The ithrees

Rita Marley, Judy Mowatt and Marcia Griffiths

The ithrees were a Jamaican reggae singing group made up of three women, that was formed in 1974 to support Bob Marley & The Wailers after Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer the original Wailer backing vocalists left the band.The ithrees members were Marley's wife Rita Marley, plus Judy Mowatt and Marcia Griffiths. Their name is intended as a spin on the Rastafarian "i and i" concept of the Godhead within each person.

 Marcia Griffith was already a star when The ithrees came together. Her duet recordings with Bob Andy, which included "young gifted and black," had brought her international attention. When she invited Judy Mowatt, who had previously sung with the Gaylettes, and Rita Marley to harmonize with her on a recording with Bob Andy, she set the stage for the trio's formation. The recording session proved so inspiring that she invited the two women to be guests on a song that she and Andy were scheduled to perform that evening at the House of Chen in New Kingston.

Shortly after the departure of Peter Tosh and Bunny Livingston from the Wailers, Bob Marley asked the three women to sing on his recording, Jah Live. They continued to work together for the next ten years. In early 1975, The ithrees joined Bob Marley for a tour as opening act for the Jackson Five. Although they continued to perform together following Bob Marley's death, the three women soon elected to pursue solo careers.

Rita Marley - One Draw

       Rita Marley Reggae Queen

Perhaps best known as the widow of reggae legend Bob Marley and often called the "Queen of Reggae," Rita Marley has spent time and energy as the guardian of his estate and musical legacy, and, more important, as the keeper of the flame of his ideas. But her role in the history of Jamaican music has not been limited to her family relationship with Bob Marley. In the mostly male-dominated field of reggae, she was a solo act of note before she ever joined with her husband musically, and she emerged as a successful artist on her own after his death. Moreover, as part of Bob Marley's backing trio of female vocalists, the iThrees, Rita Marley was an important contributor to the music that made her husband famous worldwide.

Rita Marley was born Alpharita Constantia Anderson in Cuba in 1947. Growing up poor, she was raised in the Trenchtown neighborhood of Kingston, Jamaica, that spawned the careers of many of the musicians who created a rhythmically complex, spiritually inclined new music called reggae. Three of those musicians, who had formed a trio called the Wailers, often passed by the metal shack where Rita Anderson was living with her aunt and small child. The Wailers consisted of Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, and Bunny Wailer; they were among the first acts to record at the influential studio of producer Coxsone Dodd. Bob Marley, already a standout talent, made a special impact. "I remember how I would scream to hear his songs on the radio," Rita Marley told Interview.