Nicole Torres

Bob Marley

Robert "Bob" Nesta Marley is the greatest ever reggae singer.  He spread reggae and his message of love and unity to a worldwide audience. His live performances were legendary for their passion and energy. Marley’s album ‘Exodus’ was voted by ‘Time’ magazine as the best of the 20th Century. The BBC declared his song ‘One Love’ as the song of the millennium.

Marley was born in 1945 in a small village in Jamaica to a white father and black mother. The racist bullying he received as a child had an impact on his songwriting. He left school at the age of 14 to make music. He met members of his future band The Wailers at a jam session. It took several years before they became famous.

‘The Wailers’ first album ‘Catch a Fire’ was released in 1973 and sold well. Another album followed a year later which included the song ‘I Shot the Sheriff’. Eric Clapton’s cover of the song in 1974 brought Marley a lot of global attention. In 1975, Marley released his breakthrough song ‘No Woman, No Cry’, still regarded as a classic today.

Marley left Jamaica for England in 1976 to record his ‘Exodus’ and ‘Kaya’ albums. He toured the world and performed to campaign against apartheid in South Africa and to celebrate Zimbabwe’s independence. He died of cancer in 1981, aged 36. He was given a state funeral in Jamaica according to the Rastafari tradition. He continues to be an important influence on today’s music.

SYNONYM MATCH

Match the words from the article on the left with their synonyms on the right. Are your answers the same as other students’?

Paragraphs 1 and 2 

   

1. unity a. famous2 legendary b. well-known3. declared c. influence4. impact d. a number of5. several e. harmony6. famous f. announced

   

Paragraphs 3 and 4 7. released g. push8. global h. brought out9. regarded i. official10. campaign j. thought of11 state k inspiration to12 influence l worldwide

PHRASE MATCH

Match the following phrases from the article:

1. his message a. received as a child2 His live performances are b. of global attention3. song of c. before they became famous4. The racist bullying he d. as a classic today5. It took several years e. influence on today’s music6. ‘Catch a Fire’ was released in 1973 f. of love and unity7. brought Marley a lot g. funeral8. still regarded h. legendary9. He was given a state i. and sold well10. He continues to be an important j. the millennium

LISTENING GAP FILL

Robert "Bob" Nesta Marley is __the greatest ever___ reggae singer.  He spread reggae and _his message of love__ and unity to a worldwide audience. His live performances were legendary ___for their passion and__ energy. Marley’s album ‘Exodus’ was voted by ‘Time’ magazine as the best of the 20th Century. The BBC declared his song ‘One Love’ as the song _ of the millennium___.

Marley was born in 1945 __ in a small village in___ Jamaica to a white father and black mother. The ___ racist bullying he_____ received as a child had ____ had an impact on his_____ songwriting. He left school at the age of 14 to make music. He met members of his future band The Wailers at a jam session. It took several years before ____ they became famous __.

The Wailers' first album ‘Catch a Fire’ was ___released in 1973 ___ and sold well. Another ___ album followed a___ year later which included the song ‘I Shot The Sheriff’. Eric Clapton’s _____ cover of the song ____ in 1974 brought Marley a lot of global attention. In 1975, Marley released his breakthrough song ‘No Woman, No Cry’, still ____regarded as a classic ___ today.

Marley left Jamaica for England ______1976 to record_____ his ‘Exodus’ and ‘Kaya’ albums. He ___ toured the world____ and performed to campaign against apartheid in South Africa __and to

celebrate____ Zimbabwe’s independence. He died of cancer in 1981, aged 36. He was given a state funeral in Jamaica according to the Rastafari tradition. He continues to be a ___ important influence__ on today’s music.

CHOOSE THE CORRECT WORD

Delete the wrong word in each of the pairs in italics.

Robert "Bob" Nesta Marley is the greatest ever reggae singer.  He spread reggae and his message of love and unity to a worldwide audience. His live performances were legendary for their passion and energy. Marley’s album ‘Exodus’ was voted by ‘Time’ magazine as the best of the 20th Century. The BBC declared his song ‘One Love’ as the song of the millennium.

Marley was born in 1945 in a small village in Jamaica to a white father and black mother. The racist bullying he received as a child had an impact on his songwriting. He left school at the age of 14 to make music. He met members of his future band The Wailers at a jam session. It took several years before they became famous.

The Wailers' first album ‘Catch a Fire’ was released in 1973 and sold well. Another album followed a year later this included the song ‘I Shot the Sheriff’. Eric Clapton’s cover of the song in 1974 brought Marley a lot of global attention. In 1975, Marley released his breakthrough song ‘No Woman, No Cry’, still regarded as a classic today.

Marley left Jamaica for England in 1976 to record his ‘Exodus’ and ‘Kaya’ albums. He toured the world and performed to campaign against apartheid in South Africa and to celebrate Zimbabwe’s independence. He died of cancer in 1981, aged 36. He was given a state funeral in Jamaica according to the Rastafari tradition. He continues to be an important influence on today’s music.

SPELLING

The underlined, jumbled words are from the text. Spell them correctly.

Paragraph 1 1. the greatest ever reggae singer2. his message of love and unity3. passion and energy4. song of the millennium

Paragraph 2

 5. racist bullying6. had an impact on his songwriting7. He met members of his future band8. It took several years

Paragraph 3 9. Another album followed a year later10. Eric Clapton’s cover of the song11. a lot of global attention12. still regarded as a classical

Paragraph 4 13. campaign against apartheid14. He died of cancer15. the Rastafari tradition16. an important influence on today’s music

PUT THE TEXT BACK TOGETHER

Number these lines in the correct order.

( 8 )

 

included the song ‘I Shot The Sheriff’. Eric Clapton’s cover of the song in 1974 brought Marley a lot of global

( 1 )

 

Robert "Bob" Nesta Marley is the greatest ever reggae singer.  He spread reggae and his message of love and

( 6)

 

members of his future band The Wailers at a jam session. It took several years before they became famous.

( 2 )

 

unity to a worldwide audience. His live performances were legendary for their passion and energy. Marley’s album ‘Exodus’

(  9)

 

attention. In 1975, Marley released his breakthrough song ‘No Woman, No Cry’, still regarded as a classic today.

(  4 )

 

Marley was born in 1945 in a small village in Jamaica to a white father and black mother. The racist

(  13  ) to the Rastafari tradition. He continues to be an important influence on today’s music.

 (  11  )

 

world and performed to campaign against apartheid in South Africa and to celebrate Zimbabwe’s

(  3  )

 

was voted by ‘Time’ magazine as the best of the 20th Century. The BBC declared

( 5  )

 

bullying he received as a child had an impact on his songwriting. He left school at the age of 14 to make music. He met

(  14 )

 

his song ‘One Love’ as the song of the millennium.

(  12  )

 

independence. He died of cancer in 1981, aged 36. He was given a state funeral in Jamaica according

(  7 )

 

The Wailers' first album ‘Catch a Fire’ was released in 1973 and sold well. Another album followed a year later which

(  10  )

 

Marley left Jamaica for England in 1976 to record his ‘Exodus’ and ‘Kaya’ albums. He toured the

SCRAMBLED SENTENCES

With your partner, put the words back into the correct order.

1. Marley is the  greatest  reggae singer ever   2. He has spread his message of love and unity3. Marley was born in 1945 in a small village in4. He left school at the age of 14 to make music5. It took several years before they became famous.6. Another album followed a year later7. In 1975, Marley released his breakthrough song8. Marley left Jamaica for England in 19769. He was given a state funeral in Jamaica10. He continues to be an important influence

BOB MARLEY DISCUSSION

STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

1. What do you know about Bob Marley? That he was a famous reggae singer and that he was from Jamaica. He is really famous for his work: ‘Exodus’ ‘One love’ ‘Three little birds’

2. Would you like to have met Bob Marley? Of course!!! He was such a good singer… that would be amazing.

3. What would you like to know about Bob Marley and why? If is true that he die because of the use of drugs. I don’t think so, but I would like to know

4. What was his favorite song?5. Who was his inspiration in writing his song ‘Jammin’?6. How did he know what to write in his songs?7. What would you like to know about him?8. Did he have any other dream besides singing?

BOB MARLEY SURVEY

Write five questions about Bob Marley in the table. Do this in pairs/groups. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper.

Without your partner, interview other students. Write down their answers.

  STUDENT 1

_____________Q.1.

 

 Why did he really die?

Q.2.

 

 What historical background did Jamaica had in Marley’s childhood?

Q.3.

 

 Who were his influences in his music?

Q.4.

 

 Did he write all his songs?

Q.5.

 

 Why did he write so much about peace and unity?

WRITING

Write about Bob Marley for 10 minutes. Show your partner your paper. Correct each other’s work.

In my opinion, Bob Marley is the best reggae singer ever. All his songs are great and they all talk about peace and love. That’s why I like him so much as an artist, because he was always trying to bring peace and unity among black and white. His songs are not superficial, I mean they are not talking about useless things; they always talk about something important like love and other feelings.

HOMEWORK

1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google’s search field to build up more associations / collocations of each word.

Message: communicate, pass on, pass, pass along, put across Tradition: affect, impact, bear upon, bear on, touch on, touch Racism: discrimination, segregation Greatest: important, extraordinary, successful Impact: wedge, squeeze, force Unity: close, and feeling good about someone Harmony: Agreement in feeling or opinion; accord, pleasing combination of things.

2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find more information about Bob Marley.

Marley left Jamaica at the end of 1976, and after a month-long "recovery and writing" sojourn at the site of Chris Blackwell's Compass Point Studios in Nassau, Bahamas, arrived in England, where he spent two years in self-imposed exile. Whilst there he recorded the albums Exodus and Kaya. Exodus stayed on the British album charts for 56 consecutive weeks. It included four UK hit singles: "Exodus", "Waiting in Vain", "Jamming", and "One Love" (a rendition of Curtis Mayfield's hit, "People Get Ready"). During his time in London, he was arrested and received a conviction for possession of a small quantity of cannabis.[28] In 1978, Marley returned to Jamaica and performed at another political concert, the One Love Peace Concert, again in an effort to calm warring parties. Near the end of the performance, by Marley's request, Michael Manley (leader of then-ruling People's National Party) and his political rival Edward Seaga (leader of the opposing Jamaica Labour Party), joined each other on stage and shook hands.[29]

Under the name Bob Marley and the Wailers eleven albums were released, four live albums and seven studio albums. The releases included Babylon by Bus, a double live album with thirteen tracks, was released in 1978 and received critical acclaim. This album, and specifically the final track "Jamming" with the audience in a frenzy, captured the intensity of Marley's live performances.[30]

"Marley wasn’t singing about how peace could come easily to the World but rather how hell on Earth comes too easily to too many. His songs were his memories; he had lived with the wretched, he had seen the downpressers and those whom they pressed down."

— Mikal Gilmore, Rolling Stone Magazine [31]

Survival, a defiant and politically charged album, was released in 1979. Tracks such as "Zimbabwe", "Africa Unite", "Wake Up and Live", and "Survival" reflected Marley's support for the struggles of Africans. His appearance at the Amandla Festival in Boston in July 1979 showed his strong opposition to South African apartheid, which he already had shown in his song "War" in 1976. In early 1980, he was invited to perform at the 17 April celebration of Zimbabwe's Independence Day. Uprising (1980) was Bob Marley's final studio album, and is one of his most religious productions; it includes "Redemption Song" and "Forever Loving Jah".[32] Confrontation, released posthumously in 1983, contained unreleased material recorded during Marley's lifetime, including the hit "Buffalo Soldier" and new mixes of singles previously only available in Jamaica. (Wikipedia)

3. BOB MARLEY POSTER: Make a poster showing the different stages of the life of Bob Marley. Show your poster to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all find out similar things?

4. MAGAZINE ARTICLE: Write a magazine article about Bob Marley. Include an imaginary interview with him. Write about what he did every day and what he thought about.

Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Give each other feedback on your articles.

5. LETTER: Write a letter to Bob Marley. Ask him three questions about his life. Tell him how important he is in today’s world. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your “Bob Marley expert” partner(s) will try and answer your questions.

SYNONYM MATCH:

Paragraphs 1 and 2 

   

1. unity a. famous2 legendary b. well-known3. declared c. influence4. impact d. a number of5. several e. harmony6. famous f. announced

Paragraphs 3 and 4 

   

7. released g. push8. global h. brought out

9. regarded i. official10. campaign j. thought of11 state k inspiration to12 influence l worldwide

PHRASE MATCH:

1. his message a. of love and unity2 His live performances were b. legendary3. song of c. the millennium4. The racist bullying he d. received as a child5. It took several years e. before they became famous6. ‘Catch a Fire’ was released in 1973 f. and sold well7. brought Marley a lot g. of global attention8. still regarded h. as a classic today9. He was given a state i. funeral10. He continues to be an important j. influence on today’s music