BOOKER, Cedella Marley 1926-

PERSONAL:

Original name, Cedella Malcolm; born 1926, in Nine Miles, Jamaica; married Norval Marley, 1944 (deceased, 1962); companion of Toddy Livingstone (relationship ended); married Richard Booker; children: (with Marley) Robert Nesta Marley (deceased); (with Livingstone) Pearl; (with Booker) Anthony (deceased), Richard.

ADDRESSES:

Office—2809 Bird Ave., Ste. 146, Coconut Grove, FL 33126. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Writer, musician, artist and sculptor; Bob Marley Festival, Miami, FL, founder, 1994.

WRITINGS:

(With Gerald Hausman) 56 Thoughts from 56 Hope Road: The Sayings and Psalms of Bob Marley, Tuff Gong Books (Miami, FL), 2002.

(With Gerald Hausman) The Boy from Nine Miles: The Early Life of Bob Marley, illustrated by Mariah Fox, Hampton Roads (Charlottesville, VA), 2002.

(With Anthony C. Winkler) Bob Marley, My Son, Taylor (Lanham, MD), 2003.

SOUND RECORDINGS

Awake Zion, Rykodisc (Nashville, TN), 1991.

Smilin' Island of Song, Music for the Little People (Redway, CA), 1992.

SIDELIGHTS:

Cedella Marley Booker is the mother of one of the most famous Jamaicans in history—the late Bob Marley. Booker has written books about the life of her son and is also a musician in her own right. She records reggae and gospel music. She is also the founder of the Bob Marley Festival, held annually in Miami, Florida. The festival was started in 1994 and features reggae and world music. Much of the proceeds go directly to charity. Booker told Piccoli in the Sun-Sentinel, "I am committed to do certain things to keep up his [Marley's] legacy because it was his desire." She went on to say, "there is a message that he left that people are feeding on." She feels that the festival will continue for as long as the people have a need for Bob Marley's message of peace and love.

Booker collaborated with Anthony C. Winkler to write her 2003 book, Bob Marley, My Son. The book explores the special relationship between Booker and Marley, and focuses more on Marley as a person than a famous musician. Bill Walker, a reviewer for Library Journal, stated that the book offers "many personal details that make Marley seem more like a complex, flawed human being than a mythical prophet." "Booker has much of value to say about her son's personal life," wrote Mike Tribby for Booklist.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, May 1, 2003, Mike Tribby, review of Bob Marley, My Son, p. 1563.

Consumers' Research Magazine, June, 1993, Robert Henschen, review of Smilin' Island of Song, p. 33.

Library Journal, May 1, 2003, Bill Walker, review of Bob Marley, My Son, p. 115.

Publishers Weekly, October 5, 1992, review of Smilin' Island of Song, p. 34.

School Library Journal, May, 1993, Abbey-jo Rehling, review of Smilin' Island of Song, p. 71.

ONLINE

Bob Marley Movement,http://www.bobmarleymovement.com/ (February 25, 2004).

Sun-Suntinel.com, Sean Piccoli, http://www.sunsentinel.com/ (February 6, 2004), interview with Cedella Marley Booker.*