Last month saw the 11th anniversary of Peter Tosh's cold and wasteful murder. This month however would have been the 64th birthday, and I thought this would be a better month to post this and commemorate his life. This also left me wondering were would reggae be at now if it wasn't for the untimely deaths of so many of the music's big names, and what would he and Marley be up to now if they were both still here gracing this planet with their presence. That could be perhaps too big a question to try and answer here, so for now here is a brief history of Peter Tosh's colourful life.
Peter Tosh was one of reggaes most influential musicians. He was a trailblazing, intelligent man who was well-read, but with a reputation for being a notoriously uncompromising man, who, rightly in my opinion, was not prepared to sacrifice his beliefs to further his career. He is also described in some circles as a militant and sometimes bitter Rastafarian. He held firm to his beliefs in smoking marijuana as a holy sacrament, to such an extent that he received numerous beatings by the police. His music was full of uplifting ideas and lyrics which inspired the oppressed people of not just Jamaica, but throughout the world.
Born on October 9, 1944 in the rural western part of Jamaica, this lifelong foe of the "shitstem" made his way at age fifteen to the Trench Town tenement yard in Kingston where he met musical youths Bob Marley and Bunny Livingston, through his vocal teacher, Joe Higgs, and formed the Wailers. While perfecting their sound, the trio would often play together on the street corners of Trenchtown. Joe Higgs taught the trio to harmonize as well as teaching Marley to play the guitar, and in 1962, he was the driving force behind the formation of The Wailing Wailers with Junior Braithwaite and backup singers Beverley Kelso and Cherry Smith. The Wailing Wailers had a huge ska hit with their first single, "Simmer Down," and recorded several more successful singles before Braithwaite, Kelso and Smith left the band in late 1965. Marley spent much of 1966 in America with his mother, Cedella (Malcolm) Marley-Booker and for a short time was working at a nearby Chrysler factory. He then returned to Jamaica in early 1967 with a renewed interest in music and a new spirituality.
On Marley's return he got back together with Tosh and Bunny where the three became heavily involved in the Rastafari movement. Soon afterwards, they renamed the group The Wailers. Tosh would later explain that they chose the name Wailers because to "wail" means to mourn or to, as he put it, "...express ones feelings vocally".
Veering away from the up-tempo dance of ska, the band slowed down to a rocksteady pace, and infused their lyrics with political and social messages. The Wailers penned several songs for the American born singer Johnny Nash before teaming up with production wizard Lee Perry to record some of reggae's earliest hits including "Soul Rebel," "Duppy Conqueror" and "Small Axe". The trio then became a five piece with the addition of bassist Aston "Family Man" Barrett and his brother, drummer Carlton. In 1970, The Wailers became Caribbean superstars. The band signed a recording contract with Chris Blackwell and Island Records and released their debut, "Catch a Fire", in 1973, following it up with "Burnin'" in the same year. Tosh, as The Wailers' guitarist, and now the best-known reggae group, is considered as one of the originators of the choppy and syncopated Reggae guitar style. However as big time success was just about to arrive, Tosh while driving home with his then-girlfriend Evonne, was hit by another car driving on the wrong side of the road. The accident killed Evonne and severely fractured Tosh's skull. He survived, but this event made him even harder to deal with.
Soon after the Wailers split, with Tosh and Bunny Wailer, citing what they saw as unfair treatment they received from Chris Blackwell. Indeed the Island Records president refused to
issue Tosh's solo album in 1974, and this led to him often referring to Blackwell as 'Whiteworst'. Undeterred he began recording, and finally released his solo debut, Legalize It, in 1976 on CBS Records. The title track soon became an anthem for supporters of marijuana legalization with Reggae lovers and Rastafarians all over the world, and was a favourite at Tosh's concerts. As Marley preached his "One Love" message, Tosh railed against the hypocritical "shitstem," and became a favourite target of the Jamaican police. He proudly wore the scars that he had received from the beatings he endured. Always taking the militant approach, he released "Equal Rights" in 1977, with its scathing attacks on a range of societal offenses in "Equal Rights," "Downpressor Man," "Stepping Razor," "African," and the remade "Get Up Stand Up." All tracks radiate the trademark Jamaican musical buzz, yet they take-no-prisoners lyrically with their strong messages and aggressive stance that could easily suit today's politicized rap.
Tosh put together a backing band, Word, Sound and Power who accompanied him on tour for the next few years, and many of whom appeared on his albums of this period. In 1978 Rolling Stones Records signed Tosh, and the album "Bush Doctor" was released, introducing Tosh to a larger audience. The single from the album, a cover of The Temptations song "Don't Look Back", performed as a duet with Rolling Stones singer Mick Jagger, turned Tosh into one of the best known Reggae artists. Another 'high' point for Tosh in 1978 was his appearance at the free 'One Love Peace Concert' at The National Stadium in Kingston, first he lambasted the audience, including attending dignitaries, with political demands that included legalizing cannabis. He did this while smoking a spliff, a criminal act in Jamaica. Bob Marley on the other hand asked both then-Prime Minister Michael Manley, and opposition leader Edward Seaga onto the stage; and a famous picture was taken with all three of them holding their hands together above their heads in a symbolic gesture of peace during what had been a very violent election campaign, but also perhaps highlighted the differing roads down which the former band mates were now travelling, and his disillusionment with Marley and the pro Christian stance that he felt Marley was taking with his music. Indeed it has been written that if Bob Marley was the Martin Luther King of reggae then Peter Tosh was the Malcolm X.
"Mystic Man" was released the following year followed by and "Wanted Dread and Alive" in 1981, with both once again on the Rolling Stones' own record label, as Tosh tried to gain some mainstream success while keeping his militant views, but he was largely unsuccessful, especially compared to Marley's achievements. That same year, Tosh appeared in the Stones' video, "Waiting on a Friend".
After the release of 1983's "Mama Africa", Tosh went into self-imposed exile, seeking the spiritual advice of traditional medicine men in Africa, and trying to free himself from recording agreements that distributed his records in South Africa. Tosh also now an active part of international opposition to South African apartheid, and appeared at Anti-Apartheid concerts and reflected his stance in various songs like "Apartheid" (1977, re-recorded 1987), "Equal Rights" (1977), "Fight On" (1979), and "Not Gonna Give It Up" (1983).
In 1987, Tosh appeared to be on the way to something of a career revival, as he was awarded a Grammy for Best Reggae Performance "No Nuclear War. Though on September 11, 1987, just after Tosh had returned to his home in Jamaica, a three-man gang came to his house demanding money. Tosh replied that he did not have any with him but the gang did not believe him. They stayed at his residence for several hours in an attempt to extort money from him. During this time many of Tosh's friends came to his house to greet him following his return to Jamaica. As people began to arrive, the gunmen became more and more frustrated, especially the leader of the gang, Dennis 'Leppo' Lobban, a man whom Peter had befriended, and tried to help find work
after a long jail sentence. Tosh must have been disgusted by this turn of events and made it very clear that he would never give them what they came for. Upon realizing that they would not get anything from the robbery, the gang's leader put a gun to Tosh's head and fired twice killing him instantly. The other gunmen began shooting, wounding several others and killing disc jockey Jeff "Free I" Dixon. Leppo turned himself over to the authorities, and was tried and convicted in the shortest jury deliberation in Jamaican history: eleven minutes. He was sentenced to death, but his sentence was commuted in 1995 and he remains in prison. Neither of his two alleged accomplices were found, though rumours persist that both were gunned down in the streets.
In 1991 "Stepping Razor - Red X" was released, a film - documentary chronicling the life of Peter Tosh by Nicholas Campbell, and produced by Wayne Jobson. The film is based upon interviews with his mother, father and friends plus a series of spoken-word tapes, which had been recorded by Tosh himself that had remained undiscovered for years. He recorded these thoughts and his story to tape because, while increasingly suffering from paranoia, he believed that any official documentation bearing his name was stamped with a
Red X.
Many thanks and respect to all the writers who have helped me write this.
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