Reggae was not a well-known type of music, but Jamaican singer, songwriter, and musician Bob Marley taught people to love it. Although Marley passed away in 1981, his name will live on forever, which makes his new album title, "Live Forever," self-explanatory. This album will be released February 1, just five days before his birthday.

Marley’s unique style of reggae was influenced by where he grew up: Saint Ann, Jamaica. A lot of Marley’s music comes from his own background and the struggles he had growing up. With his father passing away when he was only 10 and having questions about his own racial identity, it’s easy to imagine how much he has to sing about.

Dropping out of school at 14 to pursuit his career really showed his love for music. At 17 he released his first singles and the next year formed a group, "The Teenagers" and many changes later became "The Wailers."

A couple bands after "The Wailers," he kept the band title "Bob Marley & The Wailers," although they had broken up. His Rastafarian beliefs sculpted the way his music turned out.

His new album will be two discs and include many of his most popular songs including "No Woman No Cry," "Is This Love," and "Jammin’."

"Is This Love" is a real people pleaser. Marley uses a wide variety of unique Jamaican instruments. These instruments such as: congo drums, maracas, triangles, brass instruments, bass, and even something called a "boompipe" which is a stamping tube, are much different than the usual American instruments, which make it fun to listen to. In this song Marley is questioning whether he is in love or not, which is made clear by him constantly repeating "Is this love? Is this love?"

"Get Up, Stand Up" was the last song Marley ever performed live in concert. This song is about fighting for rights and equality which Marley was all for. "And now you see the light, you stand up for your rights!" is a common line sung throughout the song. With Marley’s father being a white and mother being black he became very confused about his mixed ancestry, so this song is very personal to him.

"No Woman, No Cry" is one of Marley’s most popular songs. Since Marley, this song has been remixed and sung been many other artists including: The Fugees, Sean Kingston, and Sublime. "My feet is my only carriage, so I’ve got to push on through, but while I’m gone, everything’s gonna be alright." This song is about comfort and making sure the "woman" knows when he leaves everything will be alright. His wife sang backup in this song which isn’t a surprise because most of his family members are singers.

Bob Marley’s music will never, ever truly be gone. He has had a huge impact on music, especially reggae and
will always be remembered for it.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars