Noted author and reggae historian Roger Steffens has written fairly extensively about Bob Marley and the Wailers’ tour through California in 1979. From his website:
“The next show was in San Diego, and Hank and I rode the bus through Babylon with Bob down the coast. Don Taylor, Marley’s manager (with whom he seemed to be in constant argument) told all the reporters present not to talk to Bob because “He needs to rest.” That was readily apparent, and you can see the stress on his face in many ofthe pictures in “Spirit Dancer.” The cancer was coursing, unchecked, through his bloodstream, eventually finding new homes in his lungs and brains, and he seemed a shell of the man we had met the year before. I remember we drove by San Clemente, and I pointed out Nixon’s house out on the bluff. Bob’s only comment was, “What year him president?” That evening, the venue proved to be another disappointment, as the bass bounced off the boards of the San Diego Sports Arena, and I despaired of ever hearing Bob in decent surroundings. It was the problem of his becoming so big – small clubs were out of the question now. But the audience seemed pleased with the show. On the way home, the band jammed in the back of the bus, guitarist Al Anderson beating time with drumsticks on the bathroom door. I remember writing an article for the new L.A. Weekly about the trip, and commenting that the band members and touring party all seemed a surprisingly healthy lot by rock and roll standards, eating only Ital food, and pausing often, mid-puff, to give thanks and praises to Selassie I. When we got back to L.A. the straight-looking middle-aged bus driver told me that he loved driving Marley “because every time the band gets off the bus, I get to sweep up, and they leave behind about a half a pound of roaches!”
This concert recording comes to us from Steffens’ live performance recordings archive. The audio is fair quality with bass distortion throughout.
BOB MARLEY & THE WAILERS
SAN DIEGO SPORTS ARENA
SAN DIEGO, CALIF.
NOV. 24, 1979
AUD > UNKNOWN > CDR > EAC > FLAC (LEVEL 8)
01.POSITIVE VIBRATION
02.WAKE UP AND LIVE
03.THEM BELLY FULL
04.CONCRETE JUNGLE
05.I SHOT THE SHERIFF
06.AMBUSH IN THE NIGHT
07.RUNNING AWAY >
08.CRAZY BALDHEADS (CUT)
09.THE HEATHEN
10.WAR >
11.NO MORE TROUBLE
12.AFRICA UNITE (CUT)
13.ONE DROP
14.EXODUS
15.ZIMBABWE
16.CROWD
PHOTOS COURTESY OF ROGER STEFFENS
LEGENDARY REGGAE 