So Much Things To Say

Roger Steffens WW NORTON. £20

Oral History Of Bob Marley, by those who knew him best.

Los Angeles-based author, broadcaster and archivist Roger Steffens has spent much of his life promoting reggae, with a particular focus on Bob Marley. This absorbing oral history draws from detailed interviews Steffens amassed with Marley’s entourage to give multiple viewpoints on key phases of the Jamaican icon’s evolution. Steffens collaborated on unpublished autobiographies of Bunny Wailer and Marley’s mentor Joe Higgs, and both are heard here, along with ex-managers Skill Cole and Danny Sims, and band members Junior Marvin, Seeco Patterson, Tyrone Downie and Marcia Griffiths, and girlfriend Cindy Breakspeare. Steffens’ commentary links the disparate voices, and when contentious claims are made, allows for their rebuttal. With new material on Studio One, Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, the assassination attempt and the fatal cancer, So Much Things To Say is a major work that helps us better understand Marley’s tragic yet inspirational tale.