A legend in music. He pioneered reggae and is cemented into music history as one of the best. How Bob Marley died is a tragic story, but one that was surrounded by family and community.
Bob Marley was born in Nine Mile, Jamaica, on February 6, 1945, and became friends with Bunny Wailer with whom he would eventually form Bob Marley and the Wailers. He married Rita Anderson and converted to Rastafari, where his songs “Redemption Song,” “Jah Live,” and “So Jah S’eh” were influenced by his own beliefs. Other popular songs of him include “Buffalo Soldier,” “No Woman, No Cry,” and “Three Little Birds.”
His life is now the subject of a new biopic titled Bob Marley: One Love. The movie stars Kingsley Ben-Adir as the musician while Bob Marley’s son Ziggy produced the film. While debuting the film details at CinemaCon in 2023, Ziggy revealed that the movie will be able to deepen their connection with the late icon and learn more about the adversity he faced in spreading his layered messages of rebellion, love and unity. Ziggy also gave “huge thanks” to the people of Jamaica “who were critical in ensuring the authenticity of this production.”
So how did Bob Marley die? Read more to find out.
How did Bob Marley die?
How did Bob Marley die? Bob Marley died from acral lentiginous melanoma, an aggressive type of cancer. Marley sought other forms of treatment that substituted western medicine. However, the cancer spread throughout his body to the point that a doctor told his manager Danny Sims that the musician had “more cancer in him than I’ve seen with a live human being.” Marley was on his way from Germany to Jamaica, but he deplaned in Florida and died at the University of Miami Hospital on May 11, 1981. Bob Marley’s last words to his son Ziggy were, “Money can’t buy life.”
Marley had a state funeral held in Jamaica ten days after he died. A public viewing preceded the funeral where an estimated 100,000 people attended to pay their respects. The casket contained his red Gibson Les Paul guitar, a Bible opened at Psalm 23, and a stalk of ganja placed there by his widow, Rita. Marley also wore dreads, but it was a wig since all his hair fell out during cancer treatment.
The “Redemption Song” musician was diagnosed with melanoma after finding a black spot under his toe. He and his doctor ignored the lesion on his toe since they thought it was a soccer injury. However, it began to spread and a biopsy revealed that it was actually an aggressive melanoma. He rejected doctor’s advice to amputate the toe due to his religious beliefs. But the nail and toe graft were removed instead.
Marley continued to tour—selling out shows in Milan, Italy, and Madison Square Garden in New York City. He collapsed while jogging in Central Park and found out that his cancer spread to other parts of his body. He canceled the rest of his tour and was transferred to the clinic of Josef Issels in Rottach-Egern, Bavaria, Germany, where he underwent an alternative cancer treatment called Issels treatment.
Ziggy Marley revealed his father’s true legacy to Grammy.com. “I think for me what I learned from my father most [from] being around him is a way of having principles and living up to your principles and standing up for your principles,” his son says. “His example is a good example for me. … Selflessness, charity, standing up for what you believe, and having principles. Spirituality too.”
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