So Much Things to Say

The Oral History of Bob Marley

13 November 2018

Territory Rights — Worldwide.

With an Introduction by Linton Kwesi Johnson

Description

The world’s leading reggae scholar spent forty years interviewing Bob Marley and his closest confidants. This is the definitive telling of Bob Marley’s life.

Roger Steffens toured with Bob Marley for two weeks of his final tour of California in 1979 and the music icon was the first guest of Steffens’ award-winning radio show. In So Much Things To Say, Steffens draws on a lifetime of scholarship to tell the story of Marley’s childhood abandonment, his formative years in Trench Town, his seemingly meteoric rise to international fame and his tragic death at 36. Weaving together the voices of Rita Marley, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer—as well as band members, family and friends—Steffens reveals extraordinary new details, dispels myths and highlights the most dramatic elements of Marley’s life; his psychic abilities and his overriding commitment to the peace and love message of Rastafari. This landmark work will reshape our understanding of this legendary performer.

Reviews

"If Bob Marley is Jesus in these times, Roger Steffens is Peter." — Carlos Santana

"... absorbing oral history... So Much Things to Say is a major work that helps us better understand Marley's tragic yet inspirational tale." — Mojo

"... absorbing "oral history"... So Much Things to Say is a fitting tribute to the tumultuous life and complex character of the country’s favourite son." — The Observer

"So Much Things to Say, an 'oral' account of Marley's life and times, amounts to an absorbing alternative biography." — The Spectator

"Steffens identifies many more pieces of the man than have ever before been put together in one book." — The Guardian

"[So Much Things to Say] narrates the life of Marley from cradle to grave... Steffens has been on the Marley case for decades, and he’s a crucial voice in this epic chorus... Illuminating." — Touré, The New York Times Book Review

"There have been dozens of Bob Marley books, but this 2017 oral history, decades in the making, is definitive." — Rolling Stone

"For decades Steffens has been a leading authority on Bob Marley. Here he identifies many more pieces of the man than have ever before been put together in one book... Steffens marshals his sources with skill, and we’re left with a complex representation." — The Guardian

Also By: Roger Steffens

Bob Marley: Spirit Dancer
Bruce W. Talamon, Roger Steffens
Paperback, 2003
A photographic and textual meditation on the life of a legend, reissued in special CD-size format.
One Love: Life with Bob Marley and the Wailers
Lee Jaffe, Roger Steffens
Hardback, 2003
An intimate portrait of two years on the eve of fame by a friend and collaborator of the Wailers.