Within Bob Marley’s 36 years of life, he transformed reggae singing for the oppressed, of injustices, and the necessity of love and unity—messages that still inspire through the present in his music.
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Nearly eight months after his final concert with the Wailers at the Stanley Theater in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Marley passed away on May 11, 1981, from a rare form of melanoma. Throughout the more than four decades since his passing, most of Marley’s 11 children—sons Stephen, Damian, Ziggy, Julian, Ky-mani, Robbie, and Rohan, along with daughters Sharon, Cedella, Karen, and Stephanie—and numerous grandchildren have carried on his music and extended the family legacy with their own art and work.
Here’s a look at several Marley children keeping his legacy and vision in music, philanthropy, and messages of unity and love alive.
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Ziggy Marley
A clear sign that music was in the future of Marley’s children, a year before his father’s death, a pre-teen Ziggy Marley, born in 1968, formed the Melody Makers with his siblings Cedella, Sharon, and Stephen in Brooklyn, New York. During their time together, the group won three Grammy awards.
Often compared to their father’s group Bob Marley and the Wailers, the group released 10 albums, from their 1979 debut, Children Playing, through Spirit of Music in 1999, before disbanding to pursue solo music and personal projects.
In 1986 their mother, Rita Marley, also founded the Bob Marley Foundation.
Sharon Marley
Also a former Melody Maker, dancer, singer, and curator, Sharon, born in 1964, works as managing director of Total Care Learning Centre in Kingston and serves as the curator of the Bob Marley Museum.
In 2021, Sharon released her first single “Just One More Morning,” followed by “Butterflies in the Sky” in 2022.
Cedella Marley
Daughter Cedella, born in 1967, is a singer and writer and also serves as CEO of the Bob Marley Estate and as acting director of the Bob Marley Foundation. She has also published six books, including several children’s titles and one cookbook, Cooking with Herb (2017), and is the mother of singer-songwriter Skip Marley.
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Cedella covered her father’s 1980 classic “Could You Be Loved” in 2017, while Skip released his debut album, Higher Place, in 2020, along with recent singles “Change” and “Jane,” in 2022.
Stephen Marley
An eight-time Grammy winner, Stephen Marley, born in 1972, first started performing in the Melody Makers at the age of 7. Marley released his debut album, Mind Control, in 2007 and his most recent, Revelation Pt. 2 – The Fruit of Life, in 2016. Marley’s 2011 album, Revelation Pt. 1 – The Root of Life, also won the Grammy for Best Reggae Album.
[RELATED: Stephen Marley Remembers Father, Those That Came Before on “Old Soul”]
Marley’s daughter, Mystic Marley, released her debut single “Beatdown” in 2018, and her most recent release, “Sad Girls (Cause Damage),” in 2021. His son, Jo Mersa Marley, also released an EP, Comfortable, in 2014 and the album, Eternal, in 2021 before his death in 2022 at 31.
Stephen recently released a new single “Old Soul,” a tribute to his father and the title track of his forthcoming 2023 album, featuring brothers Ziggy and Damian Marley, Eric Clapton, Bob Weir, Jack Johnson, Buju Banton, and Slightly Stoopid.
Damian Marley
Rapper, DJ, and songwriter Damian Marley was born in 1978 and is the youngest son of Bob Marley. Damian picked up the nickname Junior Gong from his father’s own tag of “Tuff Gong.” He has released four albums since the mid-1990s through Stony Hill in 2017.
Julian Marley
Born in London, England in 1975, Julian Marley recorded his first demo at the age of 5 at the Marley home in Kingston, Jamaica. He released his debut album Lion in the Morning (1996) and his fourth, As I Am, in 2019.
A humanitarian, Julian splits his time between music and philanthropic work, including running Ghetto Youths International Inc., a non-profit label that supports underprivileged youths, which he founded along with brothers Stephen, Ziggy, and Damian.
Ky-Mani
Born in 1976, Ky-Mani has been releasing music since 1996 (Like Father, Like Son) and received a Grammy nomination for his 2001 album Many More Roads. In 2019, Marley collaborated on the single “Royalty” with XXXTentacion, Vybz Kartel, and Stefflon Don.
Photo: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
