On This Day, May 11, 1981 …

Reggae legend Bob Marley died from cancer at a hospital in Miami, Florida, at the age of 36.

In July 1977, Marley was diagnosed with a type of malignant melanoma under a toenail. By the fall of 1980, the cancer had spread to his brain, lungs and liver, and he played his final concert in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on September 23, 1980.

After the cancer spread throughout his body, he went to Germany to undergo an alternative cancer treatment, but during his flight home his health got worse and he was taken to the hospital in Miami, where he passed away.

He was laid to rest with a state funeral in Jamaica on May 21, 1981.

Marley is best known for his 1984 album Legend, which is the bestselling reggae album of all time. It features a live version of the Marley classic “No Woman No Cry,” along with other classics like “I Shot the Sheriff,” “One Love,” “Is This Love,” “Get Up Stand Up” and more.

Marley was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.