Wayne Wonder makes Marley tribute song

Sunday, February 19, 2012

SINGER Wayne Wonder has released a tribute song to reggae icon Bob Marley. Get Red Now is Wonder's way of 'highlighting the marijuana plant'.

According to Wonder, marijuana or ganja as it is commonly known in Jamaica, is a beautiful plant and should not always be tied to just 'getting high'.

"The cannabis is also a sacrament. It allows us to meditate and aids in our spiritual growth," Wonder reasoned. "This spirituality can be heard in many of Marley's tunes."

Marley, who died in 1981 at age 36, sang about the benefits of ganja. One of his best known tributes to the plant was Kaya, taken from his 1978 album of the same name.

Wonder told Entertainment he plans to pay musical tribute to another reggae great — Dennis Brown.

"I'm a big fan of Dennis Brown so I definitely plan on doing a tribute to him in the future," he said.

His biggest project, however, is Save The Music which he says will see him 'going back to the roots of Jamaican music and bringing my vibe to it'.

"You can look forward to more foundation music coming soon, as I'm letting the world know the roots of our music," said Wonder.

Born Von Wayne Charles, Wonder got his break in the late 1980s when he teamed with his childhood friend Dave Kelly who at the time was an engineer at Donovan Germain's Penthouse Records. They created a steady stream of hit songs including I'm Only Human, Baby You and I and Saddest Day (which Wonder re-recorded with rapper Foxxy Brown on her 2001 Def Jam Records album, Broken Silence). Wonder's biggest hit, No Holding Back, was released in 2002. It made the Billboard pop and R&B charts.

— Cecelia Campbell-Livingston