Survival (Bob Marley & The Wailers album)



Survival is the eleventh studio album by Bob Marley and the Wailers released in 1979.

Survival is an album with an outwardly militant theme. Some critics speculate that this was due in part to criticism Marley received for the laid-back, ganja-soaked atmosphere of his previous release, "Kaya", which seemed to sidetrack the urgency of his message. In the song "Africa Unite", Marley proclaims Pan-African solidarity. The song "Zimbabwe" is a hymn dedicated to later-independent Rhodesia. The song was performed at Zimbabwe's Independence Celebration in 1980, just after the official declaration of Zimbabwe's independence.

Survival was originally to be called Black Survival to underscore the urgency of African unity, but the name was shortened to prevent misinterpretations of the album's theme.

Musicians

 * Bob Marley – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar, percussion
 * Aston "Family Man" Barrett – bass, rhythm guitar, percussion
 * Carlton Barrett – drums, percussion
 * Tyrone "Organ D" Downie – keyboards, percussion, backing vocals
 * Alvin "Seeco" Patterson – percussion
 * Junior Marvin – lead guitar, backing vocals
 * Earl "Wire" Lindo – keyboards
 * Al Anderson – lead guitar
 * Rita Marley – backing vocals
 * Marcia Griffiths – backing vocals
 * Judy Mowatt – backing vocals
 * Carlton "Santa" Davis – drums on "Africa Unite"
 * Mikey "Boo" Richards – drums on "Wake Up And Live"
 * Val Douglas – bass on "Wake Up and Live"
 * Earl "Chinna" Smith – rhythm guitar and percussion on "One Drop"
 * Headley Bennett – alto saxophone
 * Ronald "Nambo" Robinson – trombone
 * Melba Liston – trombone
 * Luther Francois – trombone
 * Junior "Chico" Chin – trumpet
 * Jackie Willacy – trumpet
 * Micky Hanson – trumpet
 * Lee Jaffe – harmonica

Production

 * Producers – Bob Marley & The Wailers, Alex Sadkin
 * Mastering – Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound, NYC

Front cover
The album's front cover depicts 48 African flags, 15 of which (in italics) are now obsolete, as well as the flag of Papua New Guinea:

Four states already sovereign by the time of the album's release didn't have their flags featured in its cover art: Cape Verde, Comoros, Libya and South Africa (which was under apartheid at the time).

Three states only came to sovereignty after the album's release and thus didn't have their flags included: Eritrea, South Sudan and Namibia.

The album's title appears in white (City typeface) with the Brookes slave ship engraving in the background.