The Rasta and hippie movements swept Jamaica and the United States in June 1973 when Roger Steffens discovered reggae. Fifty years later, the man regarded globally as an authority on Jamaican pop culture still savours the music that made him famous.

His reggae journey is part of the Bob Marley One Love Experience that takes place weekly in Hollywood, California.

“This whole year is kind of a celebration of my 50th anniversary in reggae music. I’ve been doing a lot of interviews with people in different countries, and leading the tours at the Bob Marley One Love Experience in Hollywood every weekend, telling Bob’s life story to a wide range of people,” Steffens told the Jamaica Observer.

“One of the things that has struck me is that at least 50 per cent of the people who come are African Americans. This is the audience that Bob always wanted to reach, and they’re coming with their own children who wear Marley T-shirts like their folks. I’m sure this would please Bob enormously,” he added.

The New York-born Steffens, a Vietnam veteran, turned 81 on June 17. That was the date in 1973 he said he read a feature story on Marley in Rolling Stone magazine. Three years later, he made his first visit to Jamaica, just months before Prime Minister Michael Manley declared a state of emergency to reportedly stem political violence.

On that trip, Steffens met a number of stars, among them Big Youth, Tinga Stewart, Joe Higgs, Jimmy Cliff, and Ernest Ranglin.

In 1980, when Marley toured Southern California, he travelled with the reggae star and interviewed him for Reggae Beat, a radio show he started with Hank Holmes.

After Marley’s death, at age 36, in May 1981, Steffens believes reggae took a precipitous dive.

“Roots began to fade with the passing of Bob Marley. It’s become a cliché, but like many clichés it’s the absolute truth. Dancehall eclipsed reggae, took the message out in return for outrage and praising gunmen, ‘dissing’ women and gays, and throwing bad light internationally on Jamaican culture,” he said.

“Thankfully, that has abated,” he said, “as some of the most egregious artistes were forced to eat their words, and the reggae revival brought a new generation into conscious music.”

Assembling a massive, world-famous Marley/reggae archive at the Los Angeles home he shares with his wife Mary is one of the achievements Steffens is most proud of. Other highlights include attending Reggae Sunsplash for the first time in 1981; starting Reggae Beat, which was syndicated on 130 stations worldwide; co-founding The Beat magazine, which covered reggae and world beat music; launching the Reggae Grammy Committee, and serving as its chairman for 27 years; and writing two comprehensive Marley biographies.

“I’m still fascinated by what comes out of Jamaica, although I have to admit that my daily listening mostly consists of cassette mix-tapes [he has 14,000 hours of them] with artistes like Alton Ellis, Winston Jarrett, Slim Smith, Jimmy Riley, Bob Andy, Joe Higgs, The Mighty Diamonds, Culture, The Techniques, and countless others who have joined the ancestors.

“Great music lives forever, and Bob’s Billboard chart-topper just this past week, Legend, proves the point 42 years after his transition. As long as I’m alive I’ll continue to spread his words and works,” said Steffens.