'Legend' helps spread Marley's message
The Post and the Courier
Reviewer Grantley Gibbons, a writer based in Charleston
MARLEY LEGEND: An Illustrated Life of Bob Marley. By James Henke. Chronicle Books. 64 pages. $35. James Henke's "Marley Legend" is a coffee-table biography of Nesta Robert Marley. However, short as it is, the pictures and facsimiles of fliers, concert tickets and newspaper articles tell a story that would have taken hundreds of pages to write. Included is a CD of collected interviews of Marley explaining his views on politics, religion, rebellion and love. Henke's multimedia approach borders on kitsch, with its almost pop-up format, but there is a genuine sense of experiencing Marley through the decades, from childhood to his underpaid early career and through to the professional and personal ups and downs of his worldwide fame. As with most biographers, Henke is trying to give his subject a context. Young people see Marley merely as a justification for smoking marijuana, ignoring the Rastafarian ideology of peace and universal enfranchisement. Marley saw the world as divided between a few haves and the multitudes of have-nots. Rita Marley converted to Rastafarianism long before Marley did, but when he converted, he was a true believer and crusaded, mostly in Africa, for the rights of the poor. His influence was felt globally. However, fame brought difficulties as well. Marley was relentlessly unfaithful to Rita, who accepted his explanation that affairs were part of what the public got from him and had no bearing on their personal relationship. Professionally, as Marley's name became the focus of public attention, jealousy divided the Wailers, which went through a number of incarnations. The attempt on Marley's life left him shaken for some time. But Marley continued to tour and spread his message, Rita and their children were with him until he died, and on his deathbed, Marley stated that he was happy that the world knew his music and its message. Obviously, the world still knows Marley's music. Henke's work is dedicated to making sure that Marley the man and his message remain in the foreground.
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