Bob Marley: One Love highlights pivotal moments of the eponymous music icon’s life and career, but the biopic does not delve into Bob Marley’s death. Directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green, Bob Marley: One Love tells the true life story of the legendary Jamaican artist’s rise to fame as a reggae pioneer and ambassador for peace and unity. The biopic, which stars British actor Kingsley Ben-Adir as Bob Marley, chronicles the events of his life between 1976 and 1978, featuring flashbacks in between. Bob Marley: One Love was a huge box office success, grossing $177 million worldwide (via Box Office Mojo).
Although the musical biopic has been a hit with audiences and Marley fans, Bob Marley: One Love leaves out some true story details, including the circumstances of the musician’s untimely death. Bob Marley: One Love ends with Bob Marley and the Wailers taking the stage at the One Love Peace Concert at the National Stadium in Kingston, Jamaica on April 22, 1978. While a title card appears before the Bob Marley: One Love credits that indicates the date of his passing, the biopic itself does not cover the last few years of his life leading up to his death.
Four years after the events of the Bob Marley: One Love movie, Bob Marley died of cancer on May 11, 1981. Only 36 years old at the time of his death, Marley was survived by his wife Rita and his 11 children, six of whom were fathered through extramarital affairs. The musician’s eldest son, Ziggy Marley, revealed that his father’s last words to him were, “on your way up, take me up. On your way down, don’t let me down” (via Today). Three months prior, Marley was awarded the Jamaican Order of Merit, one of the highest honors in Jamaica.
Less than a year before his death, Marley released his final album during his lifetime, Uprising, on June 10, 1980. The deeply religious body of work includes some of Bob Marley’s most well-known songs, including “Could You Be Loved” and “Redemption Song.” To promote the album, Bob Marley and the Wailers embarked on the Uprising Tour starting in Europe. The U.S. leg was cut short due to his deteriorating health and Marley’s final concert took place at the Stanley Theatre in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, on September 23, 1980.
As shown in Bob Marley: One Love, Marley sought medical advice for an infected toenail on his right foot during the Exodus Tour in 1977. The first doctor suspected that the lesion under his big toenail was the result of a soccer-related injury, but when his condition worsened, Marley sought a second medical opinion. The biopsy revealed that the lesion was actually a symptom of pre-existing cancer and Marley was diagnosed with malignant acral lentiginous melanoma, a rare but aggressive type of skin cancer that occurs in places that are not typically exposed to the sun.
Marley was advised to have the affected toe amputated, but he refused due to his religious beliefs and out of concern that it would hinder his ability to perform onstage. While his decision is included in Bob Marley: One Love, the movie omitted the fact that Marley opted instead to have his toenail and nail bed surgically removed, which he covered via a skin graft taken from his thigh. Marley did not experience any glaring health issues for years until 1980, when he visited New York City to perform two shows at Madison Square Garden on the Uprising Tour.
While jogging in Central Park, Marley collapsed and was rushed to the hospital, where it was discovered that the cancer had metastasized to his brain, lungs, and liver. He continued to reject conventional treatment methods, but once the cancer had spread throughout his entire body, Marley sought alternative treatments in Germany involving certain exercises, ozone injections, and vitamin supplements.
After pursuing this alternative course of treatment for eight months in Germany, Marley’s cancer continued to progress. He decided to head back to his hometown in Jamaica, but during his flight on May 11, 1981, Marley’s vital functions went into failure. After his plane made an emergency landing in Miami, Florida, Marley was rushed to Cedars of Lebanon Hospital, where he died shortly after.
Ten days later, a state funeral was held for Marley at the Ethiopian Orthodox Church of the Holy Trinity followed by the National Arena in Kingston, Jamaica, on May 21, 1981. Marley was laid to rest in a chapel near Nine Mile, Jamaica, where he was born. He was buried with his red Gibson Les Paul guitar, a Bible opened to Psalm 23, and a stalk of marijuana that Rita had placed in the coffin. Jamaican Prime Minister Edward Seaga delivered the final eulogy at Marley’s funeral (via Marley Legend: An Illustrated Life of Bob Marley by James Henke):
Shortly after Marley’s death, his widow, Rita Marley, purchased Jamaica’s very first recording studio, Federal Records, where her late husband recorded his first single, “Judge Not,” at just 16 years old in 1962. Bob Marley’s final album, Confrontation, was released posthumously in 1983, containing unreleased material including one of his biggest hits to this day, “Buffalo Soldier.” Three years later, Rita converted his home into the Bob Marley Museum, which remains a popular tourist attraction in Kingston, Jamaica.
That same year, Rita founded the Bob Marley Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides financial aid and resources to underserved Jamaican communities in an effort to eradicate poverty in Jamaica. Along with Bob Marley’s kids, Rita has continued his charitable efforts and honored his memory through the Bob Marley Foundation.
In 1994, Bob Marley was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Five years later, Time magazine deemed Exodus the Album of the Century. In February 2001, Marley received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In the decades since, Marley’s enduring legacy remains alive as ever, and Bob Marley: One Love serves as a celebration of his indelible impact on music and the world at large.
Sources: Box Office Mojo, Today, Marley Legend: An Illustrated Life of Bob Marley by James Henke