Did you know?

Peter Tosh taught Bob Marley how to play the guitar, often referring to him as "my student". Tosh was often arrested and harrassed by police for voicing his political beliefs. After making a speech at a concert, he was beaten nearly to death in his prison cell in full view of the other inmates. "He's dead," said the guards, and left. Marley, upon his arrival, could only shed tears for his friend. As a Christian child, Tosh was often forced to sing ‘Love wash me and I shall be whiter than snow,’ odious from the African people's perspective. He would later abandon Christianity entirely for a religion he felt demanded justice for all in this world, regardless of color. Tosh was murdered while at home in a shower of bullets around 8:30 , September 1987, Friday night, apparently by an old acquaintance.

Peter Tosh was an early follower of Bob Marley, but Marley and the impetuous Tosh eventually went their separate ways. Tosh is like a fierce counterpart to Marley, full of anger and rebellion where Marley exudes cosmic vision. His songs are full of hurt and disappointed idealism. The scope and grandiosity of Marley is here replaced with a wry, gritty specificity, whether the subject is nuclear war, gang warfare, inflation, the legalization of marijuana or the end of apartheid. Many pieces are filled with resentment and a sense of betrayal, others declare his determination to go on, still others his religious devotion. They are far more personal than those of his predecessor. There’s never any doubt that he meant every word. You might miss Marley’s perspective, but at the same time, Tosh has an unpretentiousness and wit that set him apart. His songs are musically simple, but their entertainment value is through the roof.