Bob Marley’s Parents: Norval Sinclair Marley And Cedella Booker

Robert Nesta Marley best known as Bob Marley rightfully earned the love of both the older generations and the younger generations for his craft. He is known for hit songs including “One Love”, “No Woman, No Cry”, “Get Up, Stand Up”, “Buffalo Soldier”, and “I Shot the Sheriff”. His greatest hits album Legend, released in 1984 became the best-selling reggae album of all time.

Bob Marley’s phenomenal success in the music industry and his impact on the industry cannot be overlooked. He was highly respected and considered one of the pioneers of the reggae music genre. He was an avid supporter of the legalization of marijuana and he advocated for Pan-Africanism. Bob was also a son to his parents.

Who Are Bob Marley’s Parents?

Bob Marley was born Robert Nesta Marley on the 6th of February 1945, in Nine Mile, Saint Ann Parish, Jamaica. His father was Norval Sinclair Marley and his mother was Sidilla Editha “Cedella” Booker (née Malcolm: formerly Marley). Norval made Cedella his wife on 9 June 1944, in Saint Ann, Jamaica. Norval was 59 years old when he married 18-year-old Cedella.

Norval Sinclair Marley and Cedella Booker’s marriage wasn’t in the spotlight until their son Bob Marley became famous. Some facts regarding their union are unknown. Some sources have it that Norval and Cedella planned to get married but Norval left before they could marry. Norval and Cedella are also said to have separated.

Norval provided financial support for his wife and child but rarely saw them. Unfortunately, Norval died without his son Bob Marley getting to really know him. He died when Bob was just 10 years old. Bob once said about his background, “Me don’t dip on nobody’s side. Me don’t dip on the Black man’s side nor the white man’s side. Me dip on God’s side, the one who create me and cause me to come from Black and white.”

Bob Marley’s Father Was A White Jamaican

Norval Sinclair Marley was born in 1885, to Englishman Albert Thomas Marley and Ellen Marley (née Broomfield). He was a white Jamaican from Crowborough, East Sussex in England, then a resident of Clarendon Parish. He was a British Jamaican but he is rumoured to have been of distant Syrian Jewish heritage.

ALSO, READ: Norval Sinclair Marley: How Did Bob Marley’s Father Die?

Norval travelled during World War I to England where he joined the British Army in 1916 at Liverpool. He is said to have enlisted in the non-combatant Labour Corps, serving in the United Kingdom. He used to work as a ferro-concreter in Cuba. He made claims that he was a captain in the Royal Marines. He was a plantation overseer. Norval lived his life away from the spotlight. His son Bob rarely spoke about him.

Bob Marley’s Father Died When He Was At A Young Age

Norval Sinclair Marley and his son Bob Marley didn’t spend much time together and Norval passed away. Norval died at the time Bob was 10 years old. He passed away in 1955, at age 70, in Nine Mile, Saint Ann, Jamaica. He was buried at Bob Marley Mausoleum, Nine Mile, Saint Ann, Jamaica.

Bob Marley’s Mother Was A Singer-songwriter And Author

Cedella Booker was born Sidilla Editha Malcolm on July 23, 1926, in Saint Ann Parish, Jamaica. She was the daughter of Albertha Whilby and Omeriah Malcolm. Omeriah was a farmer, “bush doctor”, and one of the most respected residents of Nine Mile. She was an Afro-Jamaican. She became a singer-songwriter and author. She occasionally performed live with some of her grandchildren (Bob Marley’s children).

Cedella released the albums “Awake Zion” and “Smilin’ Island of Song”. She is the author of two books on the subject of her son, Bob Marley: Bob Marley: an intimate portrait by his mother (1997), and Bob Marley, My Son (2003). She conceived and created the 9 Mile Music Festival in 1993, an annual music event held every year in Miami to carry on her late son Bob Marley’s message of peace, love, and unity.

Cedella once said of Bob: “I didn’t know he was going to be a reggae king, but I knew he was a king from birth.” She said that she had the desire to see reggae music “grow on and on and spread wider stringer and bigger. I’m hoping and praying that reggae will reach many hearts because reggae music, the message that Bob has brought to the world, has changed so many people.”

ALSO, READ: Bob Marley’s Children: How Many Children Does He Have?

Cedella revealed that her favorite song by her famous son is “No Woman No Cry”, adding, “That means so much to me. Because it gives me assurance, you know, and a kind of strength in my faith. Don’t cry! Everything is going to be all right.” In addition to Bob, Cedella had other children. Cedella was the mother of a daughter, Claudette Pearl Livingston, whom she had with Taddeus/Thaddeus Livingston.

Cedella had two other children Richard Booker and Anthony Booker from her marriage to Edward Booker, an American civil servant. In 1990, Anthony was killed in a shootout with Miami police, after walking through a shopping mall with a 12 ga. shotgun and opening fire on responding police.

Bob Marley’s Mother Died In Her Sleep

Cedella Booker died on April 8, 2008, at age 81, in Miami, Florida, U.S. She died in her sleep from natural causes. She was buried at Bob Marley Mausoleum, Nine Mile, Saint Ann, Jamaica.