Ziggy Marley was just a 12-year-old boy when his father, Bob Marley, passed away from cancer at the young age of 36. But the love of reggae and the people of Jamaica were already profoundly engrained in the eldest of Bob’s children.
At the age of 10, Ziggy, along with his siblings, recorded his first song, “Children Playing in The Street,” written by Bob. Since his death, Ziggy has valiantly and honorably carried on his father’s legacy.
In continued celebration of what would’ve been Bob Marley’s 75th birthday, Ziggy performed a stellar livestream concert. In a beautiful tribute to his father, Ziggy entertained fans with renditions of Bob’s iconic songs’ in an hour-long performance.
Marley and his fantastic band took to the stage in Los Angeles at the CEEK VR Studio, where the group practiced social distancing with partitions separating the members. Those not singing were wearing masks.
Ziggy started the intimate evening off right with the classic song “Roots, Rock, Reggae,” from his father’s 1976 album, Rastaman Vibrations. Marley’s setlist choices were epically timed. He was seemingly hoping to awaken the world once again as he shared his father’s legendary music and messages with songs like “War/No More Trouble,” “Get Up, Stand Up,” and “Exodus.”
In addition to the more popular songs like “One Love,” Ziggy tapped into the lesser-known songs like “Them Belly Full” and “We and Dem.” In between songs, Marley often emphasized his father’s words, “They don’t want to see us unite, all they want us to do is keep on fussing and fighting,” Yyrics from the song “Top Ranken,” which he also performed.
Sentimental images of Bob flooded the background behind Ziggy and his band as they continued to share the messages in songs like “Positive Vibration,” and “Redemption Song,” performing 11 songs overall. Marley also participated in a Q&A session during the livestream event.
The Marley family is dedicated to preserving the legendary singer’s life and memory, empowering new generations with the unbridled spirit of rising up and taking a stand that is Bob Marley.
If you weren’t able to catch the livestream, you could still catch it on Bob Marley’s official YouTube channel. As always, the Marley family keeps its fans’ best interest at heart! The livestream will also be released as an e-album entitled “Ziggy Marley – Bob Marley 75th Celebration,” which is due out on July 31.
Fans can also continue in the celebration of the Legends 75th birthday with the family as they release additional episodes of the YouTube docu-series, Legacy: 75 Years A Legend, new music videos, and never before seen live performances throughout 2020. But the party doesn’t stop there! Sirius/XM plans to launch a limited-edition Tuff Gong Radio Channel.
On July 24th there was a Legend Picture Disc release that includes a partnership with One Tree Planted with proceeds going to aid in the battle of deforestation.
Be sure to check out our ongoing series of articles on the Legacy: 75 Years A Legend and other items on the legendary Marley family (The LYNNE CHRONICLES here at OC Music News).