This Day in History: Bob Marley Dies May 11, 1981 The heart and soul of reggae was only 36 years old when he died in a Miami, FL, hospital.
He had been diagnosed with late-stage cancer less than eight months prior after collapsing during a jog in NYC's Central Park.
Marley dropped out of school in his mid-teens in Trench Town, a rough ghetto in Kingston, Jamaica, to make music with friends.
Riding the creative musical wave happening in their country, the trio would perform together as Bob Marley and the Wailers.
After Eric Clapton covered the band's song "I Shot the Sheriff," the charismatic Marley became the focus.
The popularity of his three albums released in the late 1970s — 'Exodus,' 'Kaya' and 'Uprising' — have continued to grow since his death.