Bob Marley. . King of Reggae?

[tiedye]

I know I'm going to catch flak for this, but I've been listening to a lot more reggae than usual and I'm starting to think he's overrated. I mean, his music is great, but I think there's much better work out there than his. Peter Tosh, for example, has become my new favourite reggae artist. His work has so much more to it than Marley's, yet still retains the simple reggae feel.

It's my belief now, that Bob Marley is highly overrated, and that his work was just easily marketed to the masses. He may have strongly helped pave way for reggae into north american culture, but I can't say that he's the Grandfather of Reggae anymore. Reggae was there before him, and reggae continues after him - nothing he did was revolutionary to the genre, only to the spread of it.

now it's time to get my head ripped off.

edit: and I do see the irony in the fact that I have his lyrics in my signature.

[decypher]

Well you also have to look at his cultural influence as an icon which proliferates his image.

[tiedye]

care to elaborate? I'm completely interested in other points of view on this subject.

[decypher]

Well for every form of music there is always some cultural icon who moves forward and makes an impact on popular music and people as a whole. So it's a combination of factors from the music, the persona, the politics and environment of the time in which they rose in the collective consciousness.

[tiedye]

That's actually a really good point. But what about bands like The Beatles. Not only did they bring politics and the environment into their music, they also shaped and directed the future sound of Rock and Roll. I've heard plenty of pre-marley reggae, and plenty of post-marley reggae and I can't say that there's much of a difference, save for the introduction of technology (which he cannot be credited for) into the sound which strengthens my statement that the "Legend" that was Bob Marley wasn't revolutionary to the genre.

[dabbler]

calling bob marley the king of reggae is kinda true, but only to us in north america. he was the packaged image that whats-his-name-who-signed-nirvana found to market to the masses over here, and in jamaica was liked, but not given nearly as much respect as the rest of the world. (or so i have read)

[tiedye]

^^
john poneman and bruce pavitt from Sub Pop Records? I didn't know they had anything to do with Bob Marley. I had always thought they were pretty much only credited for the early Seattle grunge scene.

[dabbler]

ummm no

[dabbler]

i'm probably confused, apparently it was blackwell who signed him to island. i thought he was signed to warner

[DefJef]

bob marley is the shit.

i can have the shittiest day in the world and put on a marley tune and have an ear to ear grin on my face in seconds

[LastWerd]

good topic of convo and good responces.

I argee that he is overrated, I have always thought that and people take it the wrong way and think i am nuts.
I agree, he was an icon for it, alot of people here respect reggae because of him. I think he brought light to the music for alot of people, I could be wrong. He seems to be the most spoken of for the genre.
Personally I do think he is a bit overrated and a bit over played... but I say that about alot of artists, lol.

[tiedye]

Originally Posted by dabbler

i'm probably confused, apparently it was blackwell who signed him to island. i thought he was signed to warner

and I thought you were talking about the first label to sign Nirvana, not the first major label.


sirjeff, you're right. Marley is great when you're having a shitty day. Marley is great when you're having a wicked day too. We're not debating whether his music was good or not, we're debating the validity of calling him the Godfather of Reggae.

LastWerd, I've agreed with quite a few of your posts and I'm glad to see you agreeing with one of mine. Not many people really question these topics. Props for thinking outside the box.

[dj_soo]

that title is more for his mainstream impact than purely on the quality of his music. You can call Madonna the "Queen of Pop" but that doesn't necessarily mean she makes the best pop music ever...

[tiedye]

Originally Posted by dj_soo

that title is more for his mainstream impact than purely on the quality of his music. You can call Madonna the "Queen of Pop" but that doesn't necessarily mean she makes the best pop music ever...

touche! That's actually a really really good example, sir. I guess sometimes pure talent doesn't get you nearly as much recognition as marketability.

[Bitchin]

Originally Posted by sirjeff

bob marley is the shit.

i can have the shittiest day in the world and put on a marley tune and have an ear to ear grin on my face in seconds

Wow, I was goin to say the EXACT same thing.

[Sykonee]

His status as a reggae cultural icon has more to do with how successful he was in America than in his homeland. As a result, plus his early death, it elevated him into this mythical status that only continues to grow with each generation.

Musically, however, he was in about the same league as a huge number of reggae artists during that time, though maybe a little more coherrent to Americans who couldn't cut through the thick Jamaican slang.

[dabbler]

Originally Posted by dj_soo

that title is more for his mainstream impact than purely on the quality of his music. You can call Madonna the "Queen of Pop" but that doesn't necessarily mean she makes the best pop music ever...

i was gonna say the EXACT same thing!!!

[oxide]

you wouldn't know what reggae is if it wasn't for bob marley;
he brought it to north america in the 60s

[Bevvy Swift]

bob marley wasnt actually given any recognition by most of the reggae crowd in jamaica, because his sound wasnt even considered reggae at that point. only after he sold millions of records in the us did he get credit from his traditional counterparts.

reggae as we know it today would not exist if it werent for bob marley.