 17 August 1974; according to Cedella Booker she was the daughter of Rita and a man called Ital with whom Rita had an affair; nonetheless she was acknowledged as Bob's daughter
9. Julian, born 4 June 1975, to Lucy Pounder
10. Ky-Mani, born 26 February 1976, to Anita Belnavis
11. Damian, born 21 July 1978, to Cindy Breakspeare

Makeda was born on 30 May 1981, to Yvette Crichton, after Marley's death.^[40] Meredith Dixon's book lists her as Marley's child, but she is not listed as such on the Bob Marley official website.

Various websites, for example,^[41] also list Imani Carole, born 22 May 1963 to Cheryl Murray; but she does not appear on the official Bob Marley website.^[40]

Final years and death[link]

Marley performing in Dalymount Park in the late 1970s