Why Bob Marley is the greatest musical gift our world has seen...?

I don't know, maybe you are a bit biased by your favorite music genre. For me the most identifiable pop music artists would be The Beatles; I have seen images of Lennon all over the world too.

But to music in general, I think the greatest music gift the world has seen is J.S. Bach.

 

Nobody listens to Bach on the rez...

More Beatles? Where's Blowtorch when you need him??

 

I dig Bob. I also dig cookie dough and bbq potato chips, but that doesn't make them super important in the broader world of culinary arts.

 

Bob is not a bag of potato chips, he's the musical potato, a New World food the world took and spread to all continents to feed the famished..the Irish knew this...

 

I agree, i'm not into reggae at all but i always liked Marley, and Uprising is such a great album, great tunes in it and great grooves, Zion Train is one of the best track to me....

 

It's really really interesting to hear his early stuff. There's a great collection--I'm forgetting the name now--of his really early stuff, like small axe or Duppy Conquerer. It's fascinating to hear him find his voice--he gets stronger and stronger and the feel of the band gets stronger too. You can really hear the American soul influence too.

Not an especially original observation but yes I think he was one of the greatest musical artist of the 20th century

 

I think saying someone is the “greatest” anything is very subjective. I don’t discount your premises in the OP I just think you overall thread title is inaccurate. I have listened to his music and it is very uplifting and I’m sure it is widely known and influential as you stated.

 

I'll see your bus...and raise you these

 

Yeah Bob is certainly of huge importance.
I'd go with the music is not a contest thing though.

As far as T shirts relating to meaningful musical influence, I don't totally agree that his face is always related to his music.

We see Che Guevara on T shirts all over the world too, and I suppose the image of Jesus and Buddha are worldwide icons.
Choosing an image doesn't always have a basis in what the person depicted stands for, and I guarantee there are plenty of people wearing Bob Marley T shirts who have none of his albums or music on their phones.
Similarly many exhibits of the image of Jesus or Che are not forwarding the teachings of those important men.
Meaning was of course what brought them household recognition.
Even more unrelated is tattoos depicting stuff that the bearer doesn't even understand, never mind stand for or live by.

I read an interview with Andy Summers where he recounted being in rural India on some sort of spiritual vacation, and a stranger came walking by with a boom box playing a Police tune.
Summers tried to talk to the Indian who spoke no English, saying "I made that music" and pointing to himself in an attempt to sign communicate. The guy with the boom box got mad and shoved Summers away, thinking he wanted to buy or steal the boom box.

So foreigners loving music when they don't understand the words is also not all that telling or unique.

One thing about Marley is he came up in a time when pop music was having more meaning than the usual I wanna hold your hand or my baby left me etc.
Beatles music pushed the meaning envelope further than Marley, and the whole tradition of Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, (early) Bob Dylan, Joan Baez etc etc also forced meaning on a society at philosophical war with itself.
Dylan was taken on by society as a sage, in the way society often chooses an image they feel represents their unserved needs and unrecognized feelings at the time. But Dylan then rejected being the masses meaning mule and moved on, even at risk of losing popularity.
Making music with meaning to society may seem somehow elevated over the mundane, but it is actually just another proven template that has worked over and over for centuries.
Plenty of folk music we don't know the origin of still has meaning and still gets played after a hundred years or more.
Irish pub music is like that.
Nobody gets credit though, as it often just belongs to the people who keep it alive, not the writer who is gone.

All that said, this is one of my favorite pieces of music.

 

Some of his local brothers were similarly awesome.
Their faces may not be as iconic though if they didn't keep the same haircut the world can easily identify them by.

 

Ah but these are paid ads and luxury items, not the ‘bus’ of the People

 

Haha I have one of those "Fighting domestic terrorism since 1492" T shirts.
But I didn't buy it on Amazon!
Bought it off a native Murican street vendor and it makes me feel all righteous!

Feeling righteous is important.
Hard to get in modern society where we need to buy in to Alexa and Experian.
If a T shirt gets us a sense of righteousness for $19.95, the world will beat a path to that door!

 

Nay, nay I say to the idea that people don’t understand the message/music of Bob. Or course people understand want of being free from oppression and the almighty weed leaf. Che? That’s a misused symbol, without a doubt. Jesus, man didn’t the Beatles say they were bigger than him? Both are highly misused in graphic symbology. But Bob? Oh, even if you don’t know anything besides “Jammin’” you are definitely on the level by vibe alone. Irie, Jah bless...

 

Perhaps this one is more suitable then

 

Babylon by Bus?

 

If I had a nickel for every kid in honor's art class who did a Bob Marley portrait, I'd have to check my downpressor man status...

You should see my portfolio from that era

 

”One good thing about music when it hits you feel no pain..”

 

True, all tribes out in the US Southwest have a special place for Bob and all Reggae music. Shoot, my cousin is a bonafide Rastafarian, and nothing but respect...