Call for Papers

Special Issue on Bob Marley

Edited by Mike Alleyne and John Dougan

Submissions are invited for a special edition of Popular Music and Society that examines the art and legacies of reggae's best known figure, Bob Marley. Uncommonly for a superstar, his music specifically addressed the concerns of the postcolonial world while maintaining a broader universality relevant to wider audiences.

The recent 30th anniversary of his death and the forthcoming 50th anniversary of Marley's first record provide special opportunities for reassessment. Since Bob Marley is one of the most anthologized and analyzed musicians, this special issue will explore some of the under-examined dimensions of his art and its creative, cultural, and commercial meanings.

It will also especially invite consideration of Marley's posthumous significance. The key concept of the special issue is to limit duplication of existing Marley historiography and to provide 21st-century perspectives on the artist's impact with musical performance (recorded or live) as the central component.

Contributors are invited to consider the following specific areas:

• Marley reissued: compilation albums, repackaging, and Marley in the digital age
• Focused analyses of individual studio albums: Exodus may have been Time magazine's Album of the Century, but was this really Marley's most definitive artistic statement?
• Music critic responses to his releases
• The international sphere: assessment of Marley's musical impact within specific geographical regions
• Marley and the commercialization of Rastafari
• Covering Marley: critical assessment of cover versions--individual songs and/or tribute albums
• Film documentary treatment
• Press coverage of live performances

In the first instance, potential contributors are asked to submit abstracts (approximately 250 words in English) and brief CVs by 1 July 2012. We are particularly interested in studies and approaches that go beyond what have become "the usual suspects."

Those selected for inclusion will then be invited to submit articles (6,000-8,000 words) no later than 1 November 2012. Essays will be peer-reviewed. Inquiries regarding potential essay topics and their suitability for inclusion are welcome. Please include your professional/academic affiliations, a postal address, and preferred e-mail contact with your essay; for purposes of blind peer-review, please do not include your name within the body of the essay.

The issue of Popular Music and Society will be published in 2013.

Please address all communications to: Mike Alleyne (Middle Tennessee State University) at mike.alleyne@mtsu.edu or John Dougan at john.dougan@mtsu.edu.