YEAR
1994
INDUCTED BY
Bono (U2)
CATEGORY
Performers
The patron saint of reggae produced mellow island beats that spread the message of peace, love and positive vibes.
Born in the Jamaican ghetto, Bob Marley made music as politically powerful as it was captivating. His combination of infectious rhythms and relevant lyrics elevated him to a larger-than-life, almost mythic status.
Bob Marley
HALL OF FAME
ESSAY
By Timothy White
His celebration of his Jah-given uniqueness was a joyful noise that all of humanity could love.
It might surprise some to see Bob Marley’s output described as rock & roll. Indeed, there is a tendency to view rock & roll as African in its ultimate origins but American or European in its prime exposition, with scant notice of modern musical kinships from the lower half of the hemisphere.
Yet Bob Marley was raised on rock’s full heritage of social forces and stylistic influences, just as surely as he handed them back in marvelously reinvented form.
