Bob Marley: Legendary Final Gig 35 Years Ago Today [Video]

Bob Marley was and is a legend to those who are old enough to remember the sixties. As previously reported in Inquisitr Marley is regarded by many as the most important black artist in history. Together with his band The Wailers, Marley brought reggae music into the mainstream, and in doing so won millions of fans across the world. Marley’s 1977 album Exodus is widely regarded as one of the best albums ever released and Marley is one of the biggest selling artists of all time.

Marley is rightly regarded as a legend, a musical icon whose untimely death, aged just 36, deprived the world of one of the greatest artists ever. Marley played his last ever show at Pittsburgh’s Stanley Theater, 35 years ago today, on September 23, 1980. WPXI report that when music promoter Rich Engler booked Bob Marley and the Wailers for what is now an iconic show no-one would have guessed that just eight months later Marley would be dead.

When tickets went on sale for Bob’s show, they sold out almost immediately. Remember, this was in the days before the internet, when people queued around the block to buy tickets. By the day of the show, Marley was already very ill as a result of a malignant melanoma. On the day of the show Engler had a call from Bob’s agent to tell him that Bob’s wife Rita Marley had phoned to say that Marley “had collapsed and he’s very ill, he collapsed but he still wants to come.”

Despite being ill, Marley and the band made their way to the theater and were met by Engler, who said “I see Bob and he looks really tired and emaciated. I ask him how he’s doing and he says, ‘not so good.'”

Asked if he was sure he could perform Marley replied “Yeah, mon. I got to do it for my band. For my band, they need the money.” What followed was a 90-minute 16 song show that is now the stuff of legend. The show was a spectacular event and Engler believes that while no-one knew for sure, everyone felt that it would be Bob’s last ever show. So it proved, as Marley’s health deteriorated, and on May 11, 1981 Marley passed.

Glide reports that, to celebrate a seminal moment in music history, a double CD of the entire show was released a few years back. Why not celebrate a moment in musical history by listening to the show in the video below.

https://youtu.be/wZUQLERfpNg

[Photo by Express Newspapers/Getty Images]