Rita Marley

About

Alfarita Constantia “Rita” Marley (née Anderson; born 25 July 1946) is a Jamaican reggae singer. She is the widow of reggae musician Bob Marley. Along with Marcia Griffiths and Judy Mowatt, Rita was a member of the reggae vocal group the I Threes, and the backing vocalists for Bob Marley and the Wailers.

Rita Marley was born in Santiago de Cuba, to Leroy Anderson and Cynthia “Beda” Jarrett. Her parents moved to Kingston, Jamaica, when she was three months old. In her memoir, No Woman No Cry: My Life with Bob Marley, Rita describes how she was raised by her Aunt Viola after her parents separated. She was raised in Trenchtown in Kingston, Jamaica.
Marley’s Cuban birth has been questioned by her mother-in-law Cedella Booker, suggesting she may have been born in Jamaica. A visa application was denied after officials determined she was not born in Cuba and could not obtain status as a Cuban refugee. Marley herself said she was once told she was born in Cuba, but she “never traced it.”

Rita was a founding member of the Soulettes with her cousin Constantine Walker, and Marlene Gifford. The Soulettes released recordings including rocksteady tunes such as “Time…