Bob Marley

Far more than a mere musician, Bob Marley was also a poet, prophet, and political commentator. His gently loping hymn of praise and brotherhood, "One Love/People Get Ready," takes the gospel-tent hallelujah choir out for a stroll on the beach. Marley's clenched-fist anthem to equality, "Get Up, Stand Up," bristles with the brooding urgency of a bubbling cauldron whose lid is only a degree away from blowing off. His breakout smash, "I Shot the Sheriff," runs out that story to its expected conclusion, where a hunted man's violence begets more violence, and injustice feeds on itself to perpetuate the cycle. And "No Woman, No Cry," a bittersweet remembrance of Trenchtown's devastating poverty, breaks through the despair with his reassuring mantra: "Everything's gonna be all right."

In Next Steps we'll hear Marley's first homegrown hit and some explicitly Rastafarian-influenced tracks.

"Judge Not," Marley's first single, strips away the cloak of a young man to reveal the old soul residing within, as Marley was barely 17 when he took on the preacher's mantle; this deceptively simple ska tune sows the seeds that would soon burst into flower. You can't really understand the reggae prophet's nature without a little Rasta history, where the promise of Zion not only equals a return to an Africa homeland, but also a state of grace where peace and love reign supreme. In "Iron Lion Zion," horns blow like the angel Gabriel's call, pledging paradise in the next world. In contrast, the ominous bass in "So Much Trouble in the World" hangs over the tune like the heavy burden placed on the faithful as they struggle on their journey out of Babylon.

In Deep Cuts we'll hear some of Marley's more politically charged, revolutionary sides.

With the deliberate, feline tread of a lion stalking its prey, Marley's "One Drop" isn't so much a full-frontal assault on the system's injustice as it is a Trojan horse, its sleepy rhythm masking long-buried rage. Curtis Mayfield's "People Get Ready" takes the slow boat to the islands in Marley's "Time Will Tell," a wake-up call to the faithful, warning "ya think you're in heaven, but ya living in hell," and the hour of decision is near. And dub master producer Lee "Scratch" Perry lays the bass on thicker than saw grass in "Soul Rebel," as Marley's vocal cuts through the swampy arrangement like a machete. As you explore at this level, you'll discover songs that, although more obscure, are no less impassioned and superbly crafted than Marley's hits.

Poet, philosopher, preacher, revolutionary, social critic — Bob Marley displayed more colors than a chameleon, but all of them were infused with a bedrock sense of humanity and spirituality. Not only was he reggae's — and by extension, Jamaica's — musical ambassador, but he also blended reggae, gospel, R&B, and roots rock in a way that bridged the gap between black and white, both artistically and commercially, drawing fans of rock and soul to become world music's first global superstar. It wasn't to last: Cancer cut him down at the height of his popularity, at the age of 36. Not only do his songs continue to be recorded and his technique studied by succeeding generations of musicians, but his family — both literal and extended — have also picked up the torch that he lit and will provide us with fire for years to come.