Bob Marley And The Wailers - 1973 Catch A Fire Tour , Album History And Comments
In 1972 Chris Blackwell signed the Wailers to his own label "Island" and gave them 8000
(some said 4000 but it doesnt really matters) to show their skills and produce a record.
The result is now part of the reggae and music history know as "Catch A Fire".
Released in 1973 it was a breakthrough album, it helped the Wailers to gain international recognition.
The album established the band as international superstars, and Marley in particular became world-famous, especially in the Caribbean and Africa,
and among immigrants in Europe and African-Americans in the United States.
The socially aware lyrics and militant tone surprised many listeners, but others were attracted to songwriters
Bob Marley and Peter Tosh's confrontational subjects and optimistic view of a future free from oppression.
In April 1973 the Wailers came to London and started a three month tour in Britain.
After that they returned to Jamaica where Bunny decided not to go on tour with the Wailers again.
He was replaced by Joe Higgs.
On their American tour they even supported Bruce Springsteen for a weekend.
Later the Wailers were about to support Sly & The Family Stone for seventeen dates.
But after only four shows they were fired because they were too good.
The band was left in Las Vegas without manager nor money.
Somehow though, they managed to get to San Francisco were they did a live concert broadcast
for the radio station KSAN-FM.
Before the Wailers signed to Island, it was considered that reggae sold only on singles and cheap
compilation albums.
few facts you maybe dont know,forgot,or want to know :
Catch a Fire peaked at n°171 and n°51 on Billboard's (North America) Pop Albums and Black Albums charts respectively.
in 2005, RollingStone readers put Catch a Fire n°123 inside their 500 greatest albums ever made charts.
The Zippo lighter lp (designed by Rod Dyer and Bob Weiner ) is now a collector item with high value.
Catch A Fire album credits :
Bob Marley : Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar, Vocals, Producer
Aston Barrett : Bass, Guitar (Bass)
Carlton "Carlie" Barrett :Drums
Chris Blackwell : Producer
Bunny Wailer : Bongos, Conga, Vocals
Peter MacKintosh : Organ, Guitar, Piano, Vocals
Carlton Lee : Engineer
Tony Platt : Engineer
Sto barrett: Engineer
Bob Weiner : Design
Rod Dyer : Design
Wayne Perkins : Overdubs
John 'Rabbit' Bundrick : Overdubs
Recorded at Dynamic Sounds Kingston,JA and Randy's Kingston, JA , Harry J Kingston,JA and Island Studios,Hammersmith, UK
Just because i know that you are a curious reader here few facts we need to recall about 1973 :
January 1 - United Kingdom, Ireland, and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, now known as the European Union
January 14 - Elvis Presley's Aloha From Hawaii television special is seen around the world by more than 1 billion viewers
January 14 - Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh is arrested for drug possession in California.
January 15 - Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, President of the United States Richard Nixon announces the suspension of offensive action in North Vietnam.
January 17 - Ferdinand Marcos becomes President for Life (sickness) of the Philippines.
January 22 - George Foreman breaks Joe Frazier's professional career undefeated heavyweight world boxing champion status.
January 23 - President Richard Nixon announces that a peace accord has been reached in Vietnam.
January 27 - U.S. involvement in Vietnam War ends with the signing of peace pacts. See Paris Peace Accords.
January 30 - Kiss performs their first concert, at the Coventary Club in Queens.
March 5 - Jimi Hendrix's personal manager, Michael Jeffrey, is killed in a plane crash.
April 6 - Launch of Pioneer 11 spacecraft
March 6 - The New York Office of the US Immigration Department cancels John Lennon's visa
extension, after it having been granted five days earlier.
March 7 - The director of talent acquistion at Columbia Records, John Hammond suffers
a non-fatal heart attack following a performance by Bruce Springsteen.
March 8 - Paul McCartney is fined $240 after pleading guilty to charges of growing marijuana
outside his Scottish farm.
March 29 - The last United States soldiers leave Vietnam.
May 17 - Watergate scandal: Hearings begin in the United States Senate and are televised.
May 25 - Mike Oldfield releases Tubular Bells , the first release on Richard Branson's newly
launched Virgin label.
June 1 - Greek military junta abolishes the monarchy and proclaims a republic.
July 1 - US Drug Enforcement Agency founded.
July 10 - The Bahamas gain full independence within the British Commonwealth.
July 16 - Watergate Scandal: Former White House aide Alexander Butterfield informs the United
States Senate committee investigating the scandal that President Richard Nixon had secretly
recorded potentially incriminating conversations.
August 13 - The film of Jesus Christ Superstar is released.
September 11 - Chile's democratically elected government is overthrown in military coup after
serious instability. President Salvador Allende dies, and General Augusto Pinochet heads a
military junta that will govern Chile for the next 17 years.
September 18 - The two German Republics, the BRD and the DDR, are admitted to the United Nations.
September 20 - Billie Jean King beat Bobby Riggs in three straight sets after he challenged her to a match where he boasted of his superior male attributes
(props to russ he knows why)
October 6 - Yom Kippur War - Fourth and largest Arab-Israeli conflict begins as Egyptian and Syrian forces attack Israel as Jews mark Yom Kippur.
October 17 - A worldwide oil shortage, the 1973 energy crisis, followed an Arab Oil Embargo
against several countries which gave support to Israel.
October 26 - Yom Kippur War ends.
November 17 - Student uprising against the military regime in Athens, Greece.
December 1 - Papua New Guinea gains self government from Australia.
December 15 - Gay rights: The American Psychiatric Association removes homosexuality from its DSM-II.
Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance Isaac Hayes for "Black Moses"
Albums released this year :
The Harder They Come - Jimmy Cliff
Killing Me Softly - Roberta Flack
Let's Get It On - Marvin Gaye
Houses of the Holy - Led Zeppelin
Tubular Bells - Mike Oldfield
The Dark Side of the Moon - Pink Floyd
Greetings from Asbury Park, New Jersey - Bruce Springsteen & the E-Street Band
Innervisions- Stevie Wonder
top hits this year :
superstition - Stevie Wonder
Me and Mrs. Jones - Billy Paul
Live and Let Die - The Wings
Let's Get It On - Marvin Gaye
Movies released this year 1973 :
Serpico
The Exorcist
The Sting
Enter The Dragon
Means Streets
American Graffiti
Live And Let Die (james bond)
Papillon
Shaft In Africa
Ziggy Stardust
Resources used : freetime,wikipedia.org
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