RIP Bob Marley: Twitter marks 30th anniversary of reggae icon's death

Bob Marley died 30 years ago today on May 11, 1981, and Twitter users - including Rihanna - have been paying tribute to the Jamaica-born reggae icon behind hits like Redemption Song, One Love and Three Little Birds. 

Bob Marley: February 6 1945 - May 11 1981

Nesta Robert 'Bob' Marley, born on February 6, 1945, was lead singer and rhythm guitarist for ska/reggae band Bob Marley and The Wailers from 1963. 

Marley, his music heavily influenced by the social issues of his Jamaican homeland, is credited with helping bring the country's music and the Rastafari movement to a global audience.

One of several Marley-themed tweets posted by Rihanna today

The compilation album Legend, released three years after his death in 1984, sold 25million copies around the world and went ten times platinum in the US.

In July 1977, Marley was found to have acral lentiginous melanoma, a form of malignant melanoma. The cancer eventually spread to his lungs and brain and he died at Miami's Cedars of Lebanon Hospital (now University of Miami Hospital) at the age of 36.

Rita Marley, Bob's wife, collects his posthumous Lifetime Achievement Award during the 2005 MOBO Awards

'RIP Bob Marley, the most important thing I learnt from him was "Everything's gonna be alright",' tweeted Marley fan itsYasmin today.

Damian Marley, Bob's son, accepts the award for best reggae album group for Welcome To Jamrock at the 2006 Grammy awards

'RIP Bob Marley. You were taken from us 30 years ago today. But your spirit will never leave us. One Love,' posted jianghomeshi, and shehab_essam's tweet read: 'RIP bob marley... people like you just made our world better.'

In 1994, Marley was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Time magazine chose Bob Marley and the Wailers’ Exodus as the greatest album of the 20th century. 

In 2001, Marley was posthumously awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement award.

On May 21, 1981, Jamaican prime minister Edward Seaga said during the final funeral eulogy to Marley: 'His voice was an omnipresent cry in our electronic world. His sharp features, majestic looks and prancing style a vivid etching on the landscape of our minds. 

'Bob Marley was never seen. He was an experience which left an indelible imprint with each encounter. Such a man cannot be erased from the mind. He is part of the collective consciousness of the nation.'

SOurce: Metro.co.uk