RANNY WILLIAMS : When Bob Marley met 'Maas Ran'

By Howard Campbell Observer senior writer  Tuesday, January 09, 2018

Bob Marley would have turned 73 in February. The Jamaica Observer 's Entertainment Desk will present a series of off-beat stories on his legacy. Today, we present a teaser.

FOR two generations of Jamaicans, Ranny Williams was a comedic genius — the Oliver Samuels or Christopher “Johnny” Daley of pre- and post-colonial Jamaica. Bob Marley's anti-establishment Rasta message represented the country's changing of the guard during the 1970s.

In late 1979 as Williams recovered from surgery for amputation of his left leg, Marley visited the Pantomime legend at the University of the West Indies Hospital in St Andrew. Tommy Cowan, a colleague of the reggae superstar, suggested he look for the ailing Williams.

Cowan told the Jamaica Observer that Marley was happy to make the visit. But he did not want to go empty-handed.

“He sent someone up to Barbican Road to buy a basket of fruits. When I saw what he did it really moved me 'cause I never knew he was going to do something like that,” Cowan recalled. more