Tuff Gong is a record label that was formed by the reggae group The Wailers in 1965 and named after Bob Marley's nickname, which was in turn an echo of that given to founder of the Rastafari movement, Leonard "The Gong" Howell. The first single on the label was "Run For Cover" by The Wailers. After 1973, the Tuff Gong headquarters was located at 56 Hope Road, Kingston, Jamaica — Bob Marley's home. The location is now home to the Bob Marley Museum.

In Rockstar North's Grand Theft Auto IV, Tuff Gong is featured as one of the many radio stations. The station is dedicated to playing songs associated with Bob Marley, including tracks by his sons Stephen and Damian, who is also known as Jr. Gong.

The Tuff Gong label is distributed by Universal Music through Island Records.

Clothing line[link]

It is also the name of a clothing line run by one of the late musician's children, Rohan Marley.

See also[link]

• List of record labels

External links[link]

• Tuff Gong Homepage
• Tuff Gong Clothing
• Tuff Gong Worldwide

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2007)

Welded tuff from Bandelier National Monument, New Mexico

Tuff (from the Italian tufo) is a type of rock consisting of consolidated volcanic ash ejected from vents during a volcanic eruption. Tuff is sometimes called tufa, particularly when used as construction material, although tufa also refers to a quite different rock. Rock that contains greater than 50% tuff is considered tuffaceous.

Volcanic ash[link]

The products of a volcanic eruption are volcanic gases, lava, steam, and tephra. Magma is blown apart when it interacts violently with volcanic gases and steam. Solid material produced and thrown into the air by such volcanic eruptions is called tephra, regardless of composition or fragment size. If the resulting pieces of ejecta are small enough, the material is called volcanic ash, defined as such particles less than 2 mm in diameter, sand-sized or smaller. These particles are small, slaggy pieces of magma and rock that have been tossed into the air by outbursts of steam and other gases; magma may have been torn apart as it became vesicular by the expansion of the gases within it.

Breccias[link]

18.5 million-year-old tuff exposed at Hole In The Wall, Mojave National Preserve, California.

10 by 15 cm sample of tuff containing angular fragments of other rocks (Germany)

Among the loose beds of ash that cover the slopes of many volcanoes, three classes of materials are represented. In addition to true ashes of the kind described above, there are lumps of the old lavas and tuffs forming the walls of the crater, etc., which have been torn away by the violent outbursts of steam, and pieces of sedimentary rocks from the deeper parts of the volcano that were dislodged by the rising lava and are often intensely baked and recrystallized by the heat to which they have been subjected.

In some great volcanic explosions nothing but materials of the second kind were emitted, as at Mount Bandai in Japan in 1888. There have been many eruptions also in which the quantity of broken sedimentary rocks that mingled with the ash is very great; as instances we may cite the volcanoes of the Eifel and the Devonian tuffs, known as "Schalsteins," in Germany. In the Scottish coalfields some old volcanoes are plugged with masses consisting entirely of sedimentary debris: in such a case it is supposed that no lava was ejected, but the cause of the eruption was the sudden liberation and expansion of a large quantity of steam. These accessory or adventitious materials, however, as distinguished from the true ashes, tend to occur in angular fragments; and when they form a large part of the mass the rock is more properly a "volcanic breccia" than a tuff. The ashes vary in size from large blocks twenty feet or more in diameter to the minutest impalpable dust. The large masses are called "volcanic bombs"; they have mostly a rounded, elliptical or pear-shaped form owing to rotation in the air before they solidified. Many of them have ribbed or nodular surfaces, and sometimes they have a crust intersected by many cracks like the surface of a loaf of bread. Any ash in which they are very abundant is called an agglomerate.

In those layers and beds of tuff that have been spread out over considerable tracts of country and which are most frequently encountered among the sedimentary rocks, smaller fragments preponderate greatly and bombs more than a few inches in diameter may be absent altogether. A tuff of recent origin is generally loose and incoherent, but the older tuffs have been, in most cases, cemented together by pressure and the action of infiltrating water, making rocks which, while not very hard, are strong enough to be extensively used for building purposes (e.g. in the neighborhood of Rome). If they have accumulated subaerially, like the ash beds found on Mt. Etna or Vesuvius at the present day, tuffs consist almost wholly of volcanic materials of different degrees of fineness with pieces of wood and vegetable matter, land shells, etc. But many volcanoes stand near the sea, and the ashes cast out by them are mingled with the sediments that are gathering at the bottom of the waters. In this way ashy muds or sands or even in some cases ashy limestones are being formed. As a matter of fact most of the tuffs found in the older formations contain admixtures of clay, sand, and sometimes fossil shells, which prove that they were beds spread out under water.

During some volcanic eruptions a layer of ashes several feet in thickness is deposited over a considerable district, but such beds thin out rapidly as the distance from the crater increases, and ash deposits covering many square miles are usually very thin. The showers of ashes often follow one another after longer or shorter intervals, and hence thick masses of tuff, whether of subaerial or of marine origin, have mostly a stratified character. The coarsest materials or agglomerates show this least distinctly; in the fine beds it is often developed in great perfection.

Igneous rock[link]

Rocks from the Bishop tuff, uncompressed with pumice on left; compressed with fiamme on right.

Apart from adventitious material, such as fragments of the older rocks, pieces of trees, etc., the contents of an ash deposit may be described as consisting of more or less crystalline igneous rocks. If the lava within the crater has been at such a temperature that solidification has commenced, crystals are usually present. They may be of considerable size like the grey, rounded leucite crystals found on the sides of Vesuvius. Many of these are very perfect and rich in faces because they grew in a medium that was liquid and not very viscous. Good crystals of augite and olivine are also to be obtained in the ash beds of Vesuvius and of many other volcanoes, ancient and modern. Blocks of these crystalline minerals (anorthite, olivine, augite and hornblende) are common objects in the tuffs of many of the West Indian volcanoes. Where crystals are very abundant the ashes are called "crystal tuffs." In St. Vincent and Martinique in 1902, much of the dust was composed of minute crystals enclosed in thin films of glass because the lava at the moment of eruption had very nearly solidified as a crystalline mass. Some basaltic volcanoes, on the other hand, have ejected great quantities of black glassy scoria, which, after consolidation, weather to a red soft rock known as palagonite; tuffs of this kind occur in Iceland and Sicily. In the Lipari Islands and Hungary there are acid (rhyolitic) tuffs, of pale grey or yellow color, largely composed of lumps and fragments of pumice. Over a large portion of the sea bottom the beds of fine mud contain small, water-worn, rounded pebbles of very spongy volcanic glass; these have been floated from the shore or cast out by submarine volcanoes, and may have travelled for hundreds of miles before sinking; it has been proved by experiment that some kinds of pumice will float on sea-water for more than a year. The deep sea-deposit known as the "red clay" is largely of volcanic origin and might be suitably described as a "submarine tuff-bed."

Welded tuff[link]

Welded tuff at Golden Gate in Yellowstone National Park

Welded tuff is a pyroclastic rock, of any origin, that was sufficiently hot at the time of deposition to weld together. Strictly speaking, if the rock contains scattered pea-sized fragments or fiamme in it, it is called a welded lapilli-tuff. Welded tuffs (and welded lapilli-tuffs) can be of fallout origin, or deposited from pyroclastic density currents, as in the case of ignimbrites. During welding, the glass shards and pumice fragments adhere together (necking at point contacts), deform, and compact together, resulting in a 'eutaxitic fabric' (see image and contrast with the ash shapes in unwelded tuff).

Welded ignimbrites can be highly voluminous, such as the Lava Creek Tuff erupted from Yellowstone Caldera in Wyoming 640,000 years ago. Lava Creek Tuff is known to be at least 1000 times as large as the deposits of the May 18, 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens, and it had a Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) of 8—greater than any eruption known in the last 10,000 years. The intensity of welding may decrease towards the upper margin of a deposit, towards areas in which the deposit is thinner and with distance from source. Welded tuff is commonly rhyolitic in composition, but examples of all compositions are known.

Rhyolite tuffs[link]

Light microscope image of tuff as seen in thin section (Long dimension is several mm). The curved shapes of altered glass shards (ash fragments) are well-preserved, although the glass is partly altered. The shapes were formed about bubbles of expanding water-rich gas.

The rhyolitic tuff portal of the "church house" at Colditz Castle, Saxony, designed by Andreas Walther II (1584), is a clear example of the exuberance of "Antwerp Mannerism"

For petrographical purposes, tuff is generally classified according to the nature of the volcanic rock of which it consists; this may be the same as the accompanying lavas if any were emitted during an eruption, and if there is a change in the kind of lava which is poured out, the tuffs also indicate this equally clearly. Rhyolite tuffs contain pumiceous, glassy fragments and small scoriae with quartz, alkali feldspar, biotite, etc. Iceland, Lipari, Hungary, the Basin and Range of the American southwest, and New Zealand are among the areas where such tuffs are prominent. The broken pumice is clear and isotropic, and very small particles commonly have crescentic, sickle-shaped, or biconcave outlines, showing that they are produced by the shattering of a vesicular glass, sometimes described as ash-structure. The tiny glass fragments derived from broken pumice are called shards; the glass shards readily deform and flow when the deposits are sufficiently hot, as shown in the accompanying image of welded tuff.

In the ancient rocks of Wales, Charnwood, the Pentland Hills, etc., similar tuffs are known, but in all cases they are greatly changed by silicification (which has filled them with opal, chalcedony and quartz) and by devitrification. The frequent presence of rounded corroded quartz crystals, such as occur in rhyolitic lavas, helps to demonstrate their real nature.

A example of this tuff Rochlitz Porphyr can be seen in the Mannerist style sculpted portal outside the chapel entrance in Colditz Castle.^[1] The trade name Rochlitz Porphyr is the traditional designation for a dimension stone of Saxony with an architectural history over 1,000 years in Germany. The quarries are located near Rochlitz.^[2]

Trachyte tuffs[link]

Trachyte tuffs contain little or no quartz but much sanidine or anorthoclase and sometimes oligoclase feldspar, with occasional biotite, augite and hornblende. In weathering they often change to soft red or yellow clay-stones, rich in kaolin with secondary quartz. Recent trachyte tuffs are found on the Rhine (at Siebengebirge), in Ischia, near Naples, Hungary, etc.

Andesitic tuffs[link]

Andesitic tuffs are exceedingly common. They occur along the whole chain of the Cordilleras and Andes, in the West Indies, New Zealand, Japan, etc. In the Lake district, North Wales, Lorne, the Pentland Hills, the Cheviots and many other districts of Great Britain, ancient rocks of exactly similar nature are abundant. In color they are red or brown; their scoriae fragments are of all sizes from huge blocks down to minute granular dust. The cavities are filled up with many secondary minerals, such as calcite, chlorite, quartz, epidote, chalcedony; but in microscopic sections, the nature of the original lava can nearly always be made out from the shapes and properties of the little crystals which occur in the decomposed glassy base. Even in the smallest details, these ancient tuffs have a complete resemblance to the modern ash beds of Cotopaxi, Krakatoa and Mont Pelé.

Basaltic tuffs[link]

Most of the moais in Easter Island are carved out of tholeiite basalt tuff

Basaltic tuffs are also of wide spread occurrence both in districts where volcanoes are now active and in lands where eruptions have long since ended. They are found in Skye, Mull, Antrim and other places, where there are Paleogene volcanic rocks; in Scotland, Derbyshire and Ireland among the carboniferous strata; and among the still older rocks of the Lake District, southern uplands of Scotland and Wales. They are black, dark green or red in colour; vary greatly in coarseness, some being full of round spongy bombs a foot or more in diameter, and, being often submarine, may contain shale, sandstone, grit and other sedimentary material, and are occasionally fossiliferous. Recent basaltic tuffs are found in Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Jan Mayen, Sicily, Sandwich Islands, Samoa, etc. When weathered they are filled with calcite, chlorite, serpentine and, especially where the lavas contain nepheline or leucite, are often rich in zeolites, such as analcite, prehnite, natrolite, scolecite, chabazite, heulandite, etc.

Ultramafic tuffs[link]

Ultramafic tuffs are extremely rare; their characteristic is the abundance of olivine or serpentine and the scarcity or absence of feldspar and quartz. Rare occurrences may include unusual surface deposits of maars of kimberlites of the diamond-fields of southern Africa and other regions. The principal rock of kimberlite is a dark bluish-green serpentine-rich breccia (blue-ground) which when thoroughly oxidized and weathered becomes a friable brown or yellow mass (the "yellow-ground"). These breccias were emplaced as gas–solid mixtures and are typically preserved and mined in diatremes that form intrusive pipe-like structures. At depth, some kimberlite breccias grade into root zones of dikes made of unfragmented rock. At the surface, ultramafic tuffs may occur in maar deposits. Because kimberlites are the most common igneous source of diamonds, the transitions from maar to diatreme to root-zone dikes have been studied in detail. Diatreme-facies kimberlite is more properly called an ultramafic breccia rather than a tuff.

Folding and metamorphism[link]

Remains of the ancient Servian Walls in Rome, made of tuff bricks

In course of time, other changes than weathering may overtake tuff deposits. Sometimes they are involved in folding and become sheared and cleaved. Many of the green slates of the lake district in Cumberland are fine cleaved ashes. In Charnwood Forest also the tuffs are slaty and cleaved. The green color is due to the large development of chlorite. Among the crystalline schists of many regions, green beds or green schists occur, which consist of quartz, hornblende, chlorite or biotite, iron oxides, feldspar, etc., and are probably recrystallized or metamorphosed tuffs. They often accompany masses of epidiorite and hornblende – schists which are the corresponding lavas and sills. Some chlorite-schists also are probably altered beds of volcanic tuff. The "Schalsteins" of Devon and Germany include many cleaved and partly recrystallized ash-beds, some of which still retain their fragmental structure though their lapilli are flattened and drawn out. Their steam cavities are usually filled with calcite, but sometimes with quartz. The more completely altered forms of these rocks are platy, green chloritic schists; in these, however, structures indicating their original volcanic nature only sparingly occur. These are intermediate stages between cleaved tuffs and crystalline schists.

Economic importance[link]

Ahu Tongariki with 15 moai made of tuff from Rano Raraku. The second moai from the right has a Pukao which is made of red Scoria.

Tuff's primary economic value is as a building material. In the ancient world, tuff's relative softness meant that it was commonly used for construction where it was available. Tuff is common in Italy, and the Romans used it for many buildings and bridges. For example, the whole port of the island of Ventotene (still in use), was carved out from tuff. The Servian Wall, built to defend the city of Rome in the 4th century BC, is also built almost entirely from tuff. The Romans also cut tuff into small rectangular stones that they used to create walls in a pattern known as opus reticulatum.

The Romans thought bees nested in tuff. The substance is mentioned in the Aeneid (Book XII, ln 805).

The peperino, much used at Rome and Naples as a building stone, is a trachyte tuff. Pozzolana also is a decomposed tuff, but of basic character, originally obtained near Naples and used as a cement, but this name is now applied to a number of substances not always of identical character. In the Eifel region of Germany a trachytic, pumiceous tuff called trass has been extensively worked as a hydraulic mortar.

Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository, a U.S. Department of Energy terminal storage facility for spent nuclear reactor and other radioactive waste, is in tuff and ignimbrite in the Basin and Range Province in Nevada. In Napa valley and Sonoma valley, California, areas made out of tuff are routinely excavated for storage of wine barrels.

Tuff from Rano Raraku was used by the Rapa Nui people of Easter Island to make the vast majority of their famous moai statues.

Tuff is important in Armenian architecture.^[3]

See also[link]

• Scoria
• Lava
• Sillar
• Lapilli
• Pyroclastic flow
• Eutaxitic texture

References[link]

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 

A gong collection in a Gamelan ensemble of instruments - Indonesian Embassy Canberra

An agung, a type of Philippine hanging gong used as part of the Kulintang ensemble

A gong (Malay: gong) is an East and South East Asian musical percussion instrument that takes the form of a flat metal disc which is hit with a mallet.

Gongs are broadly of three types. Suspended gongs are more or less flat, circular discs of metal suspended vertically by means of a cord passed through holes near to the top rim. Bossed or nipple gongs have a raised centre boss and are often suspended and played horizontally. Bowl gongs are bowl-shaped, and rest on cushions and belong more to bells than gongs. Gongs are made mainly from bronze or brass but there are many other alloys in use.

Gongs produce two distinct types of sound. A gong with a substantially flat surface vibrates in multiple modes, giving a "crash" rather than a tuned note. This category of gong is sometimes called a tam-tam to distinguish it from the bossed gongs that give a tuned note. In Indonesian gamelan ensembles, some bossed gongs are deliberately made to generate in addition a beat note in the range from about 1 to 5 Hz. The use of the term "gong" for both these types of instrument is common.

Types of gong[link]

A Java-Bali style Gong, hanging in a frame.

Suspended gongs are played with beaters and are of two main types: flat faced discs either with or without a turned edge, and gongs with a raised center boss. In general, the larger the gong, the larger and softer the beater. In Western symphonic music the flat faced gongs are generally referred to as tam-tams to distinguish them from their bossed counterparts, although the term "gong" is correct to use for either type. The gong has been an ancient Chinese custom for many eras. They were first used to signal peasant workers in from the fields as some gongs are loud enough to hear from up to 50 miles away. In Japan, they are used to start the beginning of sumo wrestling contests.

Large flat gongs may be 'primed' by lightly hitting them before the main stroke, greatly enhancing the sound and causing the instrument to "speak" sooner, with a shorter delay for the sound to "bloom". Keeping this priming stroke inaudible calls for a great deal of skill. The smallest suspended gongs are played with bamboo sticks, or even western-style drumsticks. Contemporary & avant-garde music, where different sounds are sought, will often use friction mallets (producing squeals & harmonics), bass bows (producing long tones and high overtones), and various striking implements (wood/plastic/metal) to produce the desired tones.

Rock gongs are large stones struck with smaller stones to create a metallic resonating sound.

Traditional suspended gongs[link]

Chau gongs (Tam-tam)[link]

The Familiar "Chinese" Gong (A 10" Chau Gong).

By far the most familiar to most Westerners is the chau gong or bullseye gong. Large chau gongs, called tam-tams (not to be confused with tom-tom drums)^[1] have become part of the symphony orchestra. Sometimes a chau gong is referred to as a Chinese gong, but in fact it is only one of many types of suspended gongs that are associated with China.

The chau gong is made of copper-based alloy, bronze or brass. It is almost flat except for the rim, which is turned up to make a shallow cylinder. On a 10" gong, for example, the rim extends about a half an inch perpendicular to the gong surface. The main surface is slightly concave when viewed from the direction to which the rim is turned. The centre spot and the rim of a chau gong are left coated on both sides with the black copper oxide that forms during the manufacture of the gong, the rest of the gong is polished to remove this coating. Chau gongs range in size from 7" to 80" in diameter.

The earliest Chau gong is from a tomb discovered at the Guixian site in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of China. It dates from the early Western Han Dynasty. They were known for their very intense and spiritual drumming in rituals and tribal meetings.

Traditionally, chau gongs were used to clear the way for important officials and processions, much like a police siren today. Sometimes the number of strokes on the gong was used to indicate the seniority of the official. In this way, two officials meeting unexpectedly on the road would know before the meeting which of them should bow down before the other.

Uses of gongs in the symphony orchestra[link]

Gioachino Rossini, Vincenzo Bellini and Richard Wagner were some of the first composers^[2] to use the tam-tam in their works; Rossini in the final of act 3 of Armida (1817),^[3] Bellini in Norma (1831) and Wagner in Rienzi (1842). Within a few decades the tam-tam became an important member of the percussion section of a modern symphony orchestra. Fine examples of its use are demonstrated in the symphonies of Gustav Mahler, Dmitri Shostakovich and, to a lesser extent, Sergei Rachmaninov. Karlheinz Stockhausen used a 60" Paiste tam-tam in his Momente. Puccini as mentioned before used both Gongs and Tam-tams in his Operas.

Big Nipple Gong[link]

Common Gong (plus original leather and wooden stick).Purchased 1850s India in the Ganges valley

A nipple gong has a central raised boss or nipple, often made of a different metal to the rest of the gong. They have a clear resonant tone with less shimmer than other gongs, and two distinct sounds depending on whether they are struck on the boss or next to it. They most often are tuned to various pitches.

Nipple gongs range in size from 6" to 14" or larger. Sets of smaller, tuned nipple gongs can be used to play a tune.

Nipple gongs are used in Chinese temples for worship.

In Indonesian gamelan ensembles, instruments that are organologically gongs come in various sizes with different functions and different names. For example, in the central Javanese gamelan, the largest gong is called gong ageng, ranges in size up to 1 meter in diameter, has the deepest pitch and is played least often; the next smaller gong is the gong suwukan or siyem, has a slightly higher pitch and replaces the gong ageng in pieces where gong strokes are close together; the kempul is smaller still, has a higher pitch, and is played more frequently. The gong ageng and some gong suwukan have a beat note.

Opera gongs[link]

An essential part of the orchestra for Chinese opera is a pair of gongs, the larger with a descending tone, the smaller with a rising tone. The larger gong is used to announce the entrance of major players, of men, and to identify points of drama and consequence. The smaller gong is used to announce the entry of lesser players, of women, and to identify points of humour.

Opera gongs range in size from 7" to 12", with the larger of a pair one or two inches larger than the smaller.

Pasi gongs[link]

A Pasi gong is a medium-size gong 12" to 15" in size, with a crashing sound. It is used traditionally to announce the start of a performance, play or magic. Construction varies, some having nipples and some not, so this type is named more for its function than for its structure or even its sound.

Pasi gongs without nipples have found favour with adventurous middle-of-the-road kit drummers.

Tiger gong[link]

A tiger gong is a slightly descending or less commonly ascending gong, larger than an opera gong and with a less pronounced pitch shift. Most commonly 15" but available down to 8".

Shueng Kwong[link]

A Sheng Kwong gong is a medium to large gong with a sharp staccato sound.

Wind gong[link]

Wind gongs (also known as Feng or Lion Gongs) are flat bronze discs, with little fundamental pitch, heavy tuned overtones, and long sustain. They are most commonly made of B20 bronze, but can also be made of M63 brass or NS12 nickel-silver. Traditionally, a wind gong is played with a large soft mallet, which gives it a roaring crash to match their namesake. They are lathed on both sides and are medium to large in size, typically 15" to 22" but sizes from 7" to 40" are available. The 22" size is most popular due to its portability and large sound. They are commonly used by drum-kit drummers in rock music.

Played with a nylon tip drumstick they sound rather like the coil chimes in a mantle clock. Some have holes in the centre, but they are mounted like all suspended gongs by other holes near the rim. The smaller sizes (7"-12") have a more bell-like tone due to their thickness and small diameter.

Sculptural gongs[link]

Sculptural gong made by Steve Hubback

Sculptural gongs (also known as Gong Sculptures) are gongs which serve the dual purpose of being a musical instrument and a work of visual art. They are generally not disc shaped, but instead take more complex, even abstract forms. Sculptural gongs were pioneered in the early 1990s by Welsh percussionist and metal crafter, Steve Hubback, who was partially inspired by the work of the French Sound Sculptors, Francois and Bernard Baschet.

Hubback's works have been used by many musicians including solo percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie and rock drummer Carl Palmer.

English gong and cymbal maker, Matt Nolan, partially inspired by the work of Hubback, also creates Sculptural gongs of his own design or to private commission.

Other uses[link]

In older Javanese usage and in modern Balinese usage, gong is used to identify an ensemble of instruments. In contemporary central Javanese usage, the term gamelan is preferred and the term gong is reserved for the gong ageng, the largest instrument of the type, or for surrogate instruments such as the gong komodong or gong bumbu (blown gong) which fill the same musical function in ensembles lacking the large gong. In Balinese usage, gong refers to Gamelan Gong Kebyar.

Gong manufacturers[link]

28 inch Gong with Ogham characters made by Matt Nolan

Besides many traditional and centuries old manufacturers in places such as China, Tibet, Burma, Korea, Indonesia, and the Philippines, since the 20th Century gongs have also been made in Europe and America.

Paiste are the largest non-Asian manufacturer of gongs. This Swiss company of Estonian lineage makes gongs at their German factory. Also in Europe, Italian company UFIP make a range of gongs at their factory in Pistoia.

In North-America, Sabian make a small number of gongs and Zildjian sell Zildjian-branded gongs which have in the past been made by Zildjian, but current production looks to be Chinese in origin.

Some of the smaller Turkish cymbal companies have also been seen to dabble in gongs but very much as a side-line to their core business of hand-hammered cymbals.

More unusual and innovative types of gong have been made in recent years by independent gong smiths, most notably Steve Hubback, Michael Paiste (now independent of the family business) and Matt Nolan.

Gongs - general[link]

A gong (Chinese: 鑼; pinyin: luó; Malay language or Javanese language: gong) is a percussion sonorous or musical instrument of Chinese origin and manufacture, made in the form of a broad thin disk with a deep rim, that has spread to Southeast Asia - a type of flat bell.

Gongs vary in diameter from about 20 to 40 inches, and they are made of bronze containing a maximum of 22 parts of tin to 78 of copper; but in many cases the proportion of tin is considerably less. Such an alloy, when cast and allowed to cool slowly, is excessively brittle, but it can be tempered and annealed in a peculiar manner. If suddenly cooled from a cherry-red heat, the alloy becomes so soft that it can be hammered and worked on the lathe, and afterwards it may be hardened by re-heating and cooling it slowly. In these properties it will be observed, the alloy behaves in a manner exactly opposite to steel, and the Chinese avail themselves of the known peculiarities for preparing the thin sheets of which gongs are made. They cool their castings of bronze in water, and after hammering out the alloy in the soft state, harden the finished gongs by heating them to a cherry-red and allowing them to cool slowly. These properties of the alloy long remained a secret, said to have been first discovered in Europe by Jean Pierre Joseph d'Arcet at the beginning of the 19th century. Riche and Champion are said to have succeeded in producing tam-tams having all the qualities and timbre of the Chinese instruments. The composition of the alloy of bronze used for making gongs is stated to be as follows: Copper, 76.52; Tin, 22.43; Lead, 0.26; Zinc, 0.23; Iron, 0.81. The gong is beaten with a round, hard, leather-covered pad, fitted on a short stick or handle. It emits a peculiarly sonorous sound, its complex vibrations bursting into a wave-like succession of tones, sometimes shrill, sometimes deep. In China and Japan it is used in religious ceremonies, state processions, marriages and other festivals; and it is said that the Chinese can modify its tone variously by particular ways of striking the disk.

The gong has been effectively used in the orchestra to intensify the impression of fear and horror in melodramatic scenes. The tam-tam was first introduced into a western orchestra by François Joseph Gossec in the funeral march composed at the death of Mirabeau in 1791. Gaspare Spontini used it in La Vestale (1807), in the finale of Act II, an impressive scene in which the high pontiff pronounces the anathema on the faithless vestal. It was also used in the funeral music played when the remains of Napoleon were brought back to France in 1840. Meyerbeer made use of the instrument in the scene of the resurrection of the three nuns in Robert le diable. Four tam-tams are now used at Bayreuth in Parsifal to reinforce the bell instruments, although there is no indication given in the score. The tam-tam has been treated from its ethnographical side by Franz Heger. In more modern music, the tam-tam has been used by composers such as Karlheinz Stockhausen in Mikrophonie I (1964–65) and by George Crumb. Crumb expanded the timbral range of the tam-tam by giving performance directions (in Makrokosmos III: Music For A Summer Evening, composed in 1974) such as using a "well-rosined contrabass bow" to bow the tam-tam, producing an eerie harmonic sound, while Stockhausen exploited amplification (via hand-held microphones) of a wide range of scraping, tapping, rubbing, and beating techniques using unconventional implements (plastic dishes, egg timer, cardboard tubes, etc.). Gongs can also be immersed into a tub of water after being struck. This is called "water gong" and is called for in several orchestral pieces.

Signal gongs[link]

Railcar mounted[link]

The signal bell mounted on a tram, streetcar, cable car or light rail train is known as a gong. It is a bowl-shaped bell typically mounted on the front of the leading car. It is sounded to act as a warning in areas where whistles and horns are prohibited. The "Clang" of the trolley refers to the sound made by the warning gong. In the Tram controls, the gong is operated by a foot lever. A smaller gong with a bell pull is mounted by the rear door of these railcars. It operated by the conductor to notify the motorman that it is safe to proceed.

Vehicle mounted[link]

In the Commonwealth, emergency vehicles were fitted with electric, manual, or vacuum operated bell gongs in the time before Martin's horns became available or rotary sirens came into use.

Rail crossing[link]

A railroad crossing with a flashing traffic signal or wigwag will also typically have a warning bell, also known as a gong. The gong is struck by an electric-powered hammer to give motorists and pedestrians an audible warning of an oncoming train. Many railroad crossing gongs are now being replaced by electronic devices with no moving parts.

Boxing (sport)[link]

A bowl-shaped center mounted gong is standard equipment in a boxing ring and is known as a gong. It is struck with a hammer to signal the start and end of each round.

Theater[link]

Electromechanical, electromagnetic or electronic devices producing sound of gong have been installed in Czech theaters to gather audience from lounge to auditorium before show begins or proceeds after interlude.^[4][5][6]

Time signal[link]

German radio uses the gong sound to mark the exact time.^[7]

Gongs in popular culture[link]

• Gongs have been used in upper class households as waking devices, or to summon domestic help.
• The space rock band Gong took their name from the instrument.
• Marc Bolan had a hit song on his album Electric Warrior called Get it On (Bang a Gong)'
• A man hitting a gong twice starts all Rank films. This iconic figure is known as the "gongman". The tam-tam sound was actually provided by James Blades OBE, the premier percussionist of his day (who also provided the "V for victory" drum signal broadcast during WWII).
• The Moody Blues' landmark album Days of Future Passed opens with a crescendo roll on tam-tam, and closes with a single stroke which fades to silence.
• Queen's classic song "Bohemian Rhapsody" ends with the sound of a massive tam-tam. Roger Taylor is known for having one of the biggest tam-tams in rock.[1]
• A gong is played in the song "What Is and What Should Never Be" by Led Zeppelin. The gong is also the last instrument played in the live version of "Whole Lotta Love".
• A gong is also played at the end of the song "Dream On" by Aerosmith.
• A gong was the titular feature on The Gong Show, a television variety show/game show spoof broadcast in the United States in three iterations (1976–80, 1988–89, 2008). The com dom was used to signal the failure of an act by the show's panel.
• Carl Palmer used a gong during the Emerson, Lake and Palmer song Tank. His drum kit has 2 gongs and uses them frequently during his drum solos live.
• Neil Peart used a gong at the end of the Rush song Hemispheres.
• Roger Waters used a gong on stage with Pink Floyd in concerts from 1967-1973 on "A Saucerful of Secrets" and "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun". The latter was when the gong would burst into flames during live performances. Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii contains dramatic scenes of Waters striking a large gong.
• The Flaming Lips's 2007 stage show prominently featured a gong during the performance of the song "Mountain Side", where Wayne Coyne would fire a streamer gun at the gong in sync with the accents. Coyne also used the gong in a performance of "Race For The Prize" on the BBC show Later with Jools Holland in 1999.
• In the British and Australian military "gong" is slang for a medal.
• The "sun gong" used in the annual Paul Winter Winter Solstice Celebration held at the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, New York is claimed to be the world's largest tam tam gong at 7 feet in diameter. (See the text for #1 image [2])
• The protagonist of Huang Chunming's story The Taste of Apples uses a gong in the course of his work as a town crier in Taiwan.
• Morrissey's drummers have used a gong in many of his live shows since 2005 to dramatically end songs.
• Toto make use of a gong several times in their song "Africa".
• Keith Moon's drum kit frequently included a gong.
• Hong Kong Phooey uses a gong in the back of his car to change its shape.
• Supertramp used a water gong in the title song of their 1974 album Crime of the Century.

List of gongs[link]

Gandingan

• Agung
• Babendil
• Bonang
• Coil gong
• Gandingan
• Gong ageng
• Gungsa
• Kempul
• Kempyang and ketuk
• Kenong
• Khong mon
• Kulintang
• chau gong
• nipple gong (boa gong)
• feng gong
• tam tam
• paiste symphonic
• flat gong
• rin gong
• Umpan

See also[link]

• Space of Gong culture in the Central Highlands of Vietnam
• Dong Son drum

References[link]

• Luobowan Han Dynasty Tombs in Guixian County (Guangxi Zuang A. R.), by the Museum of the Guangxi Zhuang Nationality (1988, Beijing)
•  Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Gong". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 

1. ^ Morris Goldberg in his Modern School... Guide for The Artist Percussionist (Chappell & Co., Inc., New York, New York, 1955), says that "in modern symphony orchestra names gong and tam-tam mean the same thing, that in scholarly circles, tam-tam is considered to be a slang expression taken from an African word meaning drum", later associated with gongs of indefinite pitch, and as such was adopted by virtually all composers using the term and thus is used now interchangeably.
2. ^ Although in modern, 20th century and beyond, performances sometimes conductors were adapting tam-tam in orchestra for the performances of Gluck's Alceste and Orfeo ed Euridice (as ones used in the Metropolitan Opera historical productions, there is no trace of it in original scores of Gluck himself, so it must be considered an effect additions rather than the wish of the composer himself.
3. ^ Instrumentation used in Armida by Rossini
4. ^ Palantir
5. ^ Webmagazín Rozhledna .::. nezávislý kulturně-společenský deník
6. ^ Město Rumburk - oficiální stránky města
7. ^ http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gong

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Gongs

• Traditional Music of the Southern Philippines - An online textbook about Southern Pilipino Kulintang Music with an extensive section devoted to the Philippine gongs: the kulintang, gandingan, agung and the babendil.
• Video of Cambodian Tribal Gongs being played
• Joel Garten's Beauty of Life Blog - A few examples of wooden slit gongs from Asia, including elephant bells.

Damian Marley
Background information
Birth name	Damian Marley
Also known as	Jr. Gong, Gongzilla
Born	(1978-07-21) July 21, 1978 (age 33) Kingston, Jamaica
Genres	Reggae, dancehall, hip-hop, reggae fusion, ragga
Years active	1996–present
Labels	Tuff Gong, Ghetto Youth International, Universal
Associated acts	Bob Marley, Ky-Mani Marley, Ziggy Marley, Stephen Marley, Julian Marley, Nas, SuperHeavy

Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley (born July 21, 1978) is a Jamaican reggae artist who has won three Grammy awards.^[1] Damian is the youngest son of Bob Marley.

Damian was two years old when his father, Bob Marley, died; he is the only child born to Marley and Cindy Breakspeare, Miss World 1976. Damian's nickname Junior Gong is derived from his father's nickname of Tuff Gong. Marley has been performing since the age of 13. He shares, along with most of his family, a full-time career in music.

Music[link]

Marley has described his music as "dancehall and reggae. I've noticed...people trying to separate the two of them," he continues. "It's Jamaican culture in general. I don't try to classify or separate."^[2]

At age 13, he formed a musical group by the name of the Shephards, which included the daughter of Freddie McGregor and son of Third World's Cat Core. The group opened the 1992 Reggae Sunsplash festival.^[3] The band fell apart in the early 1990s and Damian started his solo career.^[4]

With the backing of his father’s label, Tuff Gong, he released his 1996 debut album Mr. Marley which surprised many who were unaccustomed to hearing a Marley deejaying rather than singing.^[5] Damian’s brother, Stephen Marley, was a producer and co-author for this album.^[4]

His second album, Halfway Tree was released in 2001. The cover of Halfway Tree depicts him standing under the clock at halfway tree. This is an embodiment of his parent’s different social origins with this mother from uptown and his father from the ghetto. In Kingston, Jamaica the Halfway Tree was used as a shady halfway point for farmers and vendors who would pass the tree on their route to transport their goods to the downtown market.^[6] It brought him much recognition, remaining on the Billboard top reggae albums chart for 158 weeks,^[7] and winning the 2002 Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album.^[5]

His third album, Welcome to Jamrock was released in September 2005, named after the hugely successful song of the same name. The lyrics to the single "Welcome to Jamrock", which was performed over a riddim produced by Sly and Robbie for Ini Kamoze some 20 years earlier,^[8] centered around poverty, politics and crime in Jamaica. While the single was controversial at home over its perceived negative viewpoint of the island,^[9] many praised the content of the song. Dr. Clinton Hutton, professor at the University of the West Indies, said of the single, "'Jamrock' uses the icon of the inner city, of alienation, of despair, of prejudice, but of hope, of Jamaican identity, to remind us of the fire of frustration, the fire of creativity, the fire of warning to open up our eyes and look within to the life we are living. And still some of us don't want to hear and to look and say enough is enough."^[10] The single reached #13 on the UK Singles Chart^[11] and #55 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.^[12] It was also #100 on the Top 100 Songs of the Decade listing by Rolling Stone.^[13]

At the 2006 Grammy Awards, he won Best Reggae Album and Best Urban/Alternative Performance for Welcome to Jamrock. He is the only Jamaican reggae artist in history to win two Grammy Awards on the same night. He is also the only reggae artist to win in the Best Urban/Alternative Performance category at the Grammy Awards. The album sold 86,000 copies in its first week of release,^[9] and was eventually certified gold after selling 500,000 copies in the United States.^[14] Other notable singles from the album include "The Master Has Come Back", "Road to Zion" featuring Nas, and "Khaki Suit" featuring Bounty Killer and Eek-A-Mouse.

On May 17, 2010, Marley released Distant Relatives, a collaborative album with Nas. The album title refers not only to the bond between the artists, but the connection to their African ancestry, which inspired the album both musically and lyrically.^[15] They have previously collaborated on “Road to Zion”, on Marley’s Welcome to Jamrock album. The album joins two different flavors of music with Marley’s dub-rock aesthetic and Nas’ flow. Damian and Stephen produced much of the album. The proceeds of this album will go to building schools in the Congo.^[16]

In a 2011 interview on Tim Westwood, Damian revealed he had started work on a new album. His street single, released in Jamaica was titled "Just Aint The Same". He has also joined Mick Jagger's musical project SuperHeavy with Joss Stone, Dave Stewart and A.R. Rahman. Their debut single "Miracle Worker" was released on June 6, 2011, with the album scheduled for a September 2011 release.^[17] Damian also worked with electronic artist Skrillex on a song called "Make It Bun Dem" in 2012. ^[18]

Personal life and beliefs[link]

Born as Damian Marley, he was nicknamed "Jr. Gong" in honour of his legendary father, Bob "Tuff Gong" Marley. His mother is a Jamaican jazz musician, former model and crowned Miss World 1976 Cindy Breakspeare. After seeing The movie Damien: Omen II, which is about the coming of the Antichrist, one of Bob’s last requests in Germany was to have Damian’s name changed. “Damien being a devil….It was inappropriate for him as a Rastafarian to have a child with that name,” Bob said and Damian’s name was later changed.^[19] He has 13 siblings total; 10 on his father's side and 3 on his mother's side. Damian was two years old when his father died due to the spread of melanoma to his lungs and brain, at 36 years of age.

Marley has been in the music business since he was a child. He is a Rastafarian and his music reflects both his beliefs and the Rastafari guiding principles of one love, one planet, and freedom for all nations. While he travels and tours the better part of the year, his home base is split between Kingston, Jamaica and Miami, Florida in the United States of America. He has a younger half brother Christian and a half sister Leah from his mother Cindy.^[20]

Discography[link]

Singles[link]

Other charted songs[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Damian Marley

• Damian Marley on Myspace

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

In July 1977, Marley was found to have a type of malignant melanoma under the nail of one of his toes. Contrary to urban legend, this lesion was not primarily caused by an injury during a football match in that year, but was instead a symptom of the already existing cancer. Marley turned down doctors' advice to have his toe amputated, citing his religious beliefs.^[42] Despite his illness, he continued touring and was in the process of scheduling a world tour in 1980. The intention was for Inner Circle to be his opening act on the tour but after their lead singer Jacob Miller died in Jamaica in March 1980 after returning from a scouting mission in Brazil this was no longer mentioned.^[43]

The album Uprising was released in May 1980 (produced by Chris Blackwell), on which "Redemption Song" is particularly considered to be about Marley coming to terms with his mortality.^{[citation needed]} The band completed a major tour of Europe, where they played their biggest concert, to a hundred thousand people in Milan. After the tour Marley went to America, where he performed two shows at Madison Square Garden as part of the Uprising Tour.

The final concert of Bob Marley's career was held 23 September 1980 at the Stanley Theater (now called The Benedum Center For The Performing Arts) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The audio recording of that concert is now available on CD, vinyl, and digital music services.

Shortly after, Marley's health deteriorated and he became very ill; the cancer had spread throughout his body. The rest of the tour was cancelled and Marley sought treatment at the Bavarian clinic of Josef Issels, where he received a controversial type of cancer therapy (Issels treatment) partly based on avoidance of certain foods, drinks, and other substances. After fighting the cancer without success for eight months, Marley boarded a plane for his home in Jamaica.^[44]

While flying home from Germany to Jamaica, Marley's vital functions worsened. After landing in Miami, Florida, he was taken to the hospital for immediate medical attention. He died at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital in Miami (now University of Miami Hospital) on the morning of 11 May 1981, at the age of 36. The spread of melanoma to his lungs and brain caused his death. His final words to his son Ziggy were "Money can't buy life".^[45] Marley received a state funeral in Jamaica on 21 May 1981, which combined elements of Ethiopian Orthodoxy and Rastafari tradition.^[46] He was buried in a chapel near his birthplace with his red Gibson Les Paul (some accounts say it was a Fender Stratocaster).^[47]

On 21 May 1981, Jamaican Prime Minister Edward Seaga delivered the final funeral eulogy to Marley, declaring:

His voice was an omnipresent cry in our electronic world. His sharp features, majestic looks, and prancing style a vivid etching on the landscape of our minds. Bob Marley was never seen. He was an experience which left an indelible imprint with each encounter. Such a man cannot be erased from the mind. He is part of the collective consciousness of the nation.^[48]

Legacy[link]

Marley has remained popular for decades after his death—one of many memorials to him is this representation at Madame Tussaud Wax Museum in Amsterdam

Bob Marley was the Third World's first pop superstar. He was the man who introduced the world to the mystic power of reggae. He was a true rocker at heart, and as a songwriter, he brought the lyrical force of Bob Dylan, the personal charisma of John Lennon, and the essential vocal stylings of Smokey Robinson into one voice.

— Jann Wenner, at Marley’s 1994 posthumous introduction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame^[49]

In 1999 Time magazine chose Bob Marley & The Wailers' Exodus as the greatest album of the 20th century.^[50] In 2001, he was posthumously awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and a feature-length documentary about his life, Rebel Music, won various awards at the Grammys. With contributions from Rita, The Wailers, and Marley's lovers and children, it also tells much of the story in his own words.^[51] A statue was inaugurated, next to the national stadium on Arthur Wint Drive in Kingston to commemorate him. In 2006, the State of New York renamed a portion of Church Avenue from Remsen Avenue to East 98th Street in the East Flatbush section of Brooklyn "Bob Marley Boulevard".^[52] In 2008, a statue of Marley was inaugurated in Banatski Sokolac, Serbia.^[53]

Internationally, Marley’s message also continues to reverberate amongst various indigenous communities. For instance, the Aboriginal people of Australia continue to burn a sacred flame to honor his memory in Sydney’s Victoria Park, while members of the Native American Hopi and Havasupai tribe revere his work.^[54] There are also many tributes to Bob Marley throughout India, including restaurants, hotels, and cultural festivals.^[55][56]

Marley has also evolved into a global symbol, which has been endlessly merchandised through a variety of mediums. In light of this, author Dave Thompson in his book Reggae and Caribbean Music, laments what he perceives to be the commercialized pacification of Marley's more militant edge, stating:

Bob Marley ranks among both the most popular and the most misunderstood figures in modern culture ... That the machine has utterly emasculated Marley is beyond doubt. Gone from the public record is the ghetto kid who dreamed of Che Guevara and the Black Panthers, and pinned their posters up in the Wailers Soul Shack record store; who believed in freedom; and the fighting which it necessitated, and dressed the part on an early album sleeve; whose heroes were James Brown and Muhammad Ali; whose God was Ras Tafari and whose sacrament was marijuana. Instead, the Bob Marley who surveys his kingdom today is smiling benevolence, a shining sun, a waving palm tree, and a string of hits which tumble out of polite radio like candy from a gumball machine. Of course it has assured his immortality. But it has also demeaned him beyond recognition. Bob Marley was worth far more.^[57]

Film adaptations[link]

In February 2008, director Martin Scorsese announced his intention to produce a documentary movie on Marley. The film was set to be released on 6 February 2010, on what would have been Marley's 65th birthday.^[58] However, Scorsese dropped out due to scheduling problems. He was replaced by Jonathan Demme,^[59] who dropped out due to creative differences with producer Steve Bing during the beginning of editing. Kevin Macdonald replaced Demme^[60] and the film, Marley, was released on 20 April 2012.

In March 2008, The Weinstein Company announced its plans to produce a biopic of Bob Marley, based on the book No Woman No Cry: My Life With Bob Marley by Rita Marley. Rudy Langlais will produce the script by Lizzie Borden and Rita Marley will be executive producer.^[61]

Ex-girlfriend and filmmaker Esther Anderson, along with Gian Godoy, made the documentary Bob Marley: The Making of a Legend, which premiered at the Edinburgh International Film Festival in 2011.^[62]

Discography[link]

• The Wailing Wailers (1965)
• The Best of The Wailers (1970)
• Soul Rebels (1970)
• Soul Revolution (1971)
• Catch a Fire (1973)
• Burnin' (1973)
• Natty Dread (1974)
• Rastaman Vibration (1976)
• Exodus (1977)
• Kaya (1978)
• Survival (1979)
• Uprising (1980)
• Confrontation (1983)

Awards and honors[link]

Marley's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

• 1976: Band of the Year (Rolling Stone).
• June 1978: Awarded the Peace Medal of the Third World from the United Nations.^[54]
• February 1981: Awarded Jamaica's third highest honour, the Jamaican Order of Merit.
• March 1994: Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
• 1999: Album of the Century for Exodus by Time Magazine.
• February 2001: A star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

• February 2001: Awarded Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
• 2004: Rolling Stone ranked him No.11 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.^[63]
• "One Love" named song of the millennium by BBC.
• Voted as one of the greatest lyricists of all time by a BBC poll.^[64]
• 2006: A blue plaque was unveiled at his first UK residence in Ridgmount Gardens, London, dedicated to him by Nubian Jak community trust and supported by Her Majesty's Foreign Office.^[65]
• 2010: "Catch a Fire" inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame (Reggae Album).^[66]