Bob Marley & The Wailers
The most globally recognized reggae act, but not the beginning of the story. From Trench Town vocal harmony and Studio One ska through Lee Perry, roots reggae and the Island years, the Wailers carried Jamaican music onto a world stage.
GO DEEPER
The Wailers formed in Kingston in the early 1960s around Bob Marley, Bunny Wailer and Peter Tosh, with Joe Higgs helping shape their vocal craft. At Studio One they recorded ska and early vocal-group material, including “Simmer Down,” before Jamaica’s music shifted through rocksteady into reggae. Their early-1970s work with Lee “Scratch” Perry and the Barrett brothers hardened the rhythm section and helped define a roots-reggae language. Island Records then gave the group unprecedented international reach with “Catch a Fire” and “Burnin’.” Tosh and Bunny left after 1973; Marley continued as Bob Marley & The Wailers with the I-Threes and a powerful touring band. His global visibility is enormous, but the Tree should keep him among peers rather than turning everyone else into a prelude.
Where the history is argued
- Popular Marley biographies often turn a collective Jamaican history into a single-hero story. Keep Tosh, Bunny, the Barretts, Higgs, producers and the wider scene visible.
How they stand with the others
Marley is central to reggae’s global history without being its inventor or sole representative.
Studio influenceThe Perry/Barrett sessions are a crucial bridge between the early Wailers and the later international roots sound.
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Last checked 1 September 2026