Wailers

This 100-minute documentary of the late reggae kingpin is a fairly standard blend of interviews--with Marley himself, the late Peter Tosh, Island label chief Chris Blackwell and others--behind-the-scenes clips and some brilliant performance footage from a 1973 British television show featuring the original Wailers line-up. But the tape really excels in tying together the strands of Jamaican social and cultural life that became embodied in Marley's music. The perspective adamantly, and rightly, remains on Marley the home-grown product of Jamaican culture, not the international crossover phenomenon.

First he was Snoop Doggy Dogg, then simply Snoop Dogg. Now, 20 years after the release of his debut single as a solo artist - the still-vibrant "Who Am I (What's My Name?)" - the laid-back rapper from Long Beach has altered his identity once again. And this time he's changed his sound too: Next month, Snoop Lion is to release a full-on reggae album called "Reincarnated," the product of an extended trip he and his crew took last year to Jamaica. "One king, one faith, one religion," he raps (in ersatz island patois)

First he was Snoop Doggy Dogg, then simply Snoop Dogg. Now, 20 years after the release of his debut single as a solo artist - the still-vibrant "Who Am I (What's My Name?)" - the laid-back rapper from Long Beach has altered his identity once again. And this time he's changed his sound too: Next month, Snoop Lion is to release a full-on reggae album called "Reincarnated," the product of an extended trip he and his crew took last year to Jamaica. "One king, one faith, one religion," he raps (in ersatz island patois)

A global social media campaign featuring a Bob Marley song was launched by some of the music industry's top stars on Tuesday to help stem the hunger crisis that is increasing in the Horn of Africa. More than 150 stars, including Lady Gaga, U2, Justin Bieber, Jay-Z, the Rolling Stones and Paul McCartney, are among the well-known figures using their Facebook pages and Twitter feeds to urge fans to donate money to help the numerous families starving in the region. The campaign, called "I'm Gonna Be Your Friend," can be found at http://www.imgonnabeyourfriend.org . It shows a video by Kevin Macdonald of Bob Marley & the Wailers' 1973 song "High Tide or Low Tide" with footage of malnourished children.

In the "Palm Latitudes" item "But Is Paul Really Dead?" (by Sheldon Teitelbaum, Oct. 25) it is reported that among early recorded versions of the song "Louie Louie" was one by the Whalers. Well, you got it right phonetically, but the band was actually the Wailers, one of several rock bands of the late '50s and early '60s to come out of the Seattle-Tacoma music scene. BOB BLACKBURN Hollywood

A global social media campaign featuring a Bob Marley song was launched by some of the music industry's top stars on Tuesday to help stem the hunger crisis that is increasing in the Horn of Africa. More than 150 stars, including Lady Gaga, U2, Justin Bieber, Jay-Z, the Rolling Stones and Paul McCartney, are among the well-known figures using their Facebook pages and Twitter feeds to urge fans to donate money to help the numerous families starving in the region. The campaign, called "I'm Gonna Be Your Friend," can be found at http://www.imgonnabeyourfriend.org . It shows a video by Kevin Macdonald of Bob Marley & the Wailers' 1973 song "High Tide or Low Tide" with footage of malnourished children.

Brit­ish roots mu­sic band Mum­ford & Sons took the top hon­or for its album "Ba­bel" at the 55th Grammy Awards ce­re­mony Sunday. The night mostly dis­trib­uted hon­ors broadly to an ar­ray of young­er gen­er­a­tion acts in­clud­ing New York in­die trio Fun., Aus­trali­an elec­tron­ic pop artist Gotye, rap­per-R&B sing­er Frank Ocean and Ak­ron, Ohio, rock group the Black Keys. See the complete list of 2013 Grammy winners and nominees below. #story-body-text h2 { font-weight: bold !

When the Wailers kicked into the "We don't need no trouble" coda to Bob Marley's "War" on Sunday at the Roxy, the Jamaican band that was once led by the late reggae giant had no difficulty identifying with the lyric. The Wailers have seen little but trouble since Marley died of cancer in 1981. The latest blow came in April, when drummer Carlton Barrett was murdered in his Kingston, Jamaica home.

The Roxy throbbed with smoke and sweat Thursday as the Wailers celebrated the birthday of reggae icon Bob Marley, who died in 1981 at age 36. Despite the long absence of their late leader, the Wailers did not strive for mere approximation, but to re-create a classic sound with a precision and warmth worthy of their history.

The upcoming Wailers album "Together Again" isn't just your average reunion record. Besides Bunny Wailer, Peter Tosh, Junior Braitwaithe and Constantine Walker, the lineup will feature the group's other original member: Bob Marley, the charismatic reggae singer who died in 1981. One disc of the double album will feature a compilation of songs the Wailers recorded in the mid-'60s for small Jamaican labels.

This Halloween season, for the first time, Universal Studios Hollywood introduced a character based on the Latin American myth of La Llorona in its annual Halloween Horror Nights in an effort to connect with Southern California's sizable Latino population. The legend of La Llorona has gone through many variations over the years. It is a folktale about a woman who drowned her children after she was abandoned by their father. Tormented by what she has done, the woman's spirit wanders the earth, crying out for her dead children.

The Roxy throbbed with smoke and sweat Thursday as the Wailers celebrated the birthday of reggae icon Bob Marley, who died in 1981 at age 36. Despite the long absence of their late leader, the Wailers did not strive for mere approximation, but to re-create a classic sound with a precision and warmth worthy of their history.

Only one Orthodox Jew from Los Angeles has had to convince a crowd of Jamaican music fans that he's not Bob Marley's son. Then again, only one Jewish vocalist has toured the world as frontman for the Wailers and been told by everyone from Carlos Santana to David Crosby that his rich, haunting voice is the living embodiment of Marley's.

Among the most eye- and ear-opening, glorious surprises I experienced on the job last year was catching the Wailers at the Coach House. Going into the show, I had a bad attitude about the whole thing--surely, this would be a reggae version of one of those ersatz Coasters or Ink Spots that tours the country with anonymous nobodies in the lineup, dragging the group's name through the mud to make a few quick bucks off people's nostalgia.

Important groups from the past that tour without key members are among the most reprehensible manifestations of cynicism in the business that pop music has become. So what was one to make of the prospect of the Wailers without the musical and spiritual leadership of the late Bob Marley--not to mention the late Peter Tosh and missing-in-action Bunny Livingston--on the road in 1995?

It was like trying to catch a Rastaman version of a will-o'-the-wisp, with a bit of the Keystone Cops thrown in. Junior Marvin, leader and manager of what's left of reggae's legendary Wailers, couldn't be found anywhere. Representing a group with no press liaison or stateside record label, Marvin was always five minutes ahead or behind of the phone calls placed to various motel rooms throughout the country in an attempt to determine just what the Wailers are in 1995.

With the death of the charismatic Bob Marley in 1980, reggae lost much of its luster and its popularity seemed to be on the wane for several years. But with the emergence of groups such as Grammy-winning Ziggy Marley & the Melody Makers--a group composed of Marley's children--and recent hits like UB40's "Red Red Wine," reggae shows signs of finally earning real road-based popularity. Wednesday night at the Universal Amphitheatre, the Wailers--formerly Bob Marley's backing band--played an hour-plus set that was long on fire and urgency and even showed an occasional burst of high-spirited invention.

For longtime reggae fans, the appearance of Bunny Wailer at Cal State Long Beach on Saturday held historical significance--this was the first-ever solo concert outside Jamaica by the singer who, along with Bob Marley and Peter Tosh, was a founding member of the ground-breaking group the Wailers. His three-hour performance proved worth the wait, as Wailer affirmed his place as one of the field's all-time greats.

The Reggae Sunsplash concert unfolds for a few lazy hours Monday afternoon at the Santa Barbara County Bowl as California becomes a temporary territory of Jamaica. Every sentence will in end in mon and dreadlocks will be as ubiquitous as the pot smoke, while the Wailing Souls, Dennis Brown, Big Mountain and others entertain the slow dancers. Lloyd (Bread) MacDonald and Winston (Pipe) Matthews are the head Wailers, reggae pioneers dating back to pre-fame Bob Marley.

In the "Palm Latitudes" item "But Is Paul Really Dead?" (by Sheldon Teitelbaum, Oct. 25) it is reported that among early recorded versions of the song "Louie Louie" was one by the Whalers. Well, you got it right phonetically, but the band was actually the Wailers, one of several rock bands of the late '50s and early '60s to come out of the Seattle-Tacoma music scene. BOB BLACKBURN Hollywood