Ziggy Marley Teaches Us How to Listen to Reggae
5/13/202636 min
This week on the Track Star Podcast, Ziggy Marley joins us to talk about his passion for reggae, the musical inspirations that shaped him, and the legacy he carries as part of reggae’s most influential family. Jack guides Ziggy through a conversation about the genre’s legends, and together they explore some of the artists who helped define reggae from its earliest days. The discussion begins with Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer, who, alongside Bob Marley, formed The Wailers in Kingston, Jamaica, in 1963. From those Jamaican roots, the conversation travels through time to other pivotal voices in the genre, including Toots Hibbert and Burning Spear. Along the way, Ziggy reflects on the powerful role community played in shaping reggae and driving its message from the very beginning. The episode also turns to Ziggy’s work as a producer on the biopic Bob Marley: One Love, which tells the story of his father’s life and legacy. Jack and Ziggy discuss the unique power of music in film, highlighting figures like Jimmy Cliff, who starred in one of the first Jamaican feature films to introduce reggae music to a global audience. This Episode’s Tracklist: 00:00 - Intro 00:30 - Simmer Down - Bob Marley & The Wailers 3:08 - The Tide is High - The Paragons 3:38 - The Tide is High - Blondie 5:45 - Marcus Garvey - Burning Spear 11:10 - Equal Rights - Peter Tosh 14:06 - Pressure Drop - Toots & The Maytals 17:35 - Tomorrow People- Ziggy Marley & The Melody Makers 18:48 - Genius Love - Tom Tom Club 20:35 - The Boy’s Doin’ It - Hugh Masekela 21:47 - Here Comes the Hotstepper - iNi Kamoze 24:45 - Racism Is A Killa - Ziggy Marley 27:57 - No Woman No Cry - Bob Marley & The Wailers 32:24 - The Harder They Come - Jimmy Cliff
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsJack Coyne· Host0:00
Before we start with the music, just introduce yourself right here.
Ziggy Marley· Guest0:02
We right this time?
Jack Coyne· Host0:03
Yeah.
Ziggy Marley· Guest0:03
Yo, I am Ziggy Marley. What's up?
Jack Coyne· Host0:06
Welcome to Trackstar.
Ziggy Marley· Guest0:07
Oh, good to be here at Trackstar.
Jack Coyne· Host0:09
I'm glad you're here. Well, I wanna go outside with you later.
Ziggy Marley· Guest0:12
Mm.
Jack Coyne· Host0:13
And I'm gonna quiz you on some of those other s- like, a whole bunch of different songs.
Ziggy Marley· Guest0:17
All right.
Jack Coyne· Host0:17
But in here, I wanna do a little bit of music history.
Ziggy Marley· Guest0:21
Okay.
Jack Coyne· Host0:21
And play some stuff for you, and you can tell me stories about the artists that we listen to or- That's a good- I didn't know exactly where to start, but I figured this could be a good place.
Speaker 3· Soundbite0:31
[laughs] [laughs] Simmer down. Your love is too hot so. Simmer down. You say you can't trust so. Simmer down. Can you ever say.
Jack Coyne· Host0:45
What is that? You had a nice reaction to that right away.
Ziggy Marley· Guest0:48
Yeah, man, that, that Wailin' Wailers, my father, Peter T- Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, Burning Wailers, Simmer Down. That was a hit in, uh, Jamaica. I wasn't, I don't, I wasn't born yet or- No ... I just born, yeah.
Jack Coyne· Host0:59
Look at this, look at this picture.
Ziggy Marley· Guest1:00
Yeah. No, I wasn't born yet, but it was a hit I heard, you know, when I grew up, like, yeah, that was a big hit- That's old ... in Jamaica. Yeah, ska, ska style. Because ska was before what we would call reggae now.
Jack Coyne· Host1:13
Uh-huh.
Ziggy Marley· Guest1:13
You know, so ... But that was some original, but I feel real good still. Feel real good still. [laughs] You know? That's so like it, feel real good still.
Jack Coyne· Host1:22
Yeah. So tell me about the, the, like, the speed.
Ziggy Marley· Guest1:25
The speed?
Jack Coyne· Host1:26
Of the ska, like, the pace, the rhythm of it.
Ziggy Marley· Guest1:28
The ska, what it is- Right? ... the ska, we go pon