Marley Page #2

a trade, you know,

and meet up

some guys who can sing.

One named Desmond Dekker.

- Desmond Dekker and Bob

used to work as welders...

at the same place.

Desmond Dekker came down,

and I auditioned him.

And we recorded his song.

And after he did that song,

Robert wanted now to record.

So Desmond take him Beverley's.

And he went away

and recorded a song...

to prove to me that if he

could record a song, I could.

Don't you look at me

so smug now

And say I'm going bad

Who are you to judge me

And the life that I live

- I noticed his use of words

in the songs.

"Judge Not"...

it was a revolutionary song...

defending his rights as an individual.

It occurred to me,

"Wow, this guy's really a good poet."

Judge not

Before you judge yourself

- After the recording,

Leslie Kong wanted

to change Bob's name,

because Robert Marley

didn't sound so catchy and easy.

So he wanted to call Bob "Adam."

Adam Marley.

Bob wouldn't have it.

He realizes that a group

would be maybe the appropriate thing,

other than being individual,

solo artists.

We used to listen to groups

like Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers,

The Drifters, The Platters.

So there was a recruitment

process taking place.

Myself and Robert started

to put the group together.

And then here comes this tall, dark,

as they would say,

handsome dude named Peter,

and he has

this guitar knowledge.

And from Robert, you hear Robert say,

"Play guitar? You serious?"

So he goes give him

the guitar right away.

So it's four-string steel,

but Peter tune the four-string,

and he's just like that.

On First Street

is a music street.

We had three or four places

on First Street that we rehearse,

and they were rehearsing

like every day.

At the time,

it was Bob, Peter, Bunny.

We used to call ourselves

"Juveniles." "Brothers in the Ghetto."

Where we used to go to rehearse,

they'd say,

"You come from a wailing environment

where people always bawling.

And, well,

you should be named the Wailers."

This train it is bound to glory

This train

This train is bound to glory

This train

This train is bound to glory

This train don't carry

- As far as the Wailers' harmony,

and the building of the Wailers musically,

Joe Higgs is the responsible person.

Having his own career,

he decided to take the group up

as a project.

His policy was that great stars

sometimes get messed up...

when they get afraid, you know,

when they get nervous on stage.

So he said that...

if we went to the cemetery

at, say, 2:
00 in the morning...

and sang for those people,

then we can't be afraid

when we hit the stage.

And we went with Joe,

sat on the graves, played.

Several times we do it until he thought

we were brave enough now.

Gather together

Be brothers and sisters

We're independent

We're independent

Just about the time

of the independence,

the Jamaican musicians

wanted to have a music...

that they can call Jamaican music.

- Well, Jamaica came up

with a unique rhythm.

I didn't think it was deliberately done.

I think it was an attempt to play

something, and it came out that way.

It became known as reggae,

but it started off as ska,

which was putting all the accent...

on a different beat than what is normally

where the accent is.

It would be on the off beat

instead of the on beat.

Ska developed out of American

music that we were exposed to...

on top of our Jamaican

indigenous music,

such as mento, calypso, Kumina.

Simmer down

You lickin' too hot

So simmer down

Soon you'll get dropped

- We were at a bar one evening.

And one of the guys, them says to us,

"Listen to this group."

And they punched the jukebox.

And the song was called "Simmer Down."

And no more other tune

play on that box...

the whole time we were there

but "Simmer Down," I tell you.

Simmer down

Control your temper

Simmer down

For the battle will be hotter

- "Simmer Down" went straight

into the number-one position,

and the Wailers were launched.

...that I'm leaving you today

Simmer down

- What was it like working at Studio 1,

where you started, in those days?

Yeah, it was good,

you know, 'cause, you know,

first experience within music.

Working with some good musician

and trying to get the harmonies

and everything. It was great.

I heard you actually...

you personally lived in the studio.

Sometime.

You had Coxsone made you

a room out the back.

Yes.

Well, Coxsone was,

um, a smart guy,

in that he has an ear

for music, good music.

- He might not have been

an instrument player.

He might not even know

if the guitar is tuned,

but he knows when the sound is right.

- He has his own program on the radio.

Has his own record shop.

Has his own sound system.

Has his own studio.

So he's obviously a leader.

- Coxsone was like a father to us,

you know, to be honest with you.

Coxsone was like a father to us.

He cared for us.

Coxsone gave Robbie a little room

round the back of the premises.

I didn't have anywhere

to live neither.

So Robbie and me lived there.

Both of us lived there.

So we became intimate good friends.

He gave Robbie a record player

and a lot of foreign records.

Robbie was a fanatic

in listening to these people...

because he was a serious,

focused man.

Even as a youth.

- Jamaican music developed from

what we call "do overs,"

a version of somebody's song

in America.

Each night

I ask the stars up above

Why must I be a teenager in love

Put me in your milling machine

I never thought you could act so mean

Now I'm wondering what to do

To see if you could love me too

Bob had a good sound

'cause he's singing lead.

And the harmony was tight.

- The harmony Bunny carried,

and Peter was fantastic.

Why must I be a teenager in love

Peter and Bunny was

the most vocal one to say hi,

but Bob was very reserved

and just look.

As he would say, just "cotch and look."

- As much as there was this obvious

love and admiration...

for each other and of each other,

there was always

a deep underlying tension...

that none would be

a "yes man" to the other.

I think the music was the glue

that held them together.

Feel them spirit

Feel them spirit

Feel them spirit

Lord, I thank you

Lord, I thank you

I'm gonna put it on

I'm gonna put it on

- By then he was admiring me.

I got a letter from Bunny,

bringing a letter.

It was him sending his letter

through his friend. Not by himself.

And to say yes, he likes me

and want to talk to me.

I say, "Come over and talk."

And he would stay

on the other side of the road and...

He was very shy. He was very shy.

He was a shy guy.

I'll play your favorite song darling

He had a seriousness,

and he was one

that you could say

was reaching out for love.

- I didn't think,

I liked brown-skin men.

I always dream of a guy...

tall, black, handsome.

Every young girl's dream in Jamaica

is to have a tall, black boyfriend.

They would call Bob an outcast...

because he really don't belong to no...

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