Rita Marley

Internationally, the name Marley has become synonymous with reggae music and the culture of Jamaica. It is no coincidence that the talented young Rita Anderson, who was raised from early childhood in Trench Town, was destined to become an integral part of the musical Marley family. She made the acquaintance of a local Trench Town youth, Robert Nesta Marley and love, faith and music became their bond. In 1966 they were married and their lives became forever entwined.



As the Matriarch of the Marley Family, Nana Rita Marley wears many hats and has been instrumental in the initiation and completion of great works internationally, regionally and locally. In 1986, she had the vision and wisdom to transform Bob Marley's house into the Bob Marley Museum. It is in her capacity as Founder and Chairperson of the Robert Marley Foundation; the Bob Marley Museum; the Bob Marley Trust; the Bob Marley Group of Companies and the Rita Marley Foundation - that Rita continues to make manifest her commitment to the works of her husband Bob Marley; her children [the GRAMMY Award winning Ziggy Marley & the Melody Makers]; and her people - by fulfilling her mission to enlighten, educate and entertain through her philanthropy and music. With her purchase of the former Federal Records at Marcus Garvey Drive and subsequent relocation of Tuff Gong International to this new address - this organization is now a leading record manufacturing and distribution company in Jamaica, the Caribbean and the world.



"The aged be protected, the infants nourished and cared for. These are indeed the words that inspire the vision that drives and propels Nana Rita - and which have sustained her status as a spirited force and an ambassador of love and of reggae music. In 1996 the Jamaican government awarded her the Order of Distinction for her outstanding works and accomplishments, which are numerous. Sister Rita is head of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church Building Fund whose main project is the erecting of a Cathedral at their Maxfield Avenue address, where she has also established the Berhame Selassie Home for the Aged. Her donation of two hundred and fifty acres of arable land to the Rastafarian Nyabinghi group in St, Toolies, Clarendon has encouraged their self-supporting ideology. Nana Rita also gives continuous support of food, clothing and medical supplies to people of poor communities, including a Home for the Aged in St.Mary.



As a benefactor of countless humanitarian causes Nana Rita's works extend outside of Jamaica and has reached as far as Africa. A patron of the Konkonuru Methodist Schools in the Aburi Mountains of Accra, Ghana, she is always soliciting assistance for the children and the Konkonuru village, where she has successfully spearheaded the repairs to the main road as well as the drilling of a water well for the community.



Nana Rita has most recently adopted 35 children in Ethiopia, and will be working assiduously to impact their lives, in a practical and positive manner. In addition Nana, as she is affectionately called, has assisted over 200 children of the Konkonuru Methodist Schools in Ghana and the peoples of the surrounding villages - where she has been crowned Queen of Development [Nkosoo Hemaa]. In fact she will be opening the Marley Medical Centre and a recording studio in Ghana very soon.



Rita Marley's musical career has seen the production of four successful albums: Who feels It Knows It, Harambe; the 1992 GRAMMY nominated album We Must Carrv On, and Spectacle For Tribuffalos, as well as the classic reggae album Beginning, with the I-Threes. Her sizzling 1982 hit "One Draw" created shockwaves around the world and was a massive bestseller that made music history as the first reggae single to top the Billboard Disco Charts. Her live performance has been captured on the Marley Magic videotape as a memento of the 1996 concert, which broke attendance records for the annual Summer Stage Concert in Central Park, New York.



Her most recent album Sunshine After Rain features tracks produced by her son Stephen Marley, Sly and Robbie, Grub "Asley" Cooper, Denis Charles and Wyclef Jean.



Sister Rita has extensively toured the Caribbean, Africa, Japan, Canada, the Americas, South Pacific, Australia, the United Kingdom and Europe. Her appearance with the I-Threes, the Wailers and her children The Melody Makers - for a performance with the Fugees at the 1997 GRAMMY Awards marked the first time that any reggae artiste performed for a GRAMMY audience. Rita and the I Threes also perform annually at Universal Studios City Walk. In 2003 Rita Marley toured the South Pacific islands of Tahiti and Noumea and this undisputed Queen of Reggae was the special guest at the Reggae All Stars concert in Nassau, Bahamas.



Rita Marley O.D. (Queen of Reggae) upholds the artistic and cultural standards of reggae and continues to take it to new heights. Her music reflects the versatility and diversity of Reggae through the smooth blends of Gospel, Rhythm & Blues, Jazz and Soca. About the message in her music, this Queen Mother declares: "The message is joy, loving and living together, no fighting, no war. Reggae is the heartbeat of a person. It's the people's music. Everywhere you go you get the same response from black and white alike,"...and as sung on the Harambe album "Wouldn't it be nice to have my kind of war, where the weapons would be love and peace and harmony?"



Her autobiography No Woman No Cry published by Hyperion, was launched recently in Europe and Africa and is available worldwide with translations to be printed in Swahili, Spanish, French and German. This long awaited book has been receiving rave reviews and there is a movie deal being discussed.



No Woman No Cry is available locally at the gift shop located at the Bob Marley Museum and is distributed by Novelty Trading Company Limited.



Sister Rita has been the driving force behind keeping the Legacy of her husband Bob Marley alive and one major activity is The Bob Marley Birthday Celebration each year in Jamaica. In 2005, Sister Rita staged celebrations both in Jamaica and Africa. That year, the African festivities took place in Ethiopia.In 2006, the celebration was held in Ghana, and plans are underway for The Bob Marley Birthday celebrations of 2007 to take place inSouth Africa, as well as Jamaica.



Mrs.Rita Marley O.D. is a proud, vibrant, confident Jamaican woman who is thankful for her many blessings and continues to give back to the two societies she loves dearly.….Jamaica and Africa.