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| Rita (in the middle) is 70 today. |
Alpharita Constantia "Rita"
Marley OD (née Anderson; born 25 July 1946), is a Cuban-Jamaican singer and the
widow of Bob Marley. She was a member of the vocal group the I Threes, along
with Marcia Griffiths and Judy Mowatt, who gained recognition as the backing
vocalists for Bob Marley and the Wailers.
Rita was born in Santiago de
Cuba, Cuba, to Leroy Anderson and Cynthia "Beda" Jarrett. She grew up
in the upper level of Beachwood Avenue, located in Kingston, Jamaica. In her
book No Woman, No Cry: My Life with Bob Marley Rita describes how she was
raised by her Aunt Viola on Greenwich Park Road. Bob was from the lower level
of Trenchtown.
In the mid 1960s, Rita met Bob after
meeting Peter Tosh. After it was learned that she was a singer, she was asked
to audition for the Soulettes, later known as the I Threes. The group included
Rita, her cousin Constantine "Dream" Walker, and Marlene "Precious"
Giffordwas. Bob became the group's mentor and manager and through working
together, he and Rita fell in love.
