She grew up in the upper level of Beachwood Avenue, located in Kingston, Jamaica. Rita was born in Santiago de Cuba, to Leroy Anderson and Cynthia 'Beda' Jarrett. Biography Early life and marriage to Bob Marley She was a member of the vocal group the I Threes, along with Marcia Griffiths and Judy Mowatt, who gained recognition as the backing vocalists for Bob Marley and the Wailers. In the event, Bob Marley & The Wailers played for 90 minutes.Alpharita Constantia 'Rita' Marley, OD (née Anderson born 25 July 1946), is a Cuban-born Jamaican singer and the widow of Bob Marley.

: Loc 1445 Aftermath ĭespite the shooting, Marley promised he would perform one song at the Smile Jamaica Concert on December 5 at National Heroes Park, Kingston. According to Taylor, before one of the shooters was killed, he claimed the job was done for the CIA in exchange for cocaine and guns. : 474ĭon Taylor, Marley's manager, claimed that both he and Marley were present at court in which the gunmen who shot Marley were tried and executed. Timothy White, in his Marley biography, claimed that information he received from JLP and PNP officials, as well as US law enforcement officials, led him to believe that Carl Byah 'Mitchell', a JLP gunman, was contracted by the CIA to organize the Marley shooting and that Lester Coke, aka Jim Brown, led the charge on Hope Road. Those holding the latter view note that the four persons shot, three of them including Marley, only suffered minor wounds.' : 370 Others see it as a deep-laid plot to create a progressive, youthful Jamaican martyr to the benefit of the PNP. 'Some see the incident as an attempt by JLP gunmen to halt the concert, which would feature the 'politically progressive' music of Marley and other reggae stars. Īfter the shooting, the American embassy sent a cable titled 'Reggae Star Shot: Motive probably political'. Nancy Burke, Marley's neighbour and friend, recalled hearing Wailers percussionist Alvin Patterson say 'Is Seaga men! Dem come fi kill Bob!' After the shooting, numerous reports indicated that the gunmen returned to Tivoli Gardens, a neighbourhood loyal to the JLP and home to the notorious Shower Posse. īob Marley told concert chairman Trevor Philips that the leader of the Jamaican Labour Party, Edward Seaga – Michael Manley's political opponent – was alleged to have ordered his bodyguard, Lester 'Jim Brown' Coke, to be present during the shooting. Band employee Louis Griffiths took a bullet to his torso as well. His manager, Don Taylor, was shot in the legs and torso. The gunmen shot Marley in the chest and arm. Marley's wife, Rita, was shot in the head in her car in the driveway. Marley and his band were on break from rehearsal. Assassination attempt Īt 8:30pm, on December 3, 1976, two days before the Smile Jamaica Concert, seven men armed with guns raided Marley's house at 56 Hope Road. However, after the elections were moved up to December 15, both parties considered Marley's concert scheduled just ten days before to be an endorsement for the PNP. Marley and three others were shot, but all survived.Ĭoncert and election controversy īob Marley claimed to be uninvolved in Jamaican politics and had originally agreed to play the Smile Jamaica Concert on the condition that the concert would not be political.

While Marley remained neutral, many viewed him as tacitly supporting the prime minister Michael Manley and his democratic socialist People's National Party (PNP). Politicians from across the political spectrum hoped to capitalize on Marley's support.

Seven armed men raided the residence of reggae musician Bob Marley in Kingston, Jamaica on December 3, 1976, two days before he was to stage a concert in an attempt to quell recent violence.

To halt the 'politically progressive' music of Marley Seven armed gunmen (mainly Lester Loyd Coke)

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