NAT ‘KING’ COLE
Unforgettable
CAPITOL, 1952
That’s one of the first records I can remember. Sometimes we spend time with our grand-aunt, and she like that type of singing. So I think the first time I was exposed to Nat ‘King’ Cole was her playing some of his records, and it did get my attention. It has been a part of my consciousness from the first time I heard his voice. I never heard anybody sing like that! I’m in Jamaica, I don’t hear that type of singing. In my house, with my mother and father, we didn’t have Nat ‘King’ Cole. He wasn’t a constant in my life – I heard him when I was younger, then him disappear, so when I got old, I started looking for some Nat ‘King’ Cole music. He was just soulful.
MICHAEL JACKSON
Thriller
EPIC, 1982
The Jackson Five was a big one for me. I used to sing them songs when I was a young child. And then all of us love Michael Jackson for Thriller. I remember everything about this one! There’s no way I could forget Thriller – the first album I bought with my own money, and the first stereo system I bought to play it. Set it up in my room, and that was a great experience. It was just Thriller for that period of time. Those are the MTV days, you know? There was a Donna Summer song that I liked, “Hot Stuff”. I remember the video – she was in a red hat and she was walking on a set with a [street] lamp. Oh, man…
SAM COOKE
The Best Of Sam Cooke
RCA VICTOR, 1962
As a teenager, I started listening to Sam Cooke. I have no idea why – there must have been a Sam Cooke record somewhere, and I started it. I was looking for some girls, and Sam Cooke’s record, them kinda have the love songs: [sings] “You send me / honest you do”. And “Only Sixteen” – I was in that age group, you know? And Marvin Gaye, “Let’s Get It On”. That was my lover’s years! Honestly, I don’t really know what draws me to them, but these are the guys that I love listening to. They connected with me. I’m sure there’s some of that [in my own singing voice]. As an artist, all the stuff you heard throughout your life, there’s some inspiration from that, for real.
BOB MARLEY & THE WAILERS
Survival
TUFF GONG/ISLAND, 1979
This album is what awoke in my consciousness of African, black people struggling. It made me want to know more about Africa. I went to a Catholic High School, and a lot of the teachers were Jesuit priests. They used to teach us about the slave trade, but we never know anything else about Africa. I had altercations with them because I was being revolutionised by my father’s album! I remember, I went to Zimbabwe with him and my brother for the independence celebration [in 1980], so when I rediscover that album, it connect Africa to me. A lot of people like the more commercial stuff, Kaya or Exodus, and they see him in that light. But on Survival, you see a different side of him.
MILES DAVIS
Bitches Brew
COLUMBIA, 1970
I was doing an album with Don Was, [1999’s] Spirit Of Music. As an artist, I was in a searching mode: I want to do something different, I don’t want to stay in the box, I want to experiment. And so Don sent me Bitches Brew. Can’t forget that either. I just listen to that record, and it gave me the courage to be more adventurous in my own music. Miles is inspiring: his attitude, how him approach it, that definitely put me in a new direction musically. Like, alright, I can really go out there if I want to. I’ve always tried to say, ‘How would a jazz guy play that?’ Because jazz is such a free music, and I like free music. I think that is how it influenced me, that freedom.
AC/DC
For Those About To Rock (We Salute You)
ATLANTIC, 1981
I used to come from Jamaica to America when I was young, [to visit] one of my uncles. There was a radio station in Florida, them used to play rock music. So I’m getting exposed to AC/DC in Florida, over the radio: “For Those About To Rock (We Salute You)”, “TNT”… My mind is so open, I love rock music. And elements of that started to get into my music, the distorted guitar. Because it sets a tone, it gives you an impression of what the music wants to say to you. We have a song called “I Get Out” and it’s the freedom for me to just put some of that element in it. I want to use sound as words, you know? So if I have a distorted guitar, it means something.
FELA KUTI AND AFRICA 70
Zombie
COCONUT, 1977
I was in Chicago rehearsing for an album with Tyrone Downie and a band from Ethiopia called Dallol, and Fela Kuti had a concert. I never heard about him before, but Tyrone was like, ‘Let’s go check out Fela.’ So I went to the show, and it was so great and powerful – him stage presence and him energy, and the music and just the vibe. Him so cool, you know? We go backstage to meet him, and the man in swim trunks! The man just cool and free, same as my father. He really made a strong impression on me, so after that I check out the music. “Zombie” is one of my favourite ones, because we have a lot of zombies in the world today. People get programmed and not think for themselves.
DENNIS BROWN
“Revolution”
TAXI, 1983
People like Dennis Brown, Burning Spear and Toots, these are all my fathers – my forefathers, my founding fathers. They knew me, I knew them. I still know them – I just did a tour with Burning Spear. So they’re very close to my heart. I’d love to recut a Dennis Brown song – [sings] “Do you know what it means to have a revolution?” – but the way him singing the song, I don’t know. I think I will come from a different angle, I can’t get his style. So that’s why I haven’t done it yet, but I will do it, because I love him. Dennis is special, unique. That’s what I like about those guys: they weren’t trying to be like each other, they were just being who they are.
Ziggy Marley’s new album Brightside is available digitally