Though the Wailers were popular in Jamaica, it was not until the group signed with Chris Blackwell's Island Records in the early 1970s that they found an international audience. After Catch a Fire (1972) and Burnin' (1973), Marley raised eyebrows but it was not until May 10, 1975 that he gained commercial success when his Natty Dread became the first album by Marley and the Wailers to make the U.S. charts, reaching #92.

On May 13, 1976, 'Rastaman Vibration,' by Bob Marley and the Wailers -and featuring an American, Don Kinsey, on lead guitar - was released. It became Marley's highest-charting album, reaching #8 in the U.S. and #15 in the U.K.

Marley was on his way to international stardom, but life would throw him a curve ball when there was an unsuccessful assassination attempt back in his homeland of Jamaica. When intruders entered the Marley compound on December 3, 1976, two days before the historic 'Smile Jamaica' peace concert at the National Stadium, little did the players in that early morning drama know that they would set in motion a series of events that would propel Bob Marley into the international spotlight. Though Bob and Rita Marley were grazed by bullets, they electrified a crowd of 80,000 people when both took to the stage with the Wailers on the 5th - a gesture of survival that only heightened Marley's legend.

In fact, he was so influential a cultural icon at that time in Jamaica that Time magazine proclaimed in an editorial that, "He rivals the government as a political force."

Still, the assassination attempt scarred him physically and emotionally. In a SUN newspaper article dated February 10, 1978, Bob Marley was quoted as saying: 'That shooting may be the best thing that ever happened to me. It forced me to leave Jamaica. I still can't go back because the men who tried to kill me have never been arrested. They might try again.'

After the shooting in '76, Marley went into a 14-month period of exile, and a period of intense creativity during which the albums, 'Exodus' (1977), the brilliant 'Survival'(1979) released at a time of great political turbulence and social unrest in Africa, were unleashed on an unsuspecting world. At the historic 'One Love Peace Concert' on April 21, 1978 on the 12th anniversary of Haile Selassie's visit to Jamaica, his popularity grew. He convinced JLP leader Edward Seaga and late former Prime Minister of Jamaica, Michael Manley to shake hands. Later, he was summoned to the United Nations in New York and given a UN Peace Medal.

However, the fearsome hoofbeats of doom soon thundered into Marleys life. In 1977, surgeons removed part of a toe that had been injured in a soccer game, upon which a cancerous growth was found. This led to the discovery of spreading cancer in 1980, after Marley collapsed while jogging in Central Park. The cancer would claim his life less than a year later, but not without a fight.

According to the book 'Chanting Down Babylon', in April 1980 Marley was invited to headline the Independence celebrations in Zimbabwe. He was the only performer on the main stage that night, squadrons of jets screamed overhead and 21 cannons were fired. Thousands of freedom fighters broke down the gates to enter the Harare National Stadium as he sang 'Zimbabwe', from the album 'Survival'.'

On September 21, 1980, Bob Marley performed the final show of his career, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The tour's remaining dates were canceled as Marley sought treatment for his spreading cancers. Marley was buried on the island with full state honors on May 21, 1981.

Here's a list of his international influences: Johnny Nash re-recorded 'Stir It 'in 1971, and it hit the UK charts in '72. Amnesty International used the single 'Get Up, Stand Up' as its anthem, features Peter Tosh on vocals. Another Marley creation, 'I Shot the Sheriff', was recorded by the legendary rock/blues guitarist Eric Clapton and gave Clapton his first number one US single. The anti-racist 'War', with lyrics taken from a speech by Emperor Haile Selassie made in California on February 28, 1978 became an unofficial anthem of the guerrilla fighters in South Africa.

On October 4, 1980, Stevie Wonder's tribute to Bob Marley, the reggaefied "Master Blaster (Jammin')," entered the singles charts, eventually topping the R&B chart for seven weeks and peaking at #5 on the pop chart.

Stay tuned for the final pert of this article

Video courtesy of Lovelione28, http://www.youtube.com/user/lovelione28