Rita Marley Honored at National Dance Theatre Company of Jamaica Performance in South Florida
Marley Receives Lifetime Achievement Award
by Howard Campbell
SOUTH FLORIDA – Not long after her husband’s death in May, 1981, Rita Marley re-launched her solo career. Working mainly with the Fabulous Five Band, she scored a number of hit songs that proved she was more than Bob Marley’s wife.
Some of those tracks were put to dance on October 1 at South Miami Dade Cultural Arts Center by the National Dance Theatre Company (NDTC) of Jamaica which performed pieces to Love Iyah, Good Morning Jah, A Jah Jah, Thank You Lord and Harambe.
According to Rita’s daughter Sharon, who also attended, her mother was overwhelmed by the performances.
“I was watching her very closely to see if she would have started to cry. A lot of work went into those songs, she built a lot of friendships during that time. Ricky (Walters) who wrote that Love Iyah piece, died this year, so it celebrated him as well and Steve Golding who wrote My Kind of War for her, was also there,” said Sharon.
Walters, a guitarist with Fab Five, died in South Florida in June. Golding, also a guitarist, collaborated with Rita during the early 1980s when she became a star in her own right and took control of her husband’s Tuff Gong company.
The NDTC’s two shows (the second was scheduled for October 2 at Miramar Cultural Performing Arts Center in Miramar) were organized by the Louise Bennett Coverley Heritage Council, whose president Colin Smith, was present for the Miami event.
Last Saturday, Cuba-born Rita also received the Consulate General’s Lifetime Achievement Award from Oliver Mair, Jamaica’s Consul General to Miami.
Sharon, her eldest child, disclosed that her mother is doing well after suffering a series of strokes in recent years. She is pleased that the Marley matriarch is getting her due.
“We want to express our appreciation to the Jamaican Consulate for considering her for this Lifetime Achievement Award. It’s coming on to Heroes Week (in Jamaica) and it’s also our 60th year of independence, so she recognizes the importance of this time,” she said.
