Junior Marvin

Julian "Junior" Marvin—distinct from the celebrated Black Ark singer Junior Murvin—stepped in for Al Anderson on lead guitar with Bob Marley & the Wailers at the start of 1977. The moment proved difficult for the group, since Marley had just survived an assassination attempt and the musicians had fled to London to begin sessions that yielded Exodus within months. Marvin appeared on the live set Babylon by Bus, captured during the subsequent tour, and remained for the studio efforts Kaya, Survival, and Uprising, Bob Marley’s last before his death in 1981.

After Marley’s passing, core members kept performing and recording through the late 1980s and 1990s under the name Wailers Band, where Marvin took on a central part as guitarist and, alongside bassist Aston “Family Man” Barrett, as producer or co-producer of the albums I.D., Majestic Warriors, and Jah Message; he is also heard on the live collection Live 95-97 My Friends. Throughout those years he added guitar to other notable reggae projects, including Burning Spear’s Fittest of the Fittest, Alpha Blondy’s Jerusalem, and Joe Higgs’ Blackman Know Yourself.

Marvin departed the Wailers Band in 1997 and moved to Brazil, where he assembled the short-lived ensemble Batuka. Upon returning to Jamaica he resumed session work, while persistent rumors in the reggae world pointed to possible solo releases ahead.