"When Bob Marley died of cancer in May 1981, two of his most recent singles showed how far he'd come from the roots reggae that made him a global star. "Redemption Song" was a solemn, acoustic folk ballad, and "Could You Be Loved" was a glistening slice of reggae-tinged disco-pop that dialogued with Chic, Michael Jackson, and Diana Ross. Marley's hard-won stardom had come by softening his music for Western ears under the tutelage of Island Records founder Chris Blackwell,"
"Blackwell was a representative of what Marley dubbed the vampiric, westernized "Babylon System"-Marley's one-time bandmate Peter Tosh dubbed him "Chris Whiteworst"-but Marley had his eyes on the prize more than most of his Rasta contemporaries, deploying his bottomless charisma and canny songwriting abilities to reap significant financial benefits from that same crooked business. A Billboard article published the week of Marley's death illuminated the two sides of his public persona:"
Bob Marley died of cancer in May 1981, and his two most recent singles showed a wide stylistic range, from the acoustic folk ballad "Redemption Song" to the disco-pop-tinged "Could You Be Loved". His international stardom resulted from softening roots-reggae for Western audiences under Island Records founder Chris Blackwell. Blackwell embodied the westernized "Babylon System" even as Marley used his charisma and songwriting to secure substantial financial gains. A contemporaneous Billboard piece emphasized the duality of Marley's public life by pairing note of Ethiopian Orthodox funeral rites with a Warner Bros. complaint about LP shortages. Record listening functions as a séance where listeners choose their ghosts.
Read at Pitchfork
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]