Bob Marley Upstages The Commodores
JANUARY 25, 2012 BY MIDNIGHTRAVER
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The purpose of the blog is to add to the archive of legendary roots reggae artists by profiling shows, interviews, writings, appearances, and the like.
This week, we find Bob Marley and the Wailers on the North American leg of their 1980 tour. It is September 1980, and they are playing two shows with The Commodores at the famed Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. Unfortunately, this is Bob’s last trip through New York, and the U.S. for that matter (although he does return to Miami, FL in April 1981 after leaving Dr. Issel’s clinic in Bavaria).
I have included a review of the show by Robert Palmer, which was published on September 23, 1980 in the New York Times. Ironically, September 23, 1980 is the same day that Marley plays his last show at The Stanley Theater in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
The review can be accessed here.
As the review explains, these shows are of note because Marley plays his music live to a predominantly African-American, mainstream funk and soul audience for the first time