Irish Town Brand Jamaica will get more international exposure
on American airwaves this summer when world renowned author, Christopher
John Farley, gives an insight into his latest masterpiece ‘Before the
Legend, The Rise of Bob Marley’.

Top-rated network station, NBC sent a crew to Jamaica on Friday, June
23, facilitated by the Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO) to
conduct the interview, done by ‘America’s most loved weatherman’, Al
Roker.

Farley was born in Kingston, Jamaica, raised in Brockport, New York. He
is a graduate of Harvard University and former editor of Harvard
Lampoon. Now you may ask…who is he? Well, he has among his latest
projects a book on the late great Robert Nesta Marley, Jamaica’s well
known reggae icon.

Farley, no stranger to the cameras is a senior writer and the pop music
critic for Time Magazine. He appears frequently on MTV, VH1, MSNBC, Fox
and CNN to talk about music and pop culture. He is the author of “My
Favourite War,” and is working on his second novel set in the 19th
century in Jamaica

Roker conducted the interview at the Strawberry Hills Hotel – a charming
picturesque hotel in structures dating from the 1800s, nestled amidst 26
acres in the hills of the Blue Mountains. Roker in his usual jubilant
mood enjoyed every bit of the interview as he chomped at questions to
Farley who provided the answers in a flash.

The book “Before the Legend, the Rise of Bob Marley” draws from original
interviews with the people closest to Marley – including his widow,
Rita, his mother, Cedella, his band mate and childhood friend, Bunny
Wailer, his producer, Chris Blackwell and many others. Farley says
“Legend paints an entirely fresh picture of one of the most enduring
musical artists of our times.”

Before the Legend “is bursting with fresh insights into Marley and
Jamaica, and is the definitive story of Marley’s early days.”