May 11, 2011 marks the 30th anniversary of the death of legendary reggae singer and songwriter Bob Marley. Mr. Marley died at the age of 36 after battling cancer. His life was certainly cut too short but his music lives on for generations and generations. I'm sure most people are familar with the album Legend - a greatest hits collection by Bob Marley & The Wailers which is the best selling reggae album of all time. This album features the songs I Shot the Sheriff, No Woman, No Cry, Could You Be Loved, and Stir It Up to name a few. 

Our new electronic resource Freegal has the Bob Marley & The Wailers album Trenchtown Days: Birth of a Legend which I highly recommend (search for "trenchtown" after you login to Freegal). This album gives you a glimpse into the early sound of the band and how they eventually fine-tuned their sound into becoming one of the best loved reggae bands of all time. If you have to download only one track (through Freegal you are allowed only 3 downloads per week) I would encourage you to grab One Love. This version isn't as polished and smooth as the version most people know but it's interesting to see the differences between the song recorded in the 1960s and the 1977 version from their Exodus album.

Learn More:

• No Woman, No Cry: My Life with Bob Marley by Rita Marley
• Bob Marley: The Untold Story by Chris Salewicz 
• Bob Marley and the Golden Age of Reggae, 1975-1976 by Kim Gottlieb-Walker
• The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll edited by Holly George-Warren and Patricia Romanowski
• I and I: Bob Marley by Tony Medina and illustrated by Jesse Joshua Watson
• Great Spirits: Portraits of Life-changing World Music Artists by Randall Grass