On this date in 1981 the "Godfather" of reggae music lost his fight against cancer. From Jamaica, Marley and the original Wailers put reggae/ska on the map long before it was cool. His voice, lyrics and stage presence were without equal. Marley was a leader of the Rastafarian movement and possibly the only artist who could go pound for pound with the Willie Nelson tour bus entourage. The discography of classics is immense {see Wiki link}, and though growing extremely weak and ill, Marley put out the 'Uprising' album, featuring Redemption Song, where it can be heard through the music that he was making peace with his own mortality. Marley died at age 36 during the morning of May 11th, 1981. his last words to son, Ziggy, were "money can't buy life." He was buried in his native Jamaica with one of his favorite guitars.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Marley
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFGgbT_VasI {acoustic version of redemption song as the rest of the band looks on in the studio.}