[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 14 (Wednesday, February 8, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E97]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 COMMEMORATION OF BOB MARLEY'S BIRTHDAY

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 8, 2006

  Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to pay homage to a man who gave 
a voice to the voiceless first in his native Jamaica and then 
throughout the world. The legendary reggae singer Bob Marley would have 
turned 61 on Monday, February 6 and it is appropriate that we pause to 
recognize the extraordinary impact of his life and work. Not only did 
Marley define reggae music as we know it today, but he introduced it 
outside his native land of Jamaica, achieving international superstar 
status and shaping music on a global scale. His message of freedom and 
empowerment resonated everywhere and was an inspiration to a 
generation.
  While evolving his sound to encompass rock and African themes, Marley 
never diluted his message, underpinning his music with the politics and 
theology of his Rastafarian beliefs and his personal struggles in 
Jamaica. He has inspired everyone from Stevie Wonder to The Clash with 
his lyrics.
  His music was a social force, calling for opportunity, justice and 
freedom and challenging those who sought change to act to achieve it. 
Throughout his career, he was influenced by the gulf between haves and 
have-nots, a culture of oppression that was particularly evident in his 
poverty- and crime-ridden homeland. Reggae's mesmerizing rhythms 
carried an undeniable signature that rose to the fore of the music 
scene in the 1970s, largely through the recorded work of Marley and his 
group the Wailers. Some of his albums, such as Natty Dread and Rastaman 
Vibration endure as reggae milestones that gave a voice to the poor of 
Jamaica and, by extension, the world. Much of his music today aims to 
uplift the impoverished and powerless, instilling in them a beautiful 
sense of dignity in their culture, despite the hardships they 
encountered in their daily lives. In 1978, he received a United Nations 
Peace Award for his attempts to calm the warring factions of Jamaican 
politics and played at Zimbabwe's independence celebrations in 1980, 
where he came to learn that more Zimbabweans knew the lyrics of his 
song than they did the words of the national anthem.
  Marley died prematurely at age 36 in 1981, after doctors discovered a 
cancerous growth on his foot haphazardly after a soccer game. Despite 
his death, the heartbeat reggae rhythms of the music that he left 
behind continue to thrive today. Moreover, Jamaica itself has been 
transformed by his legacy. Marley was buried on the island with full 
state honors on May 21, 1981. In a crowning irony, given the reviled 
status that Rastafarians and their music had once suffered at the hands 
of the Jamaican government, Marley's pacifist reggae anthem, ``One 
Love,'' was adapted as a theme song by the Jamaican Tourist Board.
  Bob Marley continues to live today in our hearts and minds, as does 
his music. With anthems such as ``Get Up Stand'' he continues to fight 
for those who feel they cannot. With such a vision, Marley continues to 
be worthy of recognition and remembrance.

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