Bob Marley and Toronto

New movie about the legend shines light on city's rich reggae legacy

- DAVID MCPHERSON

June 8, 1975, was no ordinary Sunday in Toronto - it was the night that Bob Marley and the Wailers made their North American debut at Massey Hall. For the thousands who crammed into 178 Victoria St. - after having paid $7.50 (or less!) for a ticket it was an evening they'll never forget.

From the off-beat rhythm of opening song "Trenchtown Rock" to the anthemic set closer "Get Up, Stand Up," Marley was a mesmerizing force onstage. The late Peter Goddard, a long-time Toronto Star music critic, wrote that the show was the only "transcendent" concert he ever witnessed: "Bob damn near glowed on stage."

"Bob Marley: One Love," the biopic about the legendary reggae artist, opens wide in theatres this week. The movie offers a chance to shine a light on reggae's rich legacy in Toronto.

While that Sunday night 49 years ago marked the unofficial date reggae arrived in North America, the genre had planted roots in Toronto years before.

Starting in the 1960s, a wave of Jamaicans migrated to Toronto, including established music stars like the Sheiks, a soul funk and reggae group.

The Jamaican diaspora largely centred around Eglinton Avenue West. Reggae blasted from barbershops, second-floor apartments and grocery stores. Vinyl shops sold the latest reggae LPs to the city's vibrant, growing Caribbean community. Key figures in the early Toronto reggae scene included Jackie Mittoo, Wayne McGhie, Leroy Sibbles, Bernie Pitters and Fergus Hambleton. By the late 1960s, Toronto was the largest producer of reggae music in the world after Jamaica.

Everton "Pablo" Paul, a drummer, arrived in Toronto in the spring of 1965. He soon became an important part of the nascent scene and joined bands, including the Cougars.