Post by Admin on Feb 10, 2019 12:40:42 GMT -4
Early life and marriage to Bob Marley
Rita was born in Santiago de Cuba, to Leroy Anderson and Cynthia "Beda" Jarrett. She grew up in the upper level of Beachwood Avenue, located in Kingston, Jamaica. In her book No Woman, No Cry: My Life with Bob Marley, she describes how she was raised by her Aunt Viola on Greenwich Park Road.
In the mid-1960s, Rita met Bob Marley after meeting Peter Tosh. After it was learned that she was a singer, she was asked to audition for the Soulettes. The group included Rita, her cousin Constantine "Dream" Walker, and Marlene "Precious" Gifford[citation needed] Bob Marley, then a member of the Wailers vocal trio along with Bunny Livingston and Peter Tosh, became the group's mentor and manager and through working together, he and Rita fell in love.
Soulettes released recordings include rocksteady tunes such as "Time for Everything", "Turn Turn Turn" (released in 1966, this was a cover of The Byrds' hit song based on a Bible quote) and "A Deh Pon Dem". "Friends and Lovers", "One More Chance" and "That Ain't Right" (featuring harmony vocals by the Wailers), as well as a duet by Rita and Bunny Livingston, "Bless You" were issued years later on the Lovers and Friends album.
After those recordings for the Studio One label coached by Bob, Rita married Bob Marley around February 1966, just before her husband moved to Wilmington, Delaware (USA) for a few months to make a living working at the Dupont Hotel there. Bob was replaced by Constantine "Vision" Walker, who recorded a few songs as a member of The Wailers during this period.
