On what would have been Bob Marley's 76th birthday, his son Ziggy talks about his father's legacy saying his music is still relevant in good times and in bad.
Ziggy Marley is planning on writing a book on his father's life. Photo: supplied
Ziggy Marley was 12 years old when his father died and Marley said he learnt a lot from being around his father.
"It shaped me as a person that I could use that as a foundation to grow even more, you know so I'm very appreciative of the time that I spent with him and what it has done for me."
Ziggy said being humble, as his father was, is one of the marks of a really great person.
"It doesn't mean you're not aware of your significance, it just means you're not like gloating about it all the time or mistreating people because of it or taking advantage of people because of it."
Everyone who knew Bob spoke highly of him which indicated the person that he was, Ziggy said.
"His care for human beings and how he wants the world to be as a person in the world, people see a camaraderie with that."
Bob's music is still relevant to different generations and would always be significant in good times and bad, he said.
"You need that energy now in the time that we're living in, that is the significance of music in times of trouble and that is the significance of an artist like Bob, not everyone is like that, but Bob is a special artist."
Ziggy said a lot of people think they know a lot about Bob Marley, but there's still more to learn from those who were close to him and those who were perhaps not so close about the impact he had on them and the world.
He said he had talked to people who were close to Bob and one of the things he learnt was that his father loved comic books.
"He was just a loved person, you know people met them and they just loved him."
Bob Marley visited Aotearoa in 1979. Photo: Murray Cammick
Ziggy said a man and woman who knew his father and used to work for Island Records described Bob as a "special man".
"I understand more that my father was just like a very special person who affected even people who were just passing by, you know what I'm saying? Those are the type of things that I understand."
Asked if he would be celebrating what would have been his father's 76th birthday, Ziggy said his father was a very home loving person who celebrated his birthdays in a low key way.
"So it's the same procedure as if he was here, so it's very low key, you know we acknowledge it but we let others celebrate it more than we, you know we have a kind of low key point of view here."
Jamaican music legend Bob Marley was born on 6 February 1945 and died on 11 May 1981. Photo: B.javhlanbayr (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Ziggy said he has many childhood memories of his father from playing football, to buying an ice-cream and going to the studio.
He said one of his most significant memories was going to Africa.
"I remember as a kid getting on that plane and it was like the longest trip I've ever taken."
Ziggy remembers saying it was like going to the moon and his father laughing about that.
He said he still feels as if he has a connection with his father and his grandmother despite the fact they are no longer here.
"I still have a DNA connection to them, so they are always a part of me regardless if they are here physically or not."
Love lasts forever, he said.
"The existence of life is more than material, more than physical because that is in my consciousness it gives me relief."
Ziggy said the family has collected a lot of pictures over the years and he is working on using them in a book about his father's life.
"That will give people a bit of insight, see Bob's life, not just his stage life but his other life that he led behind the scenes ... so you know that's what we're working on for Bob."
