The recently released movie Bob Marley: One Love has received harsh criticism from Morna Dodd, who is the daughter of the late Studio One producer Clement “Sir Coxsone” Dodd.
Morna objects especially to a scenario in which her father, Jeff Crossley, a Jamaican actor, is represented as a gun-toting “badman” meeting the young Wailers. She finds this portrayal to be “very insulting” and a blatant misunderstanding of her father’s character. Morna demands an “immediate public apology” from Rita Marley, the Marley family, and Paramount Pictures.
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“The apology is required for the portrayal of my father to millions of people globally as him approaching and threatening teenage children with a gun,” she stated in an interview with entertainment magazine DancehallMeg.
She added, “The film’s producers have cemented an image in the minds of millions where it seems that a lot of Jamaican music was created under the gun. That should never have been done to my father.”
Coxsone Dodd, who passed away in 2004 at the age of 72, had a significant impact on the growth of Ska and Reggae in the 1950s and 1960s. Through Studio One, he launched the careers of several Jamaican musicians, including a very young Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, and Bunny Wailer as The Wailers. Before splitting up in 1966, the teenage group recorded almost 80 songs during their first recording session with Dodd, which resulted in the singles “Simmer Down,” “I Am Going Home,” and “Do You Remember” in 1964.
The producer was also well-known for providing budding musicians with guidance and support; many of them resided at his Brentford Road studio. “Bob Marley even lived at Brentford Road as a teenager,” she noted.
“He was very much a father figure to a lot of young children. There is even a Studio One brand dedicated to young artists. My father did everything for the music, he re-invested back in his music and built his studio to be a platform for the industry.”
The daughter of the brilliant producer passionately called “Sir Coxsone” stated, “He is also recognized as the father figure of the marriage between Bob & Rita Marley in February 1966. He bought Bob Marley’s suit for the marriage.”
“I find it very insulting that his memory has been smeared in this way,” She revealed to the glossy magazine.
Some speculate that Arthur “Duke” Reid, a well-known Jamaican producer and label owner at the time, and his colorful reputation may have had a major effect on how Dodd was portrayed in the movie. “Duke had a passion for guns, perhaps nurtured by his decade in the police force, and it is said that he was never seen without two pistols.” Reid was the founder of Treasure Isle Records, according to an article in the local newspaper.
One Love, the song that served as the official soundtrack’s inspiration and served as the film’s title, was the subject of another controversy brought up by Morna Dodd. “This portrayal could be considered a pre-meditated action to defame my father’s character to publicly reduce his reputation to take credit for the publishing of this song,” Morna asserted.
She said that Studio One recorded the original 1965 ska version of the song, which was featured on The Wailers’ first album The Wailing Wailers. She also claimed that Bob Marley, her father, and Neville Livingston—better known as Bunny Wailer—were co-writers on the song.
Since the more well-known 1977 rendition of One Love, One Love/People Get Ready, was featured on the Exodus album, she claims that One Love has been the subject of a publication and credit dispute. Because it includes an interpolation of Mayfield’s song “People Get Ready,” from The Impressions, this version gives credit to both Marley and Mayfield.
“I have seen recently where Alan Skill Cole is taking credit for the 1977 re-recording as Bob Marley was reluctant to do so, knowing of the ownership, where both my father and Neville Livingston are noted as co-writers with Bob Marley. There was an attempt to coerce Neville Livingston aka Bunny Wailer in 1999 to sign a contract to give up his rights to further diminish the original publisher ownership,” she claimed.
“My father died on May 4, 2004, and it should be noted that in 2007 the Recording Academy of America incorporated his 1965 One Love version in their Hall Of Fame giving both himself & The Wailing Wailers credit. This is notable as it was chosen over the now popular 1977 version as the original,” she concluded in her interview highlighting the respect and international recognition that Sir Coxsone has obtained in his music career.
