Rita Marley Celebrates Her 75th birthday

Alpharita Constantia Anderson, as she was originally known was born in the year 1946 in Cuba, then later moved to Jamaica where she would start her musical career as a background vocalist for Bob Marley and the wailers, as a member of the I-trees which included Marcia Griffiths and Judy Mowatt, who laid their vocals upon most of the Reggae legend’s greatest tracks.

The singer would later marry the “One Love” singer, in February of 1966, whereafter having a total of 6 children for him however, would later adopt 35 children, in Ethiopia while also helping many in Ghana.

After her husband’s passing, she went on to record several tracks on her own, with one of the most popular tracks being a song entitled “One Draw”.

The much-celebrated female Reggae legend has also been recognized for her monumental contributions to the genre and the lives of others, Mother Rita was a recipient of the Order of Distinction by the Jamaican government in 1996, the Marcus Garvey Lifetime Award in 2010, and an “Honorary Doctor of Letters degree conferred upon her in 2015 by the University Of the West Indies.

Since the year 2013, Rita Marley has also been made an honorary citizen of Ghana where she is said to now reside.