Rita Marley

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No Woman No Cry - Rita Marley's biography.
No Woman No Cry - Rita Marley's biography.

Alpharita Constantia Anderson, better known as Rita Marley (born July 25, 1946 in Santiago de Cuba) is a Cuban singer. She is the widow of legendary Reggae musician Bob Marley, and a member of the trio the I Threes, Bob Marley's back up singers.

She grew up in Jamaica, and was singing with a trio named The Soulettes in the mid sixties recording for Studio One when she met Bob Marley. She married him in 1966, and then became a singer in his backing vocals group, the I Threes. Rita was from the upper level of Trenchtown, and her now husband-to-be was from the lower level of Trenchtown; however, Rita always made a point of getting noticed. The Wailers always passed her home when they were going to the studio to record, and after Rita made herself visible, Bob noticed the woman he then later married and made the mother of his three children, two outside of the marriage. When they were engaged she converted to the Rastafari movement after witnessing Haile Selassie on his visit to Kingston, Jamaica on 21 April 1966. She wrote many of the songs recorded by Bob while backing him.[citation needed] After Marley's death, she recorded a few albums under her name with some success in the United Kingdom. She took care of Marley's estate and mentored her son, Ziggy Marley. Rita Marley is the elder sister of Lepke (Leroy) Anderson and Ranking Miss P, the founders of Europe's first black music radio station Dread Broadcast Corporation (DBC) a.k.a Rebel Radio. Miss P was born in London whilst other sisters were born in Sweden.

In January, 2005, it was claimed that she wished that Bob Marley's body be reburied in Ethiopia, but she denied that there were any such plans. Rita currently lives in Ghana and spends a lot of time in Florida, and sometimes at her home in Jamaica. Some of her family reside in Canada and England.

Rita appears on Fergie's new album The Dutchess.

She has sons that now are in the music business. David "Ziggy" Marley has released two solo albums, Dragonfly and Love Is My Religion. Stephen Marley released his first album, which is called Mind Control, in March of 2007.

Cover to Charly records reissue of her 2003 album Sunshine After the Rain
Cover to Charly records reissue of her 2003 album Sunshine After the Rain

[edit] Discography

[edit] External links

[edit] Books

ISBN 0-7868-6867-8 Rita Marley, Hettie Jones - No Woman No Cry : My Life with Bob Marley

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