cannabisnews.com: Tape of Bob Marley Is Found and Put on Auction Tape of Bob Marley Is Found and Put on Auction Posted by CN Staff on December 18, 2002 at 22:26:03 PT By Jesse McKinley Source: New York Times Sometime in the spring of 1968, a lanky, clean-cut 23-year-old Jamaican arrived at an apartment on Valentine Avenue in the Bronx with a guitar and a future no one could have possibly imagined.He was Bob Marley, who eventually sold tens of millions of albums and built reggae into an international musical movement but who at this point was dead set on learning the mysteries of rhythm and blues. To that end he had gone to the Bronx to sit at the heels of Jimmy Norman, then a 31-year-old composer and crooner who had written dozens of hit songs for the singer and producer Johnny Nash. Mr. Nash had just signed Marley to his record label, JAD Records. "He was just a nice young guy who loved music," Mr. Norman recalled. "He loved the Impressions, and he loved James Brown."The two men, along with Marley's wife, Rita, and Mr. Norman's writing partner, Al Pyfrom, jammed for the next three days. Then Mr. Norman set up a tape recorder and recorded 24 minutes of music onto a cassette that soon disappeared.It was not played again for 34 years, during which time Marley become a global superstar and died of cancer at 36 in 1981. Forgotten by Mr. Norman, the tape remained in a box of cassettes in his apartment on the Upper West Side until it was discovered last June by a volunteer from the Jazz Foundation of America who was cleaning the place.The tape, which Mr. Norman has put up for auction on Friday at Christie's, has eight songs sung by Marley — five written by him and three by Mr. Norman and Mr. Pyfrom. It documents a rare moment in the artist's development, a period just before reggae and Marley himself began to gain popularity."I'm a pack rat, I can't find nothing in my apartment," Mr. Norman said. "I thought it was just trash. I almost recorded over it."Roger Steffens, a Marley expert and the founding editor of The Beat, the reggae and worldbeat magazine, said: "This was Marley at the birth of reggae. He was trying everything in the first years of his career he could to have a major hit. He saw this as a way to put himself in somebody's else hands and who could guide him to American chart success."While other early Marley demos exist and have even been released on compilations, Mr. Norman's tape is a rarity, Mr. Steffens said, because "they are pop influenced rather than reggae influenced."Considering its age and neglect, the tape sounds clear, as does Marley's voice. Marley played guitar, while Mr. Norman played an upright piano and sang backup. Rita Marley can also be heard singing backup, with Mr. Norman's ex-wife, Dorothy. Mr. Norman recorded on a standard cassette recorder in late afternoon, after a long day of playing. There was also, Mr. Norman said, some drug use."Bob introduced me to spliff," he said, using the Jamaican lingo for marijuana.What is strange, especially for those accustomed to his reggae, is the style in which Marley sings. On one track, "Stay With Me," Marley sings in an almost doo-wop style; on another "Splish for My Splash," he appropriates the slow love song style of 1960's artists like Sam Cooke.What stands out on all eight songs, however, is Marley's voice."He didn't sound like anybody else," Mr. Norman said.Officials at Christie's say that the tape is expected to bring $10,000 to $15,000, though the buyer will get only the tape, not the rights to the eight songs, all of which were later recorded and released in more polished form.Mr. Norman said that the session was considered such a success that he went to Jamaica and spent eight months supervising the recording of dozens of other songs, many of which he wrote for Marley. Some of them have been included in other Marley albums and show the increased influence of "rock steady," a precursor to reggae, in Marley's sound.It was a time of artistic ferment that Mr. Norman remembers fondly. But after leaving Jamaica, Mr. Norman saw Marley only once more, shortly before his death. "He looked like the weight of the world was on his shoulders," Mr. Norman said. "He said, `I wish we were back in Trench Town, going swimming.' "Mr. Norman's decision to sell the tape is practical. He had a heart attack last year and is in poor physical and financial health. A member of the Coasters, the doo-wop cutup group from the early 1970's to 1998, Mr. Norman had to stop touring because of his health.Wendy Oxenhorn, executive director of the Jazz Foundation of America, which helps infirm or housebound musicians, said that discoveries like the Marley tape were not uncommon."We had one guy who used to play with Miles Davis and found boxes full of original sheet music and recordings," she said. "We've brainwashed volunteers not to throw anything out."Mr. Norman said he had several dozen other tapes that he suspected might have Marley material. In 1996 he gave a JAD Records founder, Danny Sims, several tapes on which he and Marley played. They were released as part of "Soul Almighty," an album focused on Marley's formative years.Whitney Broussard, an entertainment lawyer who has handled many music copyright cases, said that for a record from the tape to be released, a series of rights issues would have to be resolved, like obtaining permission from the owner of the copyrights on the songs and from the Marley estate. A call to the London lawyer for the Bob Marley estate was not returned.Even the Marley tape up for sale might have additional material, Mr. Norman said."I don't remember what's on the other side of the tape," Mr. Norman said. "I just got so caught up in listening to that one side."Complete Title: Pre-Reggae Tape of Bob Marley Is Found and Put on AuctionSource: New York Times (NY)Author: Jesse McKinleyPublished: December 19, 2002Copyright: 2002 The New York Times Company Contact: letters nytimes.com Website: http://www.nytimes.com/ Related Articles & Web Sites:Bob Marley.com http://www.bobmarley.com/Jamaican Plan to Legalise Private Use of Marijuana http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread10779.shtmlUS Backlash Against Ganja http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread10640.shtmlDecriminalise it, Says Ganja Commission http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread10627.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #6 posted by FoM on December 19, 2002 at 10:22:43 PT Thanks p4me I posted the article and named you Newshawk. Non violent is different then crimes with no victim. They should only release people for drug charges not burglary. We had our business broken into 3 times and we were victims and it was horrible. It devastated us financially. They need to separate non violent from victimless crimes and then I'd be happy. [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by p4me on December 19, 2002 at 08:48:05 PT The Nation covers the top 10 media companies The media with all their bad journalism is responsible for cannabis prohibition. There is excellent coverage in what the limiting of voices and consolidation mean at the Nation: http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20020107&s=miller1 [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by p4me on December 19, 2002 at 07:52:28 PT Something else from the New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/19/national/19CRIM.html?pagewanted=1&ei=5004&en=e0bf2e69bdc8250a&ex=1041570000&partner=UNTD - This is a two page article about prisoners in several states being released early and the skirting of mandatory sentencing because of the budget crisis in several states. I wish it had something about California where more money is spent on prisons than on schools and the budget deficit is so large it is hard to calculate although $25 billion might be close. Starve the economy and have a thrifty meal.1 [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by Kegan on December 19, 2002 at 02:40:29 PT: New stuff Check this news out kids!!!Proposed act for Decrim in canada http://lois.justice.gc.ca/en/C-38.7/index.htmlMedical Pot delivered to your door!!!!http://www.marijuanahomedelivery.ca [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by FoM on December 18, 2002 at 22:28:53 PT Just a Little Nice Audio Clip for All of You! http://www.bobmarley.com/songs/ram/threebirds.ram [ Post Comment ] Post Comment