Rita Marley has been one of the most prominent female vocalists on the Jamaican scene going back to the ska era of the early Sixties, when she led the recording group The Soulettes and met Bob Marley. She was there when The Wailers had the first successes, even singing backgrounds on some Wailers recordings, and launched her solo career in the late Sixties. When Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer departed from The Wailers, Bob Marley recruited Rita along with Judy Mowatt and Marcia Griffiths to be his I-Three backing vocalists and they were a prominent and striking presence on all his major tours and recordings thereafter. •Who Feels It Knows It was Rita's breakthrough debut album. Released in 1981, it is a landmark recording, de livering beautiful versions of compositions by Bob Marley and Bunny Wailer as well as a number of originals, many of them uplifting testimonials of Rastafarian spirituality. It is one of the greatest Reggae albums ever recorded by a female artist. •Shortly before Bob Marley's death, Rita Marley recorded a lighthearted, upbeat anthem called "One Draw," which celebrated ganja smoking. Released as a single, it immediately became a hit in Jamaica and when released in the U.S. by Shanachie it ran up th Billboard Dance Chart, making it one of the most iconic and popular Reggae singles of all time. It was included in the debut U.S. release of Who Feels It Knows It, helping it to become one of the best-selling Reggae albums by a female artist.
