Bob Marley Wanted More Black American Fans

It’s hard to believe that reggae music immortal Bob Marley once struggled to appeal to any fan base, but according to his son, Ziggy Marley, Black Americans were late to the party.

In the documentary, Marley, which was released on DVD Tuesday [August 14], there are scenes where Bob Marley plays in the U.S. during the late 1970s to packed arenas. However, his audience members were primarily white, and not the Black Americans with whom he truly wanted to connect. In a recent interview with ABC’s Nightline, his son, Ziggy, weighed in on his father’s U.S. performances and what he truly desired.

“He had issue with it,” said Ziggy regarding his primarily white American fans, “because he wanted African-Americans to hear his message.”

Since the 1970s, his father’s music has certainly expanded in audience demographic, bringing together many races, ethnicities and nationalities. To this day, he remains one of the bestselling artists of all time.

“He covers such a wide spectrum of people now, and it keeps growing,” explained Ziggy. “He has a message for everybody. He has a message for the fighters. He has a message for the peace guys.”

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Kato Hammond

About Kato Hammond

Kato Hammond is an American musician and journalist. He is the owner and creator of Take Me Out To The Go-Go, Inc. (TMOTTGoGo), editor and publisher of Take Me Out To The Go-Go Magazine, executive producer of TMOTTGoGo DVD Magazine, and webmaster of TMOTTGoGo.com and creator of TMOTTRadio.com. Take Me Out to the Go-Go Magazine gains attention from outside media outlets for its designation as 'the official gateway to a Washington, DC music culture.' Such magazines as Vibe have made Kevin Hammond and Take Me Out to the GoGo Magazine a significant source of information about the go-go music culture. His history as a musician includes performing and recording with the go-go bands Pure Elegance, Little Benny and the Masters, and Proper Utensils, as well as serving as music director to such bands as Fatal Attraction.
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