She studied as a nurse and sang in church, and before long was in a vocal group. After her parents separated, she was raised by an aunt. She was born Alferita Anderson in Cuba, and her parents moved to Kingston, Jamaica, when she was three months old. It is in working to overcome them that we grow strong.” As women in this business, it hits home for us.”Īs Marley tells Rolling Stone by email, “We are given many burdens to carry. Before the MeToo movement, she did it, with people wishing she was dead. And when she didn’t do that, they didn’t like her very much. They wanted her to shut up and be a widow and let them all run it the way they thought it should be run. “In 1981, it wasn’t normal for a woman to say, ‘I’m going to take up my husband’s business,’” says Murray. Marley seems more than ever like a forerunner to artists like Beyoncé, who are in charge of their own operations notably, Marley appointed women to some of the divisions of Tuff Gong. Certain people in the Rastafarian faith were saying, ‘No, no, no, let da man handle it.’ What man? There’s no man. “With Daddy passing, she had to become very vocal. “In that culture, women are to be seen and not heard,” says Cedella of Rastas. She also had to grapple with a double whammy: trying to be a woman in power in both the male-dominated music business and the male-dominated Rastafarian world. She’s been a lightning rod for criticism, and, with her family, has faced legal challenges to the estate and money since Bob’s death. The celebrations are a reminder of the hurdles and challenges Marley faced. Remakes and remixes of her songs, featuring children like Cedella and Sharon (Rita’s daughter from a previous relationship, who was adopted by Bob), are also in the works. This Sunday, the family’s YouTube channels will commemorate with a new mini-documentary on Rita and a preview of the new exhibition of her life at the Marley museum, where fans can see, among other items, the colorful costumes she wore onstage when she backed her husband. The Marley birthday festivities began last week, with a tribute show on the family’s Tuff Gong radio channel on SiriusXM that included covers of her songs by female reggae artists like Marley’s former I Threes bandmates Griffiths and Judy Mowatt. I feel I’m still his partner.”īob Marley with the I Threes in Belgium, June 1980 “I never see myself as Bob Marley’s widow,” Rita said in 2000. These days, the family business - now run by Rita and Bob’s second-oldest child, Cedella - routinely earns at least $20 million a year and is valued at five times that amount. A few years after Bob died, an audit of his estate came up with a mere $250,000. Under her guidance, the Marley empire now includes a Bob Marley Museum and a recording studio (both in Kingston), a vinyl and CD pressing plant, record stores and a book division, and an onslaught of family-approved merch: cannabis and body-care products, headphones and other audio gear, coffee, and even a just-launched line of “functional mushrooms” (where they can be legally sold). īut more importantly, and sometimes controversially, she took on oversight of his estate and business. In the years since, Marley took on an entirely new set of jobs, including making her own records, like her ebullient solo debut from 1981, Who Feels It Knows It. Before Bob Marley’s death - 40 years ago this past May - Rita Marley was the mother of three of his children, and one of his backup singers. She was on top of it all.”Įnsuring that her husband was able to rest after a performance turned out to be the least of Marley’s accomplishments. Not too much crowd in his room she would get rid of all of these people who were hanging out. “She was responsible for making sure Bob was OK and that he was taken care of. “’Come on, come on - time to go!’” Griffiths says with a laugh, slapping her hands together to imitate Marley’s efficient manner. She was a member of the vocal group the I Threes, along with Marcia Griffiths and Judy Mowatt, who gained recognition as the backing vocalists for Bob Marley and the Wailers.Decades after she and Rita Marley toured with Bob Marley, Marcia Griffiths still does a good impression of the woman she calls Sister Rita marching into her late husband’s dressing room after a show. Sharon Marley (daughter), Cedella Marley (daughter), David Marley (son), Stephen Marley (son), Stephanie (daughter), Serita StewartĪlpharita Constantia Marley OD (née Anderson born 25 July 1946) is a Cuban-born Jamaican singer and the widow of Bob Marley. Summery, Earthy, Cheerful, Laid-Back/Mellow, Confident Her marriage to legendary international reggae superstar Bob Marley as well as for her contribution as a member of the I Threes, who provided backing vocals for the reggae band Bob Marley and the Wailers
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