Anniversary of Bob Marley's Death Brings to Mind Intrigue of Linked '80s Music Threads

Having just noticed that May 11 is the 28th anniversary of reggae music/cultural legend Bob Marley's untimely death from cancer, I immediately found myself wondering where the seemingly endless neo-hippie movement would be without the contributions of that particular artist. Mind you, I don't necessarily experience these thoughts wistfully, as on a musical level the world could have used a little less pretension and excess over the years, some of which could certainly have been avoided if '60s revival culture had been allowed to fade a little more gracefully.

Anyway, I actually bring this up not to bash or belittle musical strands I don't especially favor. Rather, I thought it would be interesting to examine the constantly shifting links of the pop music chain, particularly in terms of the '80s. Marley may not have inspired a glut of immediate followers during the early part of the '80s, but by the decade's latter half artists like Edie Brickell & the New Bohemians, future jam band legends Widespread Panic, and, of course, Marley's son Ziggy emerged as purveyors of an expansive, improvisational style that would ultimately generate '90s superstardom for bands like Blues Traveler and the Dave Matthews Band. I'll leave it to others to celebrate outright the dogged persistence of this resilient strain of pop music, but I always find it utterly compelling how many ways music keeps on regenerating itself. If only Marley himself could have found such a rebirth for his too-brief life of 36 years.

• Top 10 Most Tragic & Untimely Musician Deaths of the '80s
• Bob Marley Artist Profile
• Dave Matthews Band Artist Profile

Album Cover Image Courtesy of Island Def Jam