A Jamaica Vacation with Bob Marley

A Jamaica vacation is not complete without a tribute to Reggae great Bob Marley. There are exhibitions and memorials of Bob Marley everywhere on the island of Jamaica, but the best of them all is the Bob Marley Museum in Kingston, which is the most popular Jamaica tourist attraction of all. A visit to Bob Marley's birthplace at Nine Mile is also a must-do on any reggae pilgrimage to Jamaica. The legend of Bob Marley is alive and well at the Bob Marley Museum, which is housed in a former home and recording studio of the great reggae artist in uptown Kingston. The Bob Marley Museum is open from 9:30 am to 4:00 pm from Monday through Saturday. For $10 you can take a one hour tour guided by a Rastafarian guard, which provides unique insights into Bob Marley's accomplishments and career and also the opportunity to see exhibits and artifacts from his life.

Bob Marley was born at Nine Mile in the north central part of Jamaica. He was the son of a white English naval officer and a black Jamaican mother. He grew up in the Trenchtown slums of Kingston Town, far from the all inclusive resorts Jamaica, where he became friends with Peter Tosh (whose real name was Peter McIntosh) and Bunny Wailer (whose real name was Bunny Livingston). The three formed the reggae group known as The Wailers. They had a number of early hits in Jamaica in the 1960's, including a period when they teamed up successfully with pioneering producer Scratch (Lee) Perry. It was also during this time in Kingston Town that Bob Marley and the Wailers became Rastafarians, which was a major influence on Bob Marley's lyrics and music for the rest of his life. In 1973 Bob Marley's music became world famous when the Wailers were signed to Island Records, and Eric Clapton's rendition of Bob Marley's song I Shot the Sheriff became a number one hit in America. The albums Catch a Fire in 1973; Natty Dread in 1975, and Uprising in 1980 made Bob Marley a legend.
Bob Marley also was an ambassador and spokesman for racial harmony, world peace, and Jamaican political unity. His political work led to a close assassination attempt in 1976 in his home in Kingston, which is now the Bob Marley Museum. Since his death in 1981 due to cancer at age thirty-six, Bob Marley is revered as a Jamaican national hero at all inclusive beach resorts throughout the island and as a unique musical genius throughout the rest of the world. The Bob Marley Museum is a celebration of Bob Marley's music and his life. His former studio has been made into a theater and exhibit hall. His bedroom is kept precisely as he left it. Other exhibits present media coverage of Bob Marley's life and display his platinum and gold records. The museum is decorated with colorful Rastafarian banners, and a statue of Bob Marley has been erected in the museum's garden. The museum gift store offers a complete collection of Bob Marley's music and memorabilia of every kind.
No Jamaica vacation is complete without a visit to the Bob Marley Museum. Located in Kingston near the popular all inclusive resorts Jamaica, it is well worth taking a day off from the fun and sun of all inclusive beach resorts to pay homage to one of the twentieth century's greatest musical geniuses.

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