The definitive group biography of the Wailers—Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, and Bunny Livingston—chronicling their rise to fame and power and offering a portrait of a seminal group during a period of exuberant cultural evolution. Over one dramatic decade, a trio of Trenchtown R&B crooners swapped their 1960s Brylcreem hairdos and two-tone suits for 1970s battle fatigues and dreadlocks to become the Wailers—one of the most influential groups in popular music. A history of the band is presented from their upbringing in the brutal slums of Kingston to their first recordings and then international superstardom. It is argued that these reggae stars offered three models for black men in the second half of the 20th century: accommodate and succeed (Marley), fight and die (Tosh), or retreat and live (Livingston). The author meets with Rastafarian elders, Obeah men, and other folk authorities as he attempts to unravel the mysteries of Jamaica's famously impenetrable culture and to offer a sophisticated understanding of Jamaican politics, heritage, race, and religion.
