Germaine Smith, Staff Reporter
Cedella Marley stated that being the mother of three boys was fabulous, as the joy they brought was immeasurable. - Contributed
AS THE oldest of the Marley children, Cedella Marley has always treaded into unchartered waters. Despite Grammy award successes with her music as a part of the Melody Makers, she later trodded into film with starring roles as well as production credits. She launched into the fashion world with 'Catch A Fire' clothes and reaped similar success, but more lately, she stepped into the writer's block.
Tomorrow, at the family's businessplace at 56 Hope Road, which also houses the Bob Marley Museum, Cedella will host the official launch of her latest book The Boy From Nine Miles. The Early Life Of Bob Marley, which she co-wrote with Gerald Hausman.
It is the second book the two have done together about an unexplored area of her father's life. In her latest one, which became available three years ago, the book explores Bob's first five years through the eyes of a child.
In an interview with The Gleaner recently, Cedella revealed how she has been balancing motherhood with her full time jobs with Tuff Gong International, as well as her clothing company, and her author roles.
MOTHERHOOD
Close to 40-years-old now, Cedella stated that being the mother of three boys was fabulous, as the joy they brought was immeasurable.
"Motherhood has been lovely. I am really enjoying it, and that's because of me not going on the road so much," she explained. "When I was my kids' age, my parents were always on the road touring, so I didn't really want to do that. I didn't want to become a visitor to the house, and break them into the nanny life, you know. That's not what I wanted for them."
"Now, I see them everyday. I go to PTA meetings and everything, and I am just here for them."
This precious family time she noted, came with a price. Her musical career, which blossomed endlessly in former years, has slowed down considerably, but she doesn't mind a bit. "I've been singing lullabies," she joked. "Seriously, I've been doing some work on Steve's (her brother Stephen) album, and just like here and there. Whenever I feel like doing something I do it but not as much as before. This industry is really not for singers anymore, it is really for the Barbie dolls," she commented.
"Actually, I have not been listening to much music, just focusing on taking care of Dad's publishing, and all that other stuff that's a part of the business. Catch a Fire has been doing pretty well. We are well in the United States, and now we are getting over into Europe a lot. Hopefully, we can expand more, especially in Jamaica."
At present, the line is available only in Kingston, and she noted that this has been a challenge for them to get the products into other parishes. "We've been trying for a long time to get different stores to carry it but we haven't really been getting responses from them, I don't really know what else I can do. I'd like to have it in, you know, like Negril, Montego Bay, not just for the tourists but for everyone our Jamaican buyers."
POSITIVE ATTITUDE
Despite the difficulty, Cedella said she remained positive about her other endeavours, especially with the book. The idea she noted came from her three boys.
"At the time, I had two boys and it was just a lot of questions they were asking," she recalled. "'Mom who is grandpa?' 'Mummy where is grandpa?', you know. They ask a lot of questions and I can explain my life but they still want more of that instead of what they read or what they see on television. What they read in the papers are not child-friendly, so that's where it came from. My aim was to write a story about the boy from Nine Miles for children, so a lot of children can recognise Bob Marley through a child's eye. It's for children, so they can know him from a child's view. What they see now is the man, the 36-year-old, (Marley's age at death) and they don't know him as a youngster."
Cedella said that she put in precious hours with her grandmother and older relatives to gather background for the book, and it was quite useful, even for her personal life. What she hoped was that children would actually learn lessons for life from the book.
SOMETHING GOOD
"That's a part of the story that's never been told. You know, everybody told the same old story about him (Bob Marley) and their lives. My life is this or my life was that. I am not trying to go there. My life is my private thing, and my life with anyone is my private thing but dealing with Bob Marley from age one to five and writing it for children is something good.
"It's not only about Bob Marley, it's about teaching
children that it doesn't matter where you come from; it's about what you can achieve. You lead by example, and I think its a good example for children who not only come from the country, but any Third World country, that come to believe that this is the life we are born to live in and we can do no better. It's a story that can change a lot of people's perception that if you come from somewhere, this is where you end up."
Cedella was sure about everything except her future. She noted that she had her hands full doing her usual jobs now, and in terms of new projects, she was unsure about.
"I don't know (what's next). I never know. I just go to my job every day and sometimes, something just happens and I'll be doing it at that time. I'm not sure yet, just taking it as it comes."
