“No, woman… No cry. Everything will get better. Love will return, the rain will stop, and happiness will come.” Bob Marley didn’t write that reggae anthem, or at least he doesn’t get full credit for it. Although his calm Jamaican-accented voice rings in our minds when we think of that track, it was originally performed by Vincent Ford, a friend of the performer, who also lived in a ghetto and worked in a communal kitchen. Although there is no clear history, it is believed that this young man inspired Bob to create a song in which he calmed a girl from her nightmares, offering her love and understanding, which is ironic, since Marley had little or no interest in the happiness of the women around him.
Although the whole world has positioned Bob Marley as a peaceful figure, almost close to that of a prophet, in reality, he was more similar to John Lennon than to Emperor Haile Selassie I, whom he revered. In other words, many believe that Bob lived to sing about social problems, bring people together, and teach us that love was all we needed; however, like the former Beatle, after gaining fame, he only devoted himself to writing songs that could become hits, mistreated his wife and developed homophobic tendencies, as revealed by his wife Rita Marley in her book No Woman, No Cry: My Life with Bob Marley, where she reveals that the image the world created about her husband was completely wrong, since in his private life he was very different from what he showed to his public.
Marley has been called “the first superstar of the third world,” and according to his wife, that is what made him a different figure than he was in his youth. Although he was a loving and respectable man, fame transformed him into another individual. Rita claims that she went from washing the only pair of shorts her husband had, to being ignored while he lived in a mansion having sex with different women, playing soccer, treating his entire family with neglect… Any Marley fan knows that the man had difficulties growing up and that, upon finding fortune, he was overwhelmed by it; on the other hand, it is also known that the man had multiple children out of wedlock, regardless of what Rita thought.
In addition to the above, the woman also revealed that not only did Bob cheat on her with dozens of women (who came in and out of his mansion), but he also dared to abuse her during his rise to fame. Rita claimed that her husband never accepted refusals, as he claimed that since she was his wife, she was obligated to give him pleasure. “He was corrupted by the entertainment business, by women pouncing on him,” she explained, also pointing out that, despite his faults, he was always a good provider.
On the other hand, it is important to note that the Rastafarian teachings he followed included a strong homophobic sentiment. In fact, Jamaica, his place of origin, has been considered one of the most discriminatory places in the entire world against gay people. This is due to religious beliefs, and anyone caught in a homosexual relationship can face up to 10 years in jail, not to mention the various risks they face. Marley was no slouch and, in fact, refused to take a photograph with Prince, even though the musician was not completely gay. It is also claimed that he acted too hostile when he met a person with different sexual preferences.
It should be noted that Marley also lived an existence full of contradictions. Although he touted the Rastafarian lifestyle, he became an ambitious man, living in luxury, rarely helping his homeland, and even hobnobbing with the socialist leaders of the early 1970s in Jamaica and Cuba. He made his way in the music industry by demanding more money, even though in his songs he talked about religion and contempt for materialism. “No Woman, No Cry” was a song about respecting a woman, but behind the scenes, its performer was a macho man.
Marley is so alien to what the world thinks he was; he was, in fact, the only one of The Wailers to leave Jamaica. He had eleven children with seven women, abused his wife, and hated gays. However, thanks to marketing, he is the icon of millions of people who believe they fully understand reggae and look up to him as an example to follow. But beyond that, his songs were about love, joy, peace, politics, and crisis, so whatever he did, they will remain with us forever.
Story written in Spanish by Alonso Martínez in Cultura Colectiva