GettyBob Marley is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of all time, despite being taken from this Earth way too soon.
The reggae pioneer passed away at the age of 36, with the cause of death listed as acral lentiginous melanoma- which developed under the nail of his toe.
But like pretty much any musician who leaves us at such a young age, there have been questions surrounding the lead up to the Jamaican singer-songwriters death and you can kind of understand why.
Back in 1976, three unknown gunmen entered Marley’s property and opened fire, wounding him, his wife and his manager Don Taylor.
Bob escaped with minor wounds to his chest and arm, but his wife and manager sustained more serious injuries – although luckily they both went on to make full recoveries.
At the time, many believed this attack was politically motivated, as Marley was set to play a concert set up by then Jamaican Prime Minister, Michael Manley.
GettyManley claimed it was an attempt to ease tension between two warring political groups, but many saw it as a support rally for the PM.
Marley was also extremely vocal in his criticism of the CIA and its destabilisation efforts against his home country, which led many to believe that one of the gunman was in fact an operative from the Central Intelligence Agency.
Only a couple of days after the incident rumours started to fly about that the agency wanted to finish the job – so to speak – and this is where the theory gets a bit more far-fetched.
GettyApparently before Bob was set to play the festival, a man arrived at the compound where he and his band hung out – which only trusted insiders were aware of.
Yet, this unknown photographer managed to talk his way through the security and said he was excited to film the show. It was later claimed that this guy was Carl Colby, son of the CIA director William Colby.
Coincidentally, on the same day Bob was delivered a pair of boots – which when he tried on allegedly made him scream out in pain.
GettyWhen he looked inside the boot, he apparently spotted a piece of spiky copper metal and the theory goes that the wire had been doused with a carcinogenic toxin.
A few months later Marley was found to have a type of malignant melanoma under the nail of a toe and he refused doctors’ advice to have it amputated, because of his Rastafarian religious beliefs. He died less than four years later.
Now, considering some of the sketchy shit the CIA have been responsible for over the last few decades, this isn’t completely out of the realm of possibility.
GettyBut when you take into account the amount of hearsay and rumour surrounding his death, compared to a lack of any real evidence we’re extremely sceptical about this theory.
It’s probably just best that we remember him for what he brought to this planet in his short life, rather than speculate about his untimely and tragic death.
