Saturday, April 13, 8 p.m.
The Rust Belt, 533 12th Avenue, East Moline IL
Performing locally not long after the musical biography Bob Marley: One Love became a box-office smash, the Legendary Wailers featuring Junior Marvin headline an April 13 concert at East Moline venue The Rust Belt, the outfit's bandleader the Jamaican-born guitarist and singer who was invited to join Bob Marley & the Wailers a full 47 years ago.
Born in Kingston, Surrey County, the 74-year-old Marvin moved to London as a child, where his love of both acting and music was nurtured. He appeared in the Beatles' film Help!, which was followed by a number of television appearances. Meanwhile, Marvin served his musical apprenticeship in the United States by playing with musical legends including T-Bone Walker and Ike and Tina Turner. Back in England, he played with bands such as Herbie Goins & the Nighttimers, Blue Ace Unit, and White Rabbit. In 1973, Marvin formed the band Hanson and recorded two albums, but it was four years later – on the U.S. Valentine's Day of 1977 –that he met Bob Marley, and he subsequently joined the reggae icon's ensemble The Wailers.
The group's acclaimed Exodus LP became Marvin's debut with Bob Marley & The Wailers, and in 1999, Time magazine declared the recording “Album of the Century," while “One Love” was named "Song of the Millennium" in 2000. Marvin served as lead guitarist and musical contributor on all subsequent Bob Marley & the Wailers albums, and toured worldwide with the Wailers until Bob Marley's passing in 1981. Afterward, along with the remaining Wailers members, Marvin formed The Wailers Band and released the albums ID, Majestic Warriors, JAH Message, and Live 95–97 My Friends. In 2002, Marvin was included in Guitar World Magazine’s “Top 100 Guitarists of All Time” for his guitar solo on “Africa Unite” from the Bob Marley & the Wailers Survival album. And after touring with many incarnations of The Wailers since Bob Marley’s passing, Marvin has now stepped out to front his own unique version of The Wailers, playing and singing Bob Marley & the Wailers hits the way Marley himself intended them to be heard.
The Legendary Wailers featuring Junior Marvin perform their East Moline engagement on April 13, admission to the 8 p.m. concert event is $30.75-35.75, and more information and tickets are available by visiting TheRustBeltQC.com.