Happy Birthday Bob Marley | Marley And The Wailers At Harvard

Today marks what would’ve been Bob Marley’s 69th birthday had he survived his fight with cancer. Marley brought the sounds of reggae to a worldwide audience in his lifetime and beyond thanks to writing and recording such beloved songs as “One Love,” “Three Little Birds,” “Jamming,” “Exodus” and “No Woman No Cry.” The Jamaican icon also fought social injustice at every turn, such as the time on July 21, 1979 he performed at Amandla: A Festival Of Unity -a concert held at Harvard Stadium in Cambridge, MA that raised funds to benefit the on-going struggles in Zimbabwe, Namibia and South Africa.

Marley’s 100+ minute set is the stuff of legend with Island Records head Chris Blackwell calling it “without a doubt, Marley’s best performance ever captured on film.” The setlist reads like a list of the reggae pioneer’s best songs as “Positive Vibration,” “Them Belly Full,” “War,” “Lively Up Yourself,” “No Woman No Cry,” “Jamming,” “Get Up Stand Up” and “Exodus” were among the tunes played on this night. Bob made a few short speeches during the encore which featured two debuts, “Zimbabwe” and “Wake Up & Live,” that would be featured on Marley’s forthcoming album Survival. The event’s producers had the concert professionally filmed and mixed the resulting footage with soundboard audio before selling it to the Marley Estate. At some point it leaked on YouTube for our viewing pleasure:

Set: [Speech], Positive Vibration, Slave Driver, Them Belly Full, Runnin Away, Crazy Baldhead, The Heathen, War, No More Trouble, Lively Up Yourself, No Woman No Cry, Jammin, Get Up Stand Up, Exodus

Encore: Zimbabwe, Wake Up & Live, Band Intros by Junior Marvin