Ziggy Marley seeks to refocus attention on his father with new film
Ziggy Marley’s legendary father, Bob Marley, is still a household name and topselling artist, four decades after his death from cancer in 1981. But his dad’s perpetually high profile isn’t preventing Ziggy, some of his siblings, and their mother, Rita Marley, from casting an even bigger spotlight on the Jamaican reggae-music icon with the upcoming feature film, “Bob Marley: One Love.”
“People ask me: ‘Why now?’ And I tell them: ‘It’s the time because it’s the time,” said Ziggy, 54. He will perform here with his band Aug. 6 at the Rady Shell at Jacobs Park on a quadruple bill with New Orleans music dynamo Trombone Shorty, gospel music great Mavis Staples and steel-guitar virtuoso Robert Randolph.
Produced by Paramount Pictures, “Bob Marley: One Love” will star Kingsley Ben-Adir in the title role. He portrayed civil rights champion Malcolm X in the critically acclaimed film “One Night in Miami” and co-stars as one of the myriad Kens in the new Greta Gerwig-directed movie “Barbie.”
“Its like — instead of Bob (posthumously) putting out a ‘new’ album — this is a movie that represents his message and philosophy in a way that will reach a new generation. Because this new generation is a visual generation,” Ziggy explained.
“If we can get them to hear the message of Bob, it’s another way to spread the whole ‘love, unity, justice and peace’ message around the Earth. So, we look at it the same way as the music. But we can reach more people, and a new audience, using this movie to carry the message.”
More than any other artist before or since, Bob Marley transformed reggae music in the 1970s from a regional Caribbean sensation into an enduring worldwide favorite.
His singular skill as a richly expressive songwriter and vocal artist was matched by his electrifying charisma as a performer, which Ziggy channeled during his charged 2021 Bob Marley tribute concert at San Diego’s Petco Park (for a socially distanced and reduced capacity audience).
But Ziggy — unlike actor Ben-Adir — has the distinct advantage of genetics and of having been mentored in music by his famous father and mother, whose own singing prowess is also a matter of record.
How difficult was it, then, to find the right actor to portray Bob Marley with an authenticity that lived up to the Marley family’s exacting standards?
“It was difficult because no one can ever be Bob,” Ziggy replied. “The artistic representation of Bob is what’s presented in the film. You have to represent the spirit of Bob and who he is.
“So, it was very difficult.
We searched far and wide, through the Caribbean, Jamaica, America and the U.K. But the guy we chose, Kingsley, his presence was very captivating to us. And we needed that quality because Bob had that. Kingsley does a great job.”
Speaking from his home in Los Angeles, Ziggy noted that work on “Bob Marley: One Love” had already been underway for three years before principal casting was completed in 2022. Some of the singing in the film will be by Ben-Adir, while other numbers will feature Bob Marley’s original recorded vocals.
“We have a good partnership with the filmmakers, with a clear vision of what we wanted to do and the artistry we are after,” Ziggy said. Because Hollywood sometimes messes with (real-life) stories. And we want this to be a true Bob Marley story, not a Hollywood story.
“Everybody involved has has teamed up to get the film to where we want it to be. Now, we have presented the first trailer. After finishing up the making of the film, it will — hopefully — be out next year.”
A native of Jamaica, Bob Marley was only 36 when he passed away 42 years ago. Ziggy was 12 at the time.
His father’s life spanned nearly four decades and multiple continents, including — as a teenager — living in Rhode Island and working at a Chrysler assembly plant.
Bob Marley’s career took off after he and his band, The Wailers, were signed by London-based Island Records, which in 1973 released the group’s landmark albums “Catch a Fire” and “Burnin’.” His musical legacy — which includes such classics as “Get Up, Stand Up,” “One Love,” “No Woman, No Cry,” “Redemption Song,” “Jamming,” “I Shot the Sheriff,” “Three Little Birds” and “What is Love?” — has endured ever since.
Much like his galvanizing songs, Bob Marley became a symbol of peace, love, unity and righteous indignation over social and political inequities — both in his homeland and around the world.
He headlined the 1978 One Love Peace Concert in Kingston, which was also billed as “Bob Marley Plays for Peace.” It followed the 1976 “Smile Jamaica Concert,” which he performed at despite having been shot two days earlier in a politically motivated assassination attempt at his home in Kingston.
Given the many facets of his life, how did Ziggy and the makers of “Bob Marley: One Love” decide what to include in — and leave out of — the film?
“Well,” Ziggy replied, “we wanted to have a period in Bob’s life that changed who he is and (show) what he’s done. We chose a period of time when Bob had very significant things happen in his life.
“So, we use the assassination attempt as a foundation to tell his story. And during that time period, he has memories (in the film) of his childhood. The movie tells his story from a very pivotal period in his life. And it also shows what we know him as today.”
For all the focus on his father, Ziggy is also keeping busy with his own music career.
In February, he performed the two opening concerts at The Sound, the new $17 million venue at the Del Mar Racetrack. He and his 10-piece band have performed more than twodozen concerts since the start of June. They have 13 more scheduled between today and Aug 13.
“As I’ve grown and matured, the purpose has become more evident,” Ziggy said. “My commitment and understanding has become more defined — and more totally defined.”
That commitment began even before Ziggy made his public concert debut at the age of 10 in Jamaica, where he debuted as a member of The Melody Makers. That group found him singing alongside his siblings Stephen, Sharon and Cedella, who — like Ziggy and their mother — are involved in varying degrees in the upcoming “Bob Marley: One Love” film.
At last count, Ziggy has made 19 albums — including several with The Melody Makers — and won seven Grammy Awards. But the shadow of his father has always loomed large, even before — in more recent years — Ziggy began performing concerts that pay tribute not only to specific songs by his fabled father, but to entire concerts by Bob Marley & The Wailers.
“Once we’re on that journey, nothing else can affect us,” Ziggy said. “The music takes you away and you become one.”
In a 1997 Union-Tribune interview, Ziggy said: “My goal is not to establish myself as a person or (for having an) individual style. The goal is to make the music be what it is. I’m Ziggy and Bob is Bob. I am part of the whole. I am not alone. But I don’t want to be judged by no one.”
Does he still feel the same today, 26 years later?
“Well, my father’s music is my music, too,” said Ziggy, who also cites Marvin Gaye and Sam Cooke as two key vocal inspirations.
“When I’m singing somebody’s music, it’s mine, too, and I sing it with the same spiritual conviction. I’m accurate to what Bob says with his music. I have that impetus and compassion to understand what my father went through. So, when I sing those songs, I sing them with that same physical and spiritual energy.
“Bob’s legacy is not music, it’s as a good human who loved humanity and other people. The legacy is not music, it’s who we are as human beings ...
“That is the legacy. Whether it comes through music or everyday life doesn’t matter.”