Bob Marley introduced not just America, but the ENTIRE WORLD, to Rastafari music and culture, particularly the concept of ONENESS and REVOLUTION to those masses who needed a voice to articulate their feelings of unity through struggle and the power of socio-cultural revolution. For this, we should ALL be grateful. How many artists do you know wrote the songs that became the anthems for national liberation movements like in the Caribbean or in particular in
Zimbabwe ? Bob Marley preached this message all over the world. rich and poor folks and all those in between have enjoyed bob's music and also heard his message from South and Central America to the heart of Africa, Europe to China, all over the world
"everybody loves bob marley everywhere I go its the same ol story, people of all nation they love the rastaman vibration"
In regards to reggae being not musically diverse, that is simply a person's conclusion based upon ignorance. If you listen to more reggae, you will find all the diversity which it possesses. There are so many different subtle variations to the guitar work, the chord structures, the melodies, even the simple ca-chank ca-chank skank is not one kind of pattern, but several varieties which good reggae musicians sync together. When you begin to play or seriously listen to reggae music with a musician's ear you will hear all these variations.. it is a truly original, and wide variety of music, much more so than it gets credit for.
and good point with Bob Marley on this thread, I didn't even think about him because his contributions in life were already so fucking great, I couldn't imagine what he could have done further.
I think that above all else, BOB MARLEY TAUGHT US TO BE OURSELVES, and TO LIVE FOR SOMETHING GREATER THAN OURSELVES!
no onto Jimi Hendrix who was my choice for this thread..
Jimi was not going out, jimi was coming up. If you listen to the studio recordings and live tunes that had yet to be released (approx 12-14 cuts)
tunes like Freedom, Coming in From the Storm, Astroman, Room Full of Mirrors, New Rising Sun.. shit these are the BEST hendrix tracks which were YET TO be released proving how much Jimi had left to do for us abd these were perhaps his FINEST, most diverse and best crafted tunes. Their lyrics were more cutting, more of a personal and socia commentary, and the music was more demanding, more experimental, more complex...
in other words, Jimi Hendrix was far from done when he passed away, and I feel that the things he could have brought to music would have been beyond revolutionary. His style is unmatched, and I think we most definitely lost him too soon..
of all the dead rock stars, Jimi died with the shortest career, but yet paradoxically it was one of the biggest and most relatively prolific, and I think that he didn't get HALF HIS chance to change the face of music and culture like he wanted too.. hendrix could have been the distorted guitar version of Michael Jackson had he lived a bit longer..
Hendrix taught us to ENJOY ourselves!
"I used to live in a room full of mirrors.. and all I could see was me.. than I take my spirit and I crash those mirrors, and now the whole world is there for me to see.."