Across his prolific career, Junior Marvin has played with the likes of Steve Winwood, Toots & the Maytals and Lenny Kravitz. However, he’s perhaps most recognised for the role he held as electric guitar player for the late Bob Marley.
As it happens, when Marley was first seeking Marvin’s services in the late ‘70s, the guitarist had already been approached by Stevie Wonder, who offered him a lucrative deal to join his band.
Despite the fact the life-changing Wonder offer would have made him a household name – and secured him musical employment for a decade – Marvin ultimately turned him down in favor of joining Marley’s band.
Marvin reflects on this pivotal moment in his career in the new issue of Guitarist, and recalls how his work with Steve Winwood helped put him on the radar of producer Chris Blackwell, who planned to put him in a room with Marley.
Before that happened, though, Wonder came calling – and he came calling with a life-altering deal.
“So it’s Valentine’s Day in 1977 and I’m in England again as I was taking time off from playing. Just before Chris picks me up, I get a call from Stevie Wonder at my house,” Marvin says. “Stevie’s guitarist couldn’t do the tour, so Stevie needed a guitarist.
“Stevie had heard I was a good player and might be interested, which I would have been as I’m a big Stevie Wonder fan. But when I picked up the phone, I said, ‘Are you sure you’re Stevie Wonder?’ because I had difficulty believing he’d be calling.
“He said, ‘I’ve heard your albums and I like your feel.’ I said, ‘Okay...’ and then he said, ‘I’d like you to join my band, but if you do, I need you to sign a 10-year contract.’”
It sounded enticing enough – “I thought, ‘Wow. If I do that, I’ll become a household name,’ which gave me goosebumps; it was crazy,” Marvin remembers – but there was still the order of meeting Blackwell’s mystery artist.
He continues: “I told Stevie, ‘Can I think about it? 10 years is a long time. I’ll call you back in a couple of hours.’ Stevie said, ‘Okay, no problem,’ and off I went in Chris Blackwell’s Rolls-Royce with my guitar.”
“Chris takes me to this fashionable area and this big Edwardian house. We go in and I see from behind this little guy with dreadlocks who had this aura about him.
“He turns around and it’s Bob Marley. He walked right up to me, and I’m like, ‘Holy shit,’ and he slaps me five and says, ‘Welcome to The Wailers, man.’”
Stevie said, ‘Oh, I met Bob a month ago in Jamaica. He was great!’ They had jammed and people loved it, so he wasn’t upset
After jamming for a few hours with Marley, Marvin then remembered Wonder’s offer. However, Marley’s overwhelming enthusiasm for him – as well as his own passion for Marley’s music – proved to be a deal-breaker.
“Chris was already talking about recording sessions and starting rehearsals,” Marvin goes on. “I said, ‘Man, these guys don’t even know me...’ Chris stopped me, saying, ‘Yeah, we do. We’ve been studying you for over a year. You’re who we want.’
“I got home, called Stevie and said, ‘I’m so sorry, but I’ve just been offered a job with Bob Marley.’ He said, ‘Oh, I met Bob a month ago in Jamaica. He was great!’ They had jammed and people loved it, so he wasn’t upset; he liked Bob.”
Pick up the newest issue of Guitarist at Magazines Direct, which features the full interview with Junior Marvin.
