--- title: Bob Marley's Last Show and His Legacy of Merchandise description: Sept. 23, 1980: Bob Marley plays his final concert canonical: https://time.com/4036986/bob-marley-products/ author: Jennifer Latson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-09-23T10:00:03.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:01:38.933Z article:section: History og:title: Bob Marley's Last Show and His Legacy of Merchandise og:description: Sept. 23, 1980: Bob Marley plays his final concert og:url: https://time.com/4036986/bob-marley-products/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9435c41a745f2ce0/698863e7f887dcfd9ce92624/marley.jpeg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Photo of Bob MARLEY og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Bob Marley's Last Show and His Legacy of Merchandise twitter:description: Sept. 23, 1980: Bob Marley plays his final concert twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9435c41a745f2ce0/698863e7f887dcfd9ce92624/marley.jpeg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # How Bob Marley Lived on After His Last Show by [Jennifer Latson](https://time.com/author/jennifer-latson/) ## Jennifer Latson Sep 23, 2015 10:00 AM UTC  Bob Marley performing live on stage at the Brighton Leisure Centre earlier in 1980 Bob Marley performing live on stage at the Brighton Leisure Centre earlier in 1980Mike Prior—Redferns/Getty Images by [Jennifer Latson](https://time.com/author/jennifer-latson/) ## Jennifer Latson Sep 23, 2015 10:00 AM UTC For a while during the 1960s, Bob Marley wasn’t the man you think of when you hear that name. Jamaica’s best-known native son was living in what is quite possibly the lush island nation’s antithesis: Wilmington, Del. The singer wasn’t singing; he was working in an auto plant, as TIME later described. And to make the identify overhaul complete, he even shed his name. He went, instead, by Donald. He soon dropped the disguise and returned to his homeland and his true loves, Rastafarianism and reggae, cementing his status as what [TIME called](http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,976799,00.html) “the first superstar from the Third World,” with a voice that “sounded like sugarcane but cut like a switchblade.” By the time Marley played his final concert in Pittsburgh, Penn., on this day, Sept. 23, 35 years ago, his image was well established, all traces of “Donald” left behind. He was also already suffering from cancer that had begun as melanoma in his toe and then spread throughout his body; it killed him the following year. Though he died less than a year after that Pittsburgh concert, his image lives on today. Last year, he was ranked fifth on [_Forbes_’ list](http://www.forbes.com/sites/dorothypomerantz/2014/10/15/michael-jackson-tops-forbes-list-of-top-earning-dead-celebrities/) of top-earning dead celebrities, thanks to licensing agreements that plastered his face on posters, apparel and accessories. Bob Marley has become a brand, spawning a variety of tributes that pay homage to — and capitalize on — the reggae icon’s legacy. A few of the most notable: **Marley Coffee** (motto: Stir it up): A “sustainably grown, ethically farmed, and artisan roasted” coffee company founded by Marley’s son Rohan Marley. Its [webpage notes](http://marleycoffee.com/story/), “Bob Marley always said he would return to farming one day. … Rohan fulfills the dream.” **Marley Apparel:** [Launched this year](http://www.financialexpress.com/article/lifestyle/top-earning-dead-celebrities-albert-einstein-michael-jackson-marilyn-monroe-more/75356/) by Marley’s oldest daughter, Cedella Marley, who in 2012 designed the [Olympic costumes](http://www.vogue.co.uk/news/2011/02/02/cedella-marley-jamaican-2012-olympic-kit) for Jamaica’s track and field team. The retro clothing line is a “refined utilitarian collection \[that\] embodies Marley’s passion for life in the studio and on the soccer field,” per the [company’s website](http://www.bobmarley.com/company-news/wearmarley-clothing-line/). **Marley Marijuana**: Officially branded “Marley Natural,” the proprietary pot blend comprises “‘heirloom Jamaican cannabis strains,’ the very same pot Marley himself is said to have enjoyed,” [per TIME](http://time.com/money/3591975/bob-marley-marijuana/). According to the CEO of Privateer Holdings, the pot-focused private equity firm that partnered with Marley’s family on the launch, the Marley brand “has the potential to the be the Starbucks of weed.” And it’s not just physical objects. The [Bob Marley Museum](http://www.bobmarleymuseum.com/) occupies Marley’s former home in Kingston. President Obama paid a visit earlier this year on what was the first trip to Jamaica by a U.S. president since 1982\. Here, tourists can commune with a 3-D hologram of the performer and survey his personal treasures—his clothing, Land Rover, and a wall covered with Gold and Platinum records. Obama, it turns out, is a Marley collector himself. “I still have all the albums,” he [remarked](http://time.com/3815176/barack-obama-bob-marley/) during the tour. **_Read more about Bob Marley, here in TIME’s archives:_** [Remembering Bob Marley](http://content.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1024886,00.html) ### Musicians on the Cover of TIME  The Dixie Chicks (May 29, 2006) JILL GREENBERG FOR TIME  Kanye West (Aug. 29, 2005) KWAKU ALSTON FOR TIME  Ricky Martin (May 24, 1999) TIME  Lauryn Hill (Feb. 8, 1999) TIME  Jewel (July 21, 1997) HERB RITTS  Pearl Jam (Oct. 25, 1993) NEAL PRESTON  Garth Brooks (March 30, 1992) JAMES SCHNEPF / GAMMA LIAISON  Madonna (May 27, 1985) FRANCESCO SCAVULLO  Michael Jackson (March 19, 1984) ANDY WARHOL  David Bowie (July 18, 1983) TIME  The Who (Dec. 17, 1979) TIME  Linda Ronstadt (Feb. 28, 1977) MILTON GREENE  Paul McCartney (May 31, 1976) RICHARD E. AARON  Elton John (July 7, 1975) DON WELLER  Cher (March 17, 1975) RICHARD AVEDON  Joni Mitchell (Dec. 16, 1974) BOB PEAK  James Taylor (March 1, 1971) J. H. BRESLOW  The Band (Jan. 12, 1970) BOB PEAK  Aretha Franklin (June 28, 1968) BORIS CHALIAPIN  The Beatles (Sept. 22, 1967) TIME  Joan Baez (Nov. 23, 1962) TIME  Frank Sinatra (Aug. 29, 1955) TIME  Rosemary Clooney (Feb. 23, 1953) BORIS CHALIAPIN  Louis Armstrong (Feb. 21, 1949) BORIS ARTZYBASHEFF  Bing Crosby (Apr. 7, 1941) ERNEST HAMLIN BAKER ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4036986/bob-marley-products/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4036986/bob-marley-products/"},"headline":"How Bob Marley Lived on After His Last Show","datePublished":"2015-09-23T10:00:03.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:01:38.933Z","description":"Sept. 23, 1980: Bob Marley plays his final concert","url":"https://time.com/4036986/bob-marley-products/","keywords":["Music","People"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9435c41a745f2ce0/698863e7f887dcfd9ce92624/marley.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jennifer Latson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/jennifer-latson/"}],"articleSection":"History","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9435c41a745f2ce0/698863e7f887dcfd9ce92624/marley.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Photo of Bob MARLEY","caption":"Photo of Bob MARLEY","creditText":"Mike Prior—Redferns/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/history/","name":"History"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4036986/bob-marley-products/","name":"How Bob Marley Lived on After His Last Show"}}]}] ```