Stephen Marley Says Grateful Dead’s Bob Weir Reminds Him Of His Father Bob Marley
Grammy-winning artist Stephen Marley says working with Grateful Dead legend Bob Weir on their new song Winding Roads reminded him of his iconic father, Bob Marley.
“I went to meet Bob Weir at the studio and we jammed quite a few songs. He is a lover of music,” Marley, 51, told UMG’s UDiscover Music in an interview. “Winding Roads was the one that he was keen on. We had a good time. Bob is such a great musician and has been in music for so many years.”
“Some of it reminds me of my father. It was good to see how simple it was to make music. It was not complicated. They were great musicians, but there was a simplicity to it. It was a great thing to be a part of. I was there when Bob was writing his verse, and it was so easy.”
Marley and Weir’s Winding Roads, which appeared on his new album, Old Soul, also featured singer-songwriter Jack Johnson. It speaks to life’s journey, struggles, and eventual salvation, soulfully interlacing guitar and vocal trade-offs between the three musicians.
“I still haven’t met Jack,” Marley continued. “We spoke on the phone and he sang it, and asked what I thought about that and I say ‘yeah man thats’s perfect brother’. I wish others could see this lesson. How simple it is to get together and create. And me a thank Bob if him see this, thank you Bob.”
When asked how the collaboration came to be, he said, “Both Bob Weir and Jack Johnson heard the song from my manager and wanted to be part of it.”
Discussing his creative process, Marley remarked: “My creative process is to absorb whatever the universe sends. I’m inspired by many, many things. It comes out in the music that I make. The inspiration for the initial song was me and my guitar. I’m speaking about not taking the fast route in life…I’d rather take that narrow, winding road that will lead me there safe, sound, and collected.”
Weir, 75, a founding member of the Grateful Dead, has had an illustrious career that spans over five decades. He was 16 when he joined forces with Jerry Garcia, Ron “Pigpen” McKernan, Phil Lesh, and Bill Kreutzmann to form the iconic American rock band. They released over 200 albums, the majority of them recorded live in concert, while studio cuts such as American Beauty and Workingman’s Dead are regarded as American classics.
On May 12, 1981, while performing at Veterans’ Memorial Coliseum in New Haven, CT, the band dedicated their 1972 song He’s Gone to Bob Marley, who had passed away the day before at age 36.
The band has also had several cover performances of Bob Marley & The Wailers’ Stir It Up.
In 1994, Weir was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the band.
After the death of Jerry Garcia in 1995, the Grateful Dead disbanded, but Weir continued to perform the band’s music with various formations, including RatDog, Furthur, and Dead & Company. Beyond the Grateful Dead, Weir has also had a successful solo career.
Marley’s Old Soul, released via Tuff Gong Collective, UMe and Ghetto Youths International, marks his first full-length project since his fourth studio album Revelation Pt. 2 – The Fruit of Life (2016). The album also features Eric Clapton, Ziggy Marley, Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley, Buju Banton, and Slightly Stoopid.
He has won the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album three times as a solo artist with Mind Control (2007), Mind Control Acoustic (2008), and Revelation Pt. 1 – The Root of Life (2011).
Stephen also won the Best Reggae Album Grammy twice as a producer of younger brother Damian Marley’s Halfway Tree and Welcome to Jamrock albums, and a further three times as a member of his older brother Ziggy Marley’s group Ziggy Marley & The Melody Makers.