THE 100 MOST INFLUENTIAL MUSICIANS OF ALL TIME

7 The 100 Most Influential Musicians of All Time 7

were underappreciated, as was Bunny Wailer’s excellent
solo album Blackheart Man (1976).
Eric Clapton’s version of the Wailers’ “I Shot the
Sheriff ” in 1974 spread Marley’s fame. Meanwhile, Marley
continued to guide the skilled Wailers band through a
series of potent, topical albums. By this point Marley also
was backed by a trio of female vocalists that included his
wife, Rita; she, like many of Marley’s children, later expe-
rienced her own recording success. Featuring eloquent
songs like “No Woman No Cry,” “Exodus,” “Could You Be
Loved,” “Coming in from the Cold,” “Jamming,” and
“Redemption Song,” Marley’s landmark albums included
Natty Dread (1974), Live! (1975), Rastaman Vibration (1976),
Exodus (1977), Kaya (1978), Uprising (1980), and the post-
humous Confrontation (1983). Exploding in Marley’s reedy
tenor, his songs were public expressions of personal
truths—eloquent in their uncommon mesh of rhythm and
blues, rock, and venturesome reggae forms and electrify-
ing in their narrative might.
He also loomed large as a political figure and in 1976
survived what was believed to have been a politically
motivated assassination attempt. Marley’s attempt to
broker a truce between Jamaica’s warring political factions
led in April 1978 to his headlining the “One Love” peace
concert. His sociopolitical clout also earned him an
invitation to perform in 1980 at the ceremonies celebrat-
ing majority rule and internationally recognized
independence for Zimbabwe. In April 1981, the Jamaican
government awarded Marley the Order of Merit. A month
later he died of cancer.
Although his songs were some of the best-liked and
most critically acclaimed music in the popular canon,
Marley was far more renowned in death than he had been
in life. Legend (1984), a retrospective of his work, became