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)
Little Green Apples
Peter Tosh Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
With my hair down in my eyes and she says, "Hi"
And I stumble to the breakfast table
While the kids are goin' off to schoolâ?¦goodbye
And she reaches out and takes my hand
And squeezes it and says, "How ya feelin', hon?"
And I look across at smilin' lips
That warm my heart and see my mornin' sun
And if that's not lovin' me
Then all I've got to say
God didn't make little green apples
And it don't rain in Indianapolis in the summertime
And there's no such thing as Doctor Seuss
Or Disneyland, and Mother Goose, no nursery rhyme
God didn't make little green apples
And it don't rain in Indianapolis in the summertime
And when myself is feelin' low
I think about her face aglow and ease my mind
Sometimes I call her up at home knowin' she's busy
And ask her if she could get away and meet me
And maybe we could grab a bite to eat
And she drops what she's doin' and she hurries down to meet me
And I'm always late
But she sits waitin' patiently and smiles when she first sees me
'Cause she's made that way
And if that ain't lovin' me
Then all I've got to say
God didn't make little green apples
And it don't snow in Minneapolis when the winter comes
And there's no such thing as make-believe
Puppy dogs, autumn leaves and BB guns
God didn't make little green apples
And it don't rain in Indianapolis
Peter Tosh's song "Little Green Apples" is a romantic love song about a man who wakes up in the morning to his wife's warm and affectionate presence. The first verse describes his morning routine and how his wife greets him with love and concern for his well-being. The chorus is an expression of how her love is so real and undeniable, and if that's not what love is, then nothing is. The second verse talks about how he sometimes calls her up to meet him for lunch, and no matter how busy she is, she always makes time for him. The bridge reiterates the sentiment of love and how it's impossible to deny it.
The song's title, "Little Green Apples," is a nod to the phrase "life is full of little green apples," which means that life is full of small challenges and surprises. The overall message of the song is that love is real, and it's irrefutable, just like the little green apples that God didn't create. The repetition of the phrase "God didn't make" reinforces the idea that some things in life are truly unexplainable and can't be rationalized.
Line by Line Meaning
And I wake up in the mornin'
I open my eyes and start my day
With my hair down in my eyes and she says, "Hi"
My hair is blocking my vision but my partner greets me
And I stumble to the breakfast table
I clumsily make my way to the table to eat
While the kids are goin' off to school…goodbye
My children are leaving for school and say goodbye to me
And she reaches out and takes my hand
My partner holds my hand
And squeezes it and says, "How ya feelin', hon?"
My partner asks how I'm feeling and shows affection
And I look across at smilin' lips
I look at my partner's smiling lips
That warm my heart and see my mornin' sun
My partner's love and happiness brightens my morning
And if that's not lovin' me
If this isn't love
Then all I've got to say
Then I don't know what is
God didn't make little green apples
This love is rare and special
And it don't rain in Indianapolis in the summertime
Impossible things don't happen in true love
And there's no such thing as Doctor Seuss
Fantasies and children's tales are not needed for love
Or Disneyland, and Mother Goose, no nursery rhyme
Amusement parks and fairy tales are not necessary for love
And when myself is feelin' low
When I am feeling down
I think about her face aglow and ease my mind
I think about my partner's happy face and feel better
Sometimes I call her up at home knowin' she's busy
Occasionally, I call her knowing she's occupied
And ask her if she could get away and meet me
I inquire if she can take a break and see me
And maybe we could grab a bite to eat
Perhaps we could quickly have a meal together
And she drops what she's doin' and she hurries down to meet me
She puts everything aside and rushes to see me
And I'm always late
I'm constantly running behind schedule
But she sits waitin' patiently and smiles when she first sees me
My partner waits for me and greets me warmly
'Cause she's made that way
That's just who she is, kind and patient
And if that ain't lovin' me
If this isn't love
Then all I've got to say
Then I'm not sure what is
God didn't make little green apples
This love is rare and special
And it don't snow in Minneapolis when the winter comes
Impossible things don't happen in true love
And there's no such thing as make-believe
Pretend and false beliefs aren't necessary for love
Puppy dogs, autumn leaves and BB guns
Childish things aren't essential for love
God didn't make little green apples
This love is rare and special
And it don't rain in Indianapolis
Impossible things don't happen in true love
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Robert Russell
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
The American Storyteller
One of the best vocals I've heard from Peter.
elvispreseli
Fantastic!
sadoun samir
wonderful 😙
djfrekwency radio frekwency
VERY RARE SONG BY PETER TOSH, I THREE....WAILERS....
jan kowalewski
peter!!!!
Mariam Aloo
Man
Joe Attiah
Only true fans will land on this page !!! ;)