Tribute to the Children of Bob Marley

Growing up in Jamaica one knows about the love Bob Marley had for his family. He was a very good father. His philosophy was to populate the land. Many Jamaican men have the same philosophy. Bob, true has had many children but he has always been known to take care of them as well.

Below is a brief breakdown of the women that were in his life and the offspring that resulted.













Bob Marley knew that his children would someday join him in the music business and he groomed them to take over from him as he grew older. When they weren't in school, his sons by Rita Marley, Ziggy and Stephen, often accompanied him to North America and even onstage at the Zimbabwe Independence celebrations. A song he wrote for them several years earlier, Children Playing in the Streets was the first release by the Melody Makers in 1980, featuring the aforementioned sons and their sisters Sharon and Cedella.

They made their first major appearance at Sunsplash '81, accompanied by their father's band, the Wailers, eventually releasing their debut album in 1985, titled after their initial Jamaican single. They remain the most successful of all the singing Marley offspring, having won several Grammys and gold record awards, and touring constantly.

Other children have entered the business in the '90s, most notably Julian, Damian and Kymani. The fair-skinned Damian, son of Bob and 1977's Miss World, Cindy Breakspeare, is also known as Junior Gong. Like most of his generation he sings as well as raps. Julian is the son of a woman Bob knew in England, and has the tall, lanky looks of an Ethiopian warrior. His song, Lion in the Morning sounds like one of his father's out-takes. Damian and Julian usually tour together, each performing their own songs, covers of their dad's greatest hits, and duets with each other, most recently as part of America's alternative rock touring festival Lollapalooza and a European tour. They are featured with the Melody Makers, Rita Marley, and Bob's mother on the album and video tape of their 1996 Central Park show in NYC, called Marley Magic.

Newcomer Kymani Marley is the son of Bob and Anita Belnavis, who was the table tennis champion of Jamaica. Kymani has a roughneck stage style, and was roundly criticized when he performed at Tuff Gong in Kingston on Bob's 50th birthday commemorations, singing his own composition called (My Daddy Was A) Bedroom Bully. Among a male clan that all sound eerily like their father, Kymani is perhaps the closest to a mirror vocal image.