Carry it a little bit further, and start asking questions about Bob Marley Posters. I’ll bet if you asked 100 students who Bob Marley was, the vast majority of them could tell you. A few could probably name a few of his songs, and if your really lucky a few more could sing you a few words. Your safest bet for this would be to ask the question around the music building. I’d hate to hear a Bob Marley song mangled by some engineering student that was rejected in the first round of American Idol.

So many of the photographs and posters of his concerts and life are almost icon as well.  Much like the Warhol photos of Marilyn Monroe.  We’ve seen them all so many times, it almost like they been marketing by a fortune 100 company.  But in fact they haven’t.

The reason for no new material, is that Bob passed away from cancer over 25 years ago. His music, artwork, and image still seem to pervade our culture. Only a few icons seem to have achieved that the way he has. A few others that come to mind would be Marilyn Monroe, and John Lennon. The thing they all seem to have in common, is that there was more to them then just their art. They all had a message to was distilled in their work.

So why so many posters for Bob then? Here’s some interesting stats for the Marilyn Monroe, John Lennon and Bob Marley. According to Wordtracker, there are approximately 5000 internet searches a day for the phrase John Lennon, approximately 10,000 for Marilyn Monroe, and approximately 18,000 for Bob Marley.

The fact that he remains more popular than so many of his contemporaries, makes you wonder a little.  What could he have accomplished if he was still alive.

The popular and growing fascination with Bob Marley Posters continues to be reflected in the sales of his music, his posters, his photographs, and his lyrics.  Nobody generates that much interest, without appealing to people on different levels.  It was never really just about the music, it was about the man himself.

It would be remarkable to see a Bob Marley concert today.  His message is one that would ring clear in these troubled times.  That goodness for the recorded medium.  We’ll be able to see and hear him for many generations more.