Bob Marley & Stevie Wonder
A look at the evolving friendship between Jamaican reggae icon Bob Marley and American Soul/R&B legend Stevie Wonder, 1975-1980
Bob meets Stevie, 1975
Bob Marley and Stevie Wonder first met during a concert in Jamaica on October 4th, 1975. Bob had great respect for Stevie's music, and the two became fast friends.
The Wonder Dream Concert
The event was organized as a benefit concert for Jamaican Institute for the Blind, featuring Stevie Wonder and Bob Marley & The Wailers as the headliners, with Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes and Third World as the openers. It took place at Jamaica's National Stadium in Kingston, and early bird tickets started at only $3!
Dream Concert Ticket stub featuring Stevie Wonder and Bob Marley & the Wailers. (1975-10-04)Bob Marley: Legend
Wonder Dream Concert Program cover. (1975-10-05)Bob Marley: Legend
The Wailers, Reunited
The Wonder Dream Concert was also called "The Wailers Reunion Show," as it was one of the few (and final) times that all three original Wailers (Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailers) performed on stage together since Peter and Bunny left the band after the Burnin' tour in 1973.
First Performance Together
In one of only two known instances where Bob appeared as a guest artist during someone else's set, Bob took the stage with Stevie Wonder and his band that night. Together, the two performed "I Shot The Sheriff" and "Superstition."
Men of the People
Stevie donated half his earnings from the show to the Jamaican Society for the Blind. Bob was so inspired by this and took that energy into creating what later became the Smile Jamaica Concert in 1976.
Together Again in the City of Brotherly Love
On June 9, 1979, Bob was performing at an event for the Black Music Association at the Sheraton Hotel in Philadelphia, PA. Stevie was in the crowd and Bob called him up on stage for an impromptu jam session!
The following year, Stevie even dedicated a song to his friend Bob, called "Master Blaster." On hearing it Bob said, "It sound GOOD, man. Yeah, Mast-ah Blass-tah. It’s nice, you know.”
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