Bob Marley was a Jamaican singer songwriter and musician who was widely considered one of the most influential figures in I love music history his unique sound blended elements of traditional "African music reggae" and Scott to create an unmistakable style that moved Millions around the world he often infused his music with spiritual themes inspired by his Rastafarian Faith.
Bob Marley |
Bob Marley Death
Unfortunately Bob passed away in 1981 for "melanoma cancer" but over the years there's been one question that has consistently been brought up when talking about Bob's death and that is did the U.S Central Intelligence Agency have something to do with it and there's a ton of reasons why this question was being asked.
So today that's exactly what we're going to be talking about so let's take a look at this Theory and further examine the evidence that points towards possible CIA involvement in “Bob Marley's death”.
Brief Overview of Bob Marley's Life and Career
Bob Marley was born in Nine Mile Saint and parish Jamaica on February 6 1945. His mother Cedela was Jamaican and his father novel Marley was a white British Plantation overseer. Growing up Bob was heavily influenced by his mother's Afro-Jamaican culture and his father's British Heritage which later shaped his unique worldview and musical style.
At the age of 10 Bob moved with his mother to trench town a low-income area in “Kingston Jamaica” it was in trench-town where he discovered his passion for music. Attending Stephanie primary and Junior High School where he would meet his future bandmates Neville Bunny Livingston and Peter Tosh.
Bob's childhood was marked by poverty and social unrest in “Jamaica” which deeply affected his music and his commitment to social justice. These experiences along with his Rastafarian Faith would play a significant role in shaving his music and play a role in him becoming a Cultural Icon.
Bob Marley's Musical Career
Bob Marley's musical career begins in the early 1960s when he formed “The Wailers” with his friends Neville Bunny Livingston and Peter Tosh.
The group was heavily influenced by American R and B and soul music was popular in Jamaica at the top and they quickly gained a reputation for being a talented live act in 1964. The Wailers sign was renowned Jamaican record label Studio one where they recorded their first hit songs including “Simmer Down” and “One Love”. These songs were hit in Jamaica and The Wailers quickly gained a large following.
However, tensions within the group led to the departure of Livingston Natasha in the late 1960s, despite these changes Bob continued to record and tour as The Wailers in the early 1970s the group achieved International success when they signed with “Island Records” a British record label specializing in promoting “reggae music” to a global audience.
Their 1973 album catch a fire included the hit song Stir It Up and Concrete Jungle and helped establish Bob Marley and the Wailers as one of the most influential and popular reggae acts in the world.
Over the years the Wailers released several critically acclaimed albums including “Burning Spear” in 1973 and Natty Dread in 1974 which celebrated social justice spirituality and Love. Bob Marley became an icon for the Global Peace movement using his music as a means of promoting social change.
During this time Jamaica was experiencing political turmoil including civil unrest, poverty and institutional racism. “Bob's Music” reflected these struggles in his lyric which contained messages against the government and support for Black Power Movements.
His music became Anthems for those seeking change within Jamaican society and around the world furthering his influence as a cultural icon. Marley songs became Anthems for many Jamaicans who viewed him as a symbol of Hope in difficult times. His lyric spoke of freedom and justice for the voiceless and abreast something that resonated with people all around the world.
However his songs made him a target for those in power who didn't appreciate his message and this is where the theories begin.
Who Want Assassinate Bob Marley
The purpose of all those activities of violence and armed robbery and murder coupled with the propaganda campaigns calling for the overthrow of the Michael Manley government naturally created a situation of Terror, really of tension of uncertainty of doubt and fear Michael Manley who had never expressed a political affiliation was suddenly thrust into the political Arena.
When both parties saw his endorsement Bob Marley however was wary of the risk that came with being associated with the political figure during such a volatile time. He planned a peace concert, a concert that he wanted to represent peace.
Bob Marley's idea was to bring both candidates on stage and have Michael Manley and Edward Seaga shake hands showing the good intentions of both of the leaders but false rumors that he was supporting Michael Manley began to circulate and posters started appearing around Kingston.
Suggesting that Marley was going to do the concert on the front line of Prime Minister Michael Manley's home both parties did eventually agree to have the concert at a neutral site but it was too late.
Who Shot Bob Marley
Bob Marley's perceived favor for Michael Manley made him a target for the conservative right which included the U.S and the CIA. Aware that his life was in danger Bob Marley hired a secure detail to guard his home 24/7.
However, on December the 3rd 1976 his guards were strangely absent when two car loads of gunmen came to kill him. They ran through his compound shooting everybody that they could find and Bob Marley's was hit along with his wife Rita who was shot in the head and a few of his crew members.
Now the concert that he had booked in order to promote peace was supposed to take place just two days after this and most of Bob Marley's friends begged him not to do the concert but his publish was trying hard to convince him that he needed to go.
Bob Marley told his publicist that the only way he would go was with the machine gun in his hands and that's when his published told him your guitar is your machine gun and Marley agreed that he should go and perform for the concert.
He performed in front of 80,000 people singing and imploring the audience to be peaceful saying “why can't we love one another what is wrong with you my brothers” it was a brave and vulnerable moment for Marley and marked the moment that he truly started to become a figure of Peace but 10 days later Michael Manley was Re-Elected and Bob Marley in fear for his life, he fled Jamaica for England the question of who Shot Bob Marley Still Remains a mystery to this day but many speculate that the men who tried to assassinate Bob Marley that day were working on behalf of Edward Seaga.
Jamaican Labor Party whether Edward Seaga gave the direct order or not has never been conclusively proven.
How and Why People Think the CIA Killed Bob Marley
Now you're probably aware in saying that Bob Marley's death wasn't caused by gunshots and you would be right instead he passed away due to cancer I needed to provide you guys with the last chapter of this story in order to fully explain this next Theory as it builds off of that backstory without this context the next part wouldn't make any sense but here is how and why people think the CIA killed Bob Marley it's been well documented that the CIA has an extensive foul on Bob Marley in fact now.
Declassified documents revealed that the CIA had a particular interest in Bob Marley due to his popularity and influence in the country the agency reportedly saw Bob Marley as a potential threat to their efforts to influence "Jamaican Politics" and viewed his music as a tool for spreading Revolutionary Ideas.
Rastafarian |
Controversy over Bob Marley Death and Conspiracy Theories
When Bob Marley passed away from "Cancer Theory" started piping up everywhere questioning political involvement some suggested some type of poison was used on Bob Marley that caused the skin cancer and then led to his brain cancer which led to his death.
This Theory suggests that Carl Kobe son of the CIA director at the time William said. “We gave Bob Marley a pair of soccer cleats that had a piece of radioactive wire inside of it that pricked his toes and caused the cancer” now conspiracy theorists have suggested that it would have been harder for Bob Marley to get melanoma the type of cancer that he had due to his "Melanated Skin".
However, this theory was debunked by the Mayo Clinic in a study that they did they showed melanoma can still occur commonly even on dark skin particularly in places that don't get much sunlight like the toes exactly where his was at but that isn't the only Theory.
Another theory was that a man who helped him manage his diet was a former SS officer working with the CIA to poisoning then there were the rumors of a CIA agent named Bill actually confessing with his last dying breath to "killing Bob Marley" but here's what I discovered looking through it all the rumor about the radioactive copper that was left in his cleat can be traced back to a Daily Mail article.
Daily Mail is known for its sensationalist headlines and tabloid style reporting. So it's not the most trusted Source. The rumor about the CIA agent Bill actually came from a now archived website called yournewswire.com up which was closed down in 2019.
The creator of yournewswire.com said when I close your newswire.com down in late 2019 it moved the news punch to focus on what we would cover editorially changed and it was decided that we would no longer cover unreliable conspiracies whilst also being much more responsible and fact-checking content before it's published.
So yeah, you really can't trust that Source either but this hasn't stopped the rumor from spreading a 2018 reprint of the story in a Nigerian newspaper called Vanguard was shared by Buster Rhymes and TI on their Instagram accounts.
A full year after getting shot and doing his performance at Smile Jamaica Bob Marley was playing soccer when he injured his foot the injury seemed worse than normal and as the days continued it became worse.
He eventually went to a doctor port at the doctor he discovered that he had Acro melanoma a form of skin cancer that developed under his toenail doctors advised Marley to get the toe amputated to stop the cancer from spreading but his strong faith opposed the procedure.
It “Rastafarianism” the body is considered a temple and removing a limb is considered a sin instead he opted to have skin grafts perform and he battled his cancer for another four years.
Bob Marley Last Live Musical Performance
In 1980 Bob Marley collapsed in Central Park while he was jogging.
He played his last show in September of that year in Pittsburgh marking his last live musical performance ever after this show. He canceled all of the remaining tour dates that he had and flew to Germany for a unique diet-based treatment administered by Josef M. Issels now this is the guy that they thought was responsible for killing Marley as well in the other conspiracy theory around this but the truth is that Marley stayed in Germany with "Josef M. Issels" for eight months but the treatments just weren't working, so he decided it was time to return to Jamaica.
Bob Marley's Last Words
However, on his flight home his condition worsened so they made an emergency stop in Miami and when they landed Bob Marley was rushed to the hospital on May 11 1981. Bob was at the Cedars of Lebanon Hospital when he passed away his son Ziggy was there with him when it happened and he said that Bob Marley's last words were “Money Can't Buy Light”
Later that month Marley was given a state-sponsored funeral was Prime Minister Edward Siega saying “his voice was an omnipresent cry in our electronic World his shark features Majestic looks and prancing style of vivid etching on the landscape of our minds “Bob Marley” was never seen he was an experience which left an inedible imprint with each encounter such a man cannot be erased from the mind he is part of the collective consciousness of the nation”.
Marley was buried in a chapel near his birthplace along with his Gibson guitar in conclusion Bob Marley's Legacy. he has an influential musician and cultural icon cannot be overstated despite his untimely death at the young age of 36 for “Melanoma Cancer” there have been persistent rumors over the years that his death may have been connected to the CIA's interest in Jamaican politics and their perceived threat of Marley's influence.
However, as we've seen there is little concrete evidence to support theories it's important to separate fact from fiction and focus on Bob Marley's incredible contributions to music and social justice Marley's music continues to inspire and resonate with people around the world till this day and his message of peace and unity remains as relevant as ever.
Bob Marley Death
In 1981 the world war in the loss of Bob Marley who passed away at the young age of 36 from a rare type of Melanoma Cancer. However, many have since speculated that Bob Marley untimely death was not just a matter of unfortunate circumstance but the result of a conspiracy involving the CIA and Jamaican politics.
During the Cold War the U.S government was deeply concerned about the spread of Communism in the Caribbean and saw Jamaica as a key battleground for thwarting Soviet influence. To achieve this the CIA began meddling in Jamaican politics funding Anti-Communist Groups and politicians and engaging in propaganda campaigns to discredit their opponents.
Bob Marley a beloved and influential figure in Jamaica found himself caught in a crossfire of this political turmoil in 1976 Jamaica Was preparing for a highly contested election between two major political parties one was the incumbent Michael Manley's People's National Party or the PMP and the other was Edward Seaga Jamaican labor party or the JLP
Michael Manley had the support of Jamaica's communist Network Cuba while Edward Seaga was considered a friend of United States. In his agency Manley's visit to Cuba to see how Fidel Castro was running his regime put him on the CIA's list of unfriendly. In the middle of the Cold War on the other hand Edward Seaga was known to be very close with the U.S
Bob Marley found himself caught in the middle of this political tension as his influence could have the power to affect and sway the entire election. I believe the CIA was using the Jamaican Labor Party as its instrument in the entire campaign against the Michael Manley government
I'd say most of the violence was coming from the Jamaica Labor Party side and behind them was the CIA in terms of getting the weapons in and getting the money in with all the propaganda guidance because there was a steady stream a continuous campaign of propaganda against the Michael Manley government,
The weapons there was no problem that it was getting weapons in because the ganja smuggling was a perfect route for bringing weapons back into Jamaica from the United States.
The CIA would look upon the radical political content of “Reggae Music” as dangerous because it would help to create a Consciousness among poor people, among the great majority of Jamaicans and of course naturally the climate was created for an attempt on Bob Marley's life.
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