6. Bob Marley & the Wailers – Amandla Festival, Harvard Stadium, Boston, July 21, 1979
Bob Marley and the Wailers headlined this benefit for social justice and liberation from apartheid in Africa, with a lineup that also included soul singer Patti LaBelle and pianist Eddie Palmieri. Hosted at Harvard’s football stadium, the concert was meant to embody many of the same egalitarian concepts as the One Love Peace concert. Marley spoke openly about his political beliefs, and the event was remarkably free of Babylon’s clutches—police officers weren’t allowed on the premises.
Amandla is often considered to be one of Marley’s best available concert recordings, possibly because he flew from Jamaica just for the show — it wasn’t a part of a tour. Or maybe it’s just because, as one review from the Harvard Crimson put it, “If anybody can cut through the special American brand of cynicism and make people feel good because they are one in thousands instead of omnipotent, it will be Bob Marley.”