Bob Marley, 40 years later ...
Alain Gardinier's book.
© Joe Farmer / RFI
By: Joe Farmer Follow
4 min
Journalist Alain Gardinier publishes "Bob Marley and the legend of reggae" by Gründ editions.
This highly documented story does not only immerse us in the story of Jamaica's most famous singer and musician.
It narrates the genesis and the evolution of a culture born from the suffering of a people, resilient enough to brave obstacles, and find in music the strength to rise up.
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Prefaced by the illustrious Beninese singer Angélique Kidjo, this work follows step by step the destiny of a man confronted with glory, the demands of commitment, low blows and betrayals, illness, in his own image. Having become a universal icon, he will gradually become aware of the weight of his words. His concerts across the planet and his pilgrimages to African soil will have an immense popular reach and will give meaning to his spiritual and humanist quest. If he gave no credit to the attempts at political recoveries that his aura aroused, Bob Marley knew the strength of symbols. When he managed to reunite on stage, on April 22, 1978, the two sworn enemies of Jamaican society, Michael Manley and Edward Seaga, during the famous "One Love Peace Concert" in Kingston,he rose above antagonisms and sought unity in a country plagued by urban dissension and violence.
One of the fun and informative chapters of "Bob Marley and the Reggae Legend". © Joe Farmer / RFI
This picture of a people in crisis, portrayed by Alain Gardinier, should not elude the richness of an island, of a valiant Caribbean community, of its rites and its codes. "Bob Marley and the Reggae Legend" is also an opportunity to step aside when everyday life creates an identity. The dreadlocks, the sound-systems, the Ital recipes, the Clarks shoes, are harmless but so significant landmarks. All these elements constitute the unitary foundations of a nation attached to its values. This is, in the background, the purpose of this documented, colorful, playful book that combines the big and the small history sealed to each other.How do you dissociate football from the happy and unhappy life of Bob Marley? How not to evoke this sporting passion which will be right for his health? How not to evoke this match of May 9, 1977 in Paris? How not to regret that he injured his toe? How not to wonder about the fatal consequences of this poorly treated wound? Alain Gardinier unwinds the thread of events, assembles the pieces of the puzzle and tells an epic to the rhythm of his jolts.
The inevitable chapter signed Alain Gardinier.
© Joe Farmer / RFI
Bob Marley passed away on May 11, 1981 at the age of 36.
It is essential today that its musical heritage and its message resist the erosion of time.
Alain Gardinier understood this and gave the floor, at the end of his literary journey, to David Cairol.
This young French singer-songwriter had the good fortune, in February 2020, to go to Kingston with the secret hope of meeting, and why not, of playing with the contemporaries of Bob Marley.
His dream will come true.
The transmission therefore continues, it is read with delight and can even be heard in the chosen words of a passionate author ...
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Alain Gardinier's website
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