Junior Marvin 'Happy Family' LP

Junior Marvin is widely recognized as an all-time great reggae musician and Musical Director and guitarist of Bob Marley’s iconic band, The Wailers. Junior’s new album, Happy Family, is released to coincide with the theatrical release of One Love, the Bob Marley Paramount biopic feature film. In the film, the role of Junior is played by his real-life son, Davo, who is also a musical artist. The first single from Happy Family is Junior’s new recording of “One Love”.

Junior Marvin was born in Jamaica and grew up in London and met the late Tuff Gong icon on Valentine’s Day in 1977 (ironically the same day the film is released) who touted him as the “young Jimi Hendrix of London”. Marley immediately asked Junior to join his band as lead guitarist and became one of Marley’s closest friends up until his death. Junior’s guitar playing was a huge influence on Marley, and his musicianship can be clearly heard on such seminal Marley tracks as “Could You Be Loved” (which Junior originally wrote and gave to Marley), “Waiting in Vain,” “Buffalo Soldier,” “The Heathen”, “One Love” and “Jamming”. Junior Marvin is not just limited to reggae however; he has played with Stevie Wonder and Steve Winwood, among many others (he actually turned down an offer by Wonder to join his band Wonderlove to accept Marley’s offer to become a member of The Wailers on the same Valentine’s Day in 1977).