• Sho nuff! The Jackson Five and The Wailers were hangin’ out on a fallen mango tree

The year was 1975, the same year that Bob Marley became internationally known with the hit single “No Woman, No Cry” from his Live! album which was recorded over two consecutive nights at London’s Lyceum Theatre in July 1975. 

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Bob Marley the Wailers No Woman No Cry Cover

No Woman, No Cry

Bob Marley and the Wailers

Album: Natty Dread

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AND in Michael Jackson’s very first trip to Jamaica, Motown’s Jackson Five visited the island to perform a show headlined by Bob Marley and the Wailers. Yep! You might need to read that again. 

As a solo artist, Jackson had already sold several million records by the time the group made their first visit to Jamaica. So… I had to create this video ‘cause I just discovered all this info and these great pics from 1975!

So y’all please look closely at the pic of all the folks in the tree! The Jackson Five and The Wailers were hangin’ out on a fallen mango tree at 56 Hope Road with promoter Chester McCullough and friends. So about the show…

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BobMarley1
BobMarley2
BobMarley2

The show, which was initially scheduled for February 15, 1975, was held at Kingston’s National Arena on March 8, 1975 and featured the Wailers original line-up of Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer along with Carlton Barrett (drums), Aston “Family Man” Barrett (bass), Al Anderson (lead guitar), Lee Jaffe (harmonica) and a brass section of Bobby Ellis (trumpet) and Richard “Dirty Harry” Hall (saxophone). Also on the bill were Marcia Griffiths, Bongo Herman, and the I-Three. 

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BobMarley4 1
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BobMarley3

The show lasted for more than six hours with the Wailers playing until 4:00 a.m. with the crowd still dancing and cheering for more. The fans couldn’t get enough of Marley, Tosh, and Livingstone. Y’all, the audience in the ten dollar section broke through police barriers into the fifteen dollar seats in order to get a better glimpse of the stage. The audience was blessed to see this show ‘cause The Wailers performed together for one of the last times on the same bill as the Jackson 5 at the National Arena in Kingston in 1975. 

I’m actively searching for video footage of their performances! It’s gotta be out there somewhere. 

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