Early music and with the Wailers
Tosh was born in Westmoreland, the westernmost parish of Jamaica. He was abandoned by his parents and "shuffled among relatives". When McIntosh was fifteen, his aunt died and he moved to Trenchtown in Kingston, Jamaica. He first learned guitar after watching a man in the country play a song that captivated him. He watched the man play the same song for half a day, memorizing everything his fingers were doing. He then picked up the guitar and played the song back to the man. The man then asked McIntosh who had taught him to play; McIntosh told him that he had. During the early 1960s, as an aspiring musician, Tosh went to vocal teacher Joe Higgs, who gave free music lessons to young people. Through his contact with Higgs, Tosh met Robert Nesta Marley (Bob Marley) and Neville O'Reilly Livingston (Bunny Wailer). He then changed his name to Peter Tosh and the trio started singing together in 1962. Higgs taught the trio to harmonise and while developing their music, they would often play on the street corners of Trenchtown.
In 1964 Tosh helped organise the band the Wailing Wailers, with Junior Braithwaite, a falsetto singer, and backup singers Beverley Kelso and Cherry Smith. Initially, Tosh was the only one in the group who could play musical instruments. According to Bunny Wailer, Tosh was critical to the band because he was a self-taught guitarist and keyboardist, and thus became an inspiration for the other band members to learn to play. The Wailing Wailers had a major ska hit with their first single, "Simmer Down", and recorded several more successful singles before Braithwaite, Kelso and Smith left the band in late 1965. Marley spent much of 1966 in Delaware in the United States with his mother, Cedella (née Malcolm) Marley-Booker, and for a brief time was working at a nearby Chrysler factory. He returned to Jamaica in early 1967 with a renewed interest in music and a new spirituality. Tosh and Bunny were already Rastafarians when Marley returned from the US, and the three became very involved with the Rastafari faith. Soon afterwards, they renamed the musical group the Wailers. Tosh would explain later that they chose the name Wailers because to "wail" means to mourn or to, as he put it, "...express one's feelings vocally". He also claims that he was the beginning of the group, and that it was he who first taught Bob Marley the guitar. Also according to Bunny Wailer, the early Wailers learned to play instruments from Tosh.
During the mid-1960s Tosh, along with Bob Marley and Bunny Wailer, were introduced to Danny Sims and Johnny Nash who signed the three artists to an exclusive recording contract on Sims' and Nash's JAD Records label as well as an exclusive publishing agreement through Sims' music publishing company, Cayman Music. Rejecting the up-tempo dance of ska, the band slowed their music to a rocksteady pace, and infused their lyrics with political and social messages inspired by their new-found faith. The Wailers composed several songs for the American-born singer Nash before teaming with producer Lee "Scratch" Perry to record some of the earliest well-known reggae songs, including "Soul Rebel", "Duppy Conqueror", and "Small Axe". The collaboration had given birth to reggae music and in 1970 bassist Aston "Family Man" Barrett and his brother, drummer Carlton Barrett, joined the group. They recorded the album The Best of The Wailers, which was produced by Leslie Kong and released in 1971.[citation needed]
In 1972, Danny Sims assigned the balance of the JAD Records recording contract with the band to Chris Blackwell and Island Records company and released their debut, Catch a Fire, in 1973, following it with Burnin' the same year. The Wailers had moved from many producers after 1970 and there were instances where producers would record rehearsal sessions that Tosh did and release them in England under the name "Peter Touch".
In 1973, Tosh was driving home with his girlfriend Evonne when his car was hit by another car driving on the wrong side of the road. The accident killed Evonne and severely fractured Tosh's skull. After Island Records president Chris Blackwell refused to issue his solo album in 1974, Tosh and Bunny Wailer left the Wailers, citing the unfair treatment they received from Blackwell, to whom Tosh often referred with a derogatory play on Blackwell's surname, 'Whiteworst'. Tosh had written many of the Wailers' hit songs such as "Get Up, Stand Up", "400 Years", and "No Sympathy". Tosh began recording and released his solo debut, Legalize It, in 1976 with CBS Records company, and Treasure Isle. The title track soon became popular among endorsers of cannabis legalization, reggae music lovers and Rastafari all over the world, and was a favourite at Tosh's concerts.
That was his last album from the Wailers, Island Records. In 2013, a book co-written by French scholar Dr Jeremie Kroubo Dagnini and American Lee Jaffe, his former associate, says Tosh was part of a smuggling operation that raised money to fund this album.
Solo career
Tosh started to make his own albums with Rolling Stones Records and CBS Records Equal Rights followed in 1977, featuring his recording of a song co-written with Marley, "Get Up, Stand Up", and a cover of "Stepping Razor" that would also appear on the soundtrack to the film Rockers.
Tosh organised a backing band, Word, Sound and Power, who were to accompany him on tour for the next few years, and many of whom performed on his albums of this period. In 1978, the Rolling Stones record label Rolling Stones Records contracted with Tosh, on which the album Bush Doctor was released, introducing Tosh to a larger audience. The album featured Rolling Stones frontmen Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, and the lead single – a cover version of The Temptations song "Don't Look Back" – was performed as a duet with Jagger.
During Bob Marley's free One Love Peace Concert of 1978, Tosh lit a marijuana spliff and lectured about legalising cannabis, lambasting attending dignitaries Michael Manley and Edward Seaga for their failure to enact such legislation. Several months later he was apprehended by police as he left Skateland dance hall in Kingston and was beaten severely while in police custody.
Mystic Man (1979), and Wanted Dread and Alive (1981) followed, both released on Rolling Stones Records. Tosh tried to gain some mainstream success while keeping his militant views, but was only moderately successful, especially when compared to Marley's achievements.
In 1984, after the release of 1983's album Mama Africa, Tosh went into self-imposed exile, seeking the spiritual advice of traditional medicine men in Africa, and trying to free himself from recording agreements that distributed his records in South Africa. Tosh had been at odds for several years with his label, EMI, over a perceived lack of promotion for his music.
Tosh also participated in the international opposition to South African apartheid by appearing at anti-apartheid concerts and by conveying his opinion in various songs like "Apartheid" (1977, re-recorded 1987), "Equal Rights" (1977), "Fight On" (1979), and "Not Gonna Give It Up" (1983). In 1987, Peter Tosh seemed to be having a career revival. He was awarded a Grammy Award for Best Reggae Performance in 1987 for No Nuclear War, his last record.
Death
On 11 September 1987, just after Tosh had returned to his home in Jamaica, a three-man gang came to his house on motorcycles demanding money. Tosh replied that he did not have any with him but the gang did not believe him. They stayed at his residence for several hours and tortured Tosh in an attempt to extort money from him. Over the hours, as various associates of Tosh arrived to visit him, they were also taken hostage by the gunmen. The gunmen became more and more frustrated, especially the chief thug, Dennis "Leppo" Lobban, a man whom Tosh had previously befriended and tried to help find work after a long jail sentence. Tosh said he did not have any money in the house, after which Lobban and the fellow gunmen began opening fire in a reckless manner. Tosh was shot twice in the head and killed. Herbalist Wilton "Doc" Brown and disc jockey Jeff 'Free I' Dixon also died as a result of wounds sustained during the robbery. Several others in the house were wounded, including Tosh's common law wife Andrea Marlene Brown, Free I's wife Yvonne ("Joy"); Tosh's drummer Carlton "Santa" Davis, and musician Michael Robinson.
According to Police Commissioner Herman Ricketts, Dennis "Leppo" Lobban surrendered and two other men were interrogated but not publicly named. Lobban went on to plead innocent during his trial, telling the court he had been drinking with friends. The trial was held in a closed court due to the involvement of illegal firearms. Lobban was ultimately found guilty by a jury of eight women and four men and sentenced to death by hanging. His sentence was commuted in 1995 and Lobban remains in jail. Another suspect was acquitted due to insufficient evidence. The other two gunmen were never identified by name.
Discography
Legalize It (1976)
Equal Rights (1977)
Bush Doctor (1978)
Mystic Man (1979)
Wanted Dread & Alive (1981)
Mama Africa (1983)
No Nuclear War (1987)
Get up
Peter Tosh Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Stand up for your rights
Get up, stand up
Don't give up the fight
Get up, stand up
Stand up for your rights
Get up, stand up
You, preacher man don't tell me
Heaven is under the earth
You a duppy and you don't know
What life is really worth
It's not all that glitter is gold
And half the story has never been told
So now we see the light
We gonna stand up for your rights
Come on, get up, stand up, brother
Stand up for your rights
Come on, get up, stand up, sisters
Don't give up the fight
Get up, stand up
Stand up for your rights
Get up, stand up
Don't give up the fight
'Cause you know most people think
A great God will come from the skies
And take away every little thing
And left everybody dry
But if you know what life is worth
Then you would look for yours on earth
And now we see the light
We gonna stand up for our rights
Come on, get up, stand up, don't make them push you 'round
Stand up for your rights
Come on brothers, get up, stand up
Be brave now, don't give up the fight
I say, get up, stand up
Stand up for your rights
Don't let them hold you down, get up, stand up
Don't give up the fight
We're sick and tired of this game of technology
Humbly asking Jesus for His mercy
We know, we know and we understand
Almighty Jah is a living man
You fool some people sometimes
But you can't fool all the people all the time
And now we see the light
We gonna stand up for our rights
Come on, get up, stand up
Stand up for your rights
Come on brothers, get up, stand up
I said, don't give up the fight
Isaid, get up, stand up
Stand up for your rights
Get up, stand up
Peter Tosh's song "Get Up, Stand Up" is a call to action for individuals to stand up for their rights and not give up the fight. The lyrics address the hypocrisy of religious figures who preach about heaven being under the earth and the belief that a supreme being will come from the skies to solve all problems. Tosh argues that individuals must take action and fight for their rights now, rather than relying on a higher power to solve their problems. The repetition of "Get up, stand up" emphasizes the urgency of taking action and not being complacent in the face of injustice. The lyrics also reference the phrase "you can't fool all the people all the time," which speaks to Tosh's belief in the power of collective action and the importance of standing together to fight for change.
Line by Line Meaning
Get up, stand up
Calling upon the listener to rise up and take action
Stand up for your rights
Asserting the importance of standing up for one's own rights and freedoms
Don't give up the fight
Encouraging perseverance in the struggle for justice and equality
You, preacher man don't tell me
Rejecting the authority of dogmatic religious figures
Heaven is under the earth
Exposing the falsehoods propagated by religion
You a duppy and you don't know
Dismissing the preacher as ignorant and out of touch with reality
What life is really worth
Contemplating the deeper meaning of existence and the value of human life
It's not all that glitter is gold
Warning against being deceived by appearances
And half the story has never been told
Recognizing that the full truth of history and society is often hidden or suppressed
So now we see the light
Having gained insight into the true nature of the world
Come on, get up, stand up, brother
Addressing the listener as a fellow activist
Come on, get up, stand up, sisters
Encouraging women to join the fight for justice
We gonna stand up for your rights
Declaring a collective commitment to defend and promote human rights
Cause you know most people think
Acknowledging common misconceptions about the role of a higher power in history and society
A great God will come from the skies
Alluding to religious myths and superstitions
And take away every little thing
Reflecting on the misguided beliefs that prevent people from fighting for their own rights
And left everybody dry
Emphasizing the negative consequences of such beliefs
But if you know what life is worth
Encouraging self-awareness and self-worth
Then you would look for yours on earth
Advocating for taking action in the real world rather than relying on religious fantasies
Don't make them push you 'round
Urging the listener to resist oppression and unfair treatment
Be brave now, don't give up the fight
Emphasizing the need for courage and perseverance to achieve social change
We're sick and tired of this game of technology
Expressing frustration with the superficiality and alienation of modern society
Humbly asking Jesus for His mercy
Suggesting that even those who reject mainstream religion may still have spiritual or moral concerns
We know, we know and we understand
Asserting a collective awareness and understanding of the issues at hand
Almighty Jah is a living man
Reinterpreting traditional religious concepts in a more humanistic and empowering way
You fool some people sometimes
Recognizing that those in power may use deception and manipulation to retain their authority
But you can't fool all the people all the time
Asserting the power of critical thinking and collective action to challenge oppressive systems
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: BOB MARLEY, PETER TOSH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@caiporabichodomato
O mais pesado do Reggae, ideologia foda, sons e letras monstras. Desde criança eu sou apaixonada de amor por esse homem. 🔥
@jusceliodeoliveira8926
hino da música regae ,
@jandyalfa134
P
@lucivalguedes2912
Eu também gosto do peter mais essa letra se torna uma merda quando ele despreza o filho do Altíssimo e diz que salassie é o Deus poderoso essa eu jogo no lixo
@caiporabichodomato
@@lucivalguedes2912 ou talvez você não entenda a letra. Em outras culturas e religião Deus é idolatrado de outras formas, isso não significa que o cara odiasse Deus. Sem contar que como eles usam palavras (gírias) nem sempre é traduzido corretamente
@lucivalguedes2912
@@caiporabichodomato kkkk acho que vc tá Equivocado irmão sei muito bem o que ele quis dizer
@PhilippeBlancR5
Peter Tosh is a legend. 🎸♥️😎
@stephanedjemaa3163
@Ezra Spurlock t ki
@tbonsai7070
Yes a true legend!!!
@shakadee6839
I met him back in 79 when he appeared at the apollo along with sly n robbie outstanding artist a him who taught Bob Marley to play guitar 🎤🇯🇲