The Night Bob Marley Met 'Ras Beatle' John Lennon

Reggae legend Bob Marley and Beatles founder John Lennon had an unexpected meeting in California, Elton John’s lyricist Bernie Taupin revealed in his new book, ‘Scattershot: Life, Music, Elton and Me.’

Taupin recalled the night he and Lennon were at the ‘On The Rox,’ a bar above The Roxy Theatre in West Hollywood, when Marley and a large entourage joined them at their table. The Roxy Theatre was a familiar haunt for Bob Marley & The Wailers, with the group having played there on multiple tours, including their first run in July 1975, the ‘Rastaman Vibration’ tour in 1976, and the ‘Survival’ tour in 1979.

He said Marley and his friends were awed by Lennon, but Taupin was also impressed with the Jamaican singer, describing him as the undeniable center of attention.

“Marley is diminutive by comparison to his compatriots, but by no means a lesser individual,” Taupin wrote in his book. “It’s obvious he’s the engine, the focal point, the very eye of this mystical hurricane … It’s a surreal scene kicked up a notch when Marley reaches into his shoulder bag and produces a spliff the size of a baby’s arm.”

What followed was a hilarious, albeit hazy, account of an epic smoking session with multiple “large and lethal looking joints.”

Source: Dani Mallick/dancehallmag.com

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