Gong strong at 75: Love lessons from my father

(Jamaica Observer) IN 2006, Ziggy Marley, first son of reggae icon Bob Marley, released the album Love is My Religion . His second solo project, it went on to win the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album that year.

The lyrics of the title track reflect a very personal mantra and one of the enduring life lessons taught to him by his father, who died in 1981, when Ziggy was 12 years old.

Today, the 51-year-old father of seven, will readily tell you that the greatest lesson he learned from his father is “love”.

Speaking to the Jamaica Observer from his home in California on the eve of his father’s 75th birthday, Ziggy was somewhat reflective as he spoke of the man many have come to know as a musical superstar; some knew as friend, but he knew as father.

“Every now and then, as the years go by, I really just stop and think about him. He passed away when he was so young. I am much older than he was when he passed. I can’t even begin to see or imagine him as being 75 because in reality he is still that young, 36-year-old father. Still, we have, over the years, made it a point to celebrate these very important milestones such as his birth. When you look at it, his birth was a good thing for the whole Earth. His life, his music, and what his stood for has come to mean so much to so many people all over the world,” Ziggy noted.

He paused for a moment when asked what is that one experience that he had with his father that always comes back to him in his quiet moments of reflection.

Read more at: Jamaica Observer

Source: CARICOM TODAY