Despite its size compared to many other countries worldwide, little Jamaica continues to make waves worldwide. It is no wonder its people say, “We little, but we Tallawah.”
Our Reggae Girlz made it to the round of sixteen in the Women’s World Cup Championships, and On Monday Billboard magazine unveiled its Best Album Covers of All Time list. Jackets by Bob Marley and The Wailers and Grace Jones made the cut.
Island Life, a best-of compilation by Jones, released by Island Records in 1985, ranked at #27, while Marley’s Rastaman Vibration, released by Island in 1976, ranked at #22.
According to reporting, Jamaican graphic artiste and photographer Neville Garrick designed the cover of Rastaman Vibration.
The Jamaica Observer said Garrick, who lives in LA, was joyful about the recognition for his work.
“I’m very excited, considering it was the first album cover I got to do for Bob Marley, who became a musical historical figure worldwide,” he said.
Neville Garrick
Garrick, the art director at the Daily News in the early and mid-1970s, is best known for designing several Marley album covers and backdrops for the Reggae Sunsplash festival throughout the 1980s. He has also worked with Burning Spear, Steel Pulse, and other major reggae acts. He shared how he got involved in Rastaman Vibration.
“At the time, I was living at 56 Old Hope Road after getting arrested for possession of marijuana. It was also my first time meeting Chris Blackwell of Island Records. He came to pick up the tracks and the first album cover design I had submitted; this was an alternative to what they eventually used. For some reason, Bob Marley didn’t like the original design I had submitted. He said it looked too much like the Black Heart Man album cover I had done for Bunny Wailer a few months before,” Garrick recalled.
Neville Garrick
“Chris said he was leaving the Island in two days and asked if I could finish the new version in time. I told him yes. I was working on a new concept involving burlap to show the roots’ connection. Later that day, someone passed my room downstairs and said, ‘A di album cover dat?’ That voice was Bob Marley. I was so overjoyed that I worked on it for the next 13 hours and had the finished cover for Chris Blackwell and Island Records. On seeing it, Chris sent me to Los Angeles, California, to complete the cover art with the printers. The rest is history.”
Neville Garrick
Garrick designed 12 album covers for Marley, including Exodus, Survival, Confrontation, Kaya, and Talking Blues.
He is one of the founders and executive director of the Bob Marley Museum.
The Government of Jamaica designated him a Commander of the Order of Distinction on Independence Day. The Governor General of Jamaica will decorate him on Nation Heroes’ Day, October 16, 2023.