Bob Marley Trivia Questions

Gunmen stormed his home and shot Bob and his wife. He still performed at the Smile Jamaica concert just 48 hours later.

Norval Marley was a white Jamaican of English descent who worked as a plantation overseer. He died when Bob was 10.

Marley had 11 officially recognized children, including Ziggy and Damian, born to several partners. His wife Rita adopted two of his children from other mothers.

He died at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital in Miami, Florida, while undergoing treatment for cancer. His final words were to his son Ziggy.

Marley loved soccer and played often, but he was never a professional. He did play in charity matches and named his son after the footballer Rivelino.

Marley’s cancer (acral lentiginous melanoma) started as a dark spot under his toenail. He refused amputation due to Rastafarian beliefs, and it eventually spread to his brain and lungs.

Marley performed several times in the US, including iconic shows at Madison Square Garden in 1980. He also toured major cities like Los Angeles and Boston.

That’s a myth. Marley never acted in a Bond film, though his music has appeared in other movies.

Though he loved boxing as a teen, Bob never fought professionally. He gave it up after a serious eye injury.

He never got a UN medal. Jamaica awarded him the Order of Merit in 1981, but that’s different.

As a Rastafarian, he followed an Ital diet—mostly vegetarian but allowed fish under 12 inches long.

Gunmen stormed his home on December 3, 1976. Despite injuries, he performed at the Smile Jamaica concert two days later.

This is a myth. While Marley often spoke about life’s value, his actual last words to Ziggy were reportedly 'On your way up, take me up. On your way down, don't let me down.'

His father, Norval Sinclair Marley, was a white Jamaican of English descent who worked as a plantation overseer. Bob faced mixed-race identity struggles growing up.

He loved soccer and played informally, but he never turned professional. He did play in charity matches and was a passionate fan, but music was his career.

Bob Marley was actually raised Catholic and converted to Rastafari in the late 1960s, but not from a vision of Selassie—he was influenced by friends and the music scene in Jamaica.

On December 3, 1976, gunmen stormed his Kingston home. Marley was shot in the chest and arm, but performed at a peace concert just two days later.

Marley never won a Grammy while alive. He received the Lifetime Achievement Award posthumously in 1994, 13 years after his death.

Released in 1973 on the album 'Burnin',' the song gained global attention after Eric Clapton covered it in 1974, becoming Marley’s first major international breakthrough.

Bob loved soccer and played casually, but he was never a professional player. He focused on music from his teenage years.

Marley converted to Rastafarianism in the late 1960s, but he never visited Ethiopia until 1978—well after his conversion.

On December 3, 1976, gunmen shot Marley at his home. He performed at the Smile Jamaica concert two days later, despite injuries.

Rastafarians grow dreadlocks as a vow, but Marley cut his short in the 1960s before adopting them later. He also trimmed them occasionally.

In 1978, Marley organized the One Love Peace Concert, where he famously joined the hands of Prime Minister Michael Manley and opposition leader Edward Seaga on stage.

Marley died from acral lentiginous melanoma, a rare form of skin cancer, at age 36 in 1981. He survived a 1976 assassination attempt but no plane crash.

Rastafarians grow dreadlocks based on the Nazirite vow in the Bible, but it’s not a vow of silence. Marley spoke and sang freely, and the hair was a spiritual symbol.

He received the Order of Merit, Jamaica's third-highest honor, in February 1981. He passed away in May of that year.

The song was inspired by the poverty he saw in Trenchtown, but Bob was raised primarily by his mother and never homeless as a child.

He converted to Rastafari in the mid-1960s, years before his first trip to Ethiopia in 1978. His wife Rita influenced his early conversion.

Bob was already a Rastafarian by the late 1960s. He never had a single conversion vision in Ethiopia; his faith grew gradually in Jamaica.

The cancer was acral lentiginous melanoma, found under a toenail. It wasn't from a soccer injury, though he famously refused toe amputation for religious reasons.

His last show was at the Stanley Theatre in Pittsburgh on September 23, 1980, before his cancer worsened.

Island Records released it in 1973 with a sleeve designed to look like a Zippo lighter, complete with a working zipper down the side.

The song references Mrs. Booker, who let young Bob and his friend Vincent 'Tata' Ford stay at her Trench Town home.

His birth name was Nesta Robert Marley. A Jamaican passport official later swapped his first and middle names, making him Robert Nesta Marley, and he went by Bob.

The song is credited to Vincent Ford, a friend who ran a soup kitchen in Trench Town. Marley gave him the royalties to support the charity.

In 1999, Time magazine named 'Exodus' the greatest album of the 20th century, praising its political and spiritual impact. It was recorded in London after an assassination attempt.

In 1981, Marley was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to promote peace and unity in Jamaica through music and the One Love Peace Concert.

His final performance was on September 23, 1980, at the Stanley Theatre in Pittsburgh. He collapsed while jogging shortly after and died of cancer the next year.

This is a popular myth. Bob's last words to Ziggy were actually 'On your way up, take me up. On your way down, don't let me down.'

He was born Nesta Robert Marley. His passport was later corrected to Robert Nesta Marley, and he went by Bob.

Though often credited to Marley, the song was written by Vincent Ford, a friend who ran a soup kitchen in Trench Town. Marley gave him the credit to support his charity.

Marley was buried with his Gibson Les Paul guitar, but it was a brown sunburst model, not red. The guitar is in his mausoleum in Nine Mile, Jamaica.

Marley remained a devout Rastafarian until his death. He was baptized into the Ethiopian Orthodox Church in 1980, but that is a Christian denomination with Rastafarian ties, not a conversion away from Rastafari.

His final performance was on September 23, 1980, at the Stanley Theatre in Pittsburgh. He died less than eight months later.

Norval Marley was a white Jamaican of English descent who worked as a plantation overseer. He died when Bob was 10 and they had little contact.

The song is credited to Vincent Ford, a friend who ran a soup kitchen in Trench Town. Bob gave him the rights as a charitable gesture.

His final concert was on September 23, 1980, at the Stanley Theatre in Pittsburgh. He died eight months later.

'One Love' was inspired by a 1965 Curtis Mayfield song 'People Get Ready,' not a hymn. Marley adapted its message of unity.

Norval Sinclair Marley was a white Jamaican of English and Syrian ancestry who worked as a plantation overseer. Bob rarely saw him.

The Grammy category for Best Reggae Album didn't exist until 1985. Marley never won a competitive Grammy during his life.

Marley received the UN Medal of Peace on behalf of the people of Africa at the UN in New York, recognizing his efforts to promote peace and unity through music.