Bob Marley Had Over 11 Children Before His Death at 36 & Other Wild Facts
Bob Marley was a reggae star whose music and name are known all over the world. He released hit songs such as “Three Little Birds” and “Don’t Worry Be Happy” during his career, which was shockingly cut short when he passed away at 36 years old from melanoma. Despite dying at such a young age, he packed a lot into that life and career. Now, a biopic about his life and career is almost here (it premieres on February 14, 2024), starring Kingsley Ben-Adir. To celebrate the biopic and Black History Month, let’s learn some interesting facts about the star.
He had 11 children and possibly more
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Marley acknowledged 11 children but there have been others who claimed to be his children after his death. Marley was married to Rita Anderson and they had three children together. Marley also adopted her daughter from a previous relationship. While they were married, he had eight other children with eight other women. Many of his children and even grandchildren have gone on to start a music career of their own including Ziggy Marley and Skip Marley.
He read palms as a child
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Reportedly, until he was around seven years old, he studied palms and made some accurate predictions about the future. His mother did not like this and made him stop, so he refused to read palms ever again.
He was almost assassinated
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He was shot in the chest and arm in an assassination attempt on December 3, 1976. Rita and four others were also shot but luckily there were no fatalities.
His songs were inspired by life around him
One of Marley’s most famous songs is “Three Little Birds” and it was actually inspired by little birds that would come sit on his windowsill. His friend Tony Gilbert once shared, “Bob got inspired by a lot of things around him, he observed life. I remember the three little birds. They were pretty birds, canaries, who would come by the windowsill at Hope Road.” The song was released as a single just a year before he died.
He smoked around 18 joints a day
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Marley is often considered the stoner of all stoners and was often seen smoking marijuana. He was a Rastafarian and smoking weed was religious to him and he believed in its medicinal properties. Rumors are that he smoked around 18 joints a day. His estate launched its own brand of cannabis in 2016 called Marley Natural Fine Cannabis.
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Oh What A Year: 1980
January 2020
Take a look back at our retrospect of the year 1980 where we celebrate the hottest in movies, music and TV.
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