Establishing their own musical legacy has taken Marley's sons 26 years. It started in 1979 when Ziggy, Stephen, Cedella, and Sharon formed Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers. ''These little kids used to come on stage with us and dance up a storm,'' recalls Griffiths, 57. ''I found it very frightening, amazing, and beautiful at the Bob Marley celebration in Ethiopia two years ago when I saw Steve's and Ziggy's kids on stage just like they used to do with Bob.''
Marley died two years after penning the Melody Makers' debut single, ''Children Playing in the Streets,'' and the band's first show following his death was at his funeral. Ziggy was 12; Stephen was 9. ''That's when [we felt] the impact of being looked at as Bob Marley's children,'' Ziggy says. ''Before that, Bob was Bob, moving through the streets. After my father passed away, he became even greater.''
Galvanized by their loss, the Melody Makers signed with Virgin Records in 1988; they peaked with their third CD, that year's Conscious Party. Produced by Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz from Talking Heads, the Grammy-winning disc reached No. 26 on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, but the group's sales plummeted throughout the '90s, and they disbanded in 1999.
Following their split, Ziggy relocated to L.A. and Stephen moved behind the scenes to focus on producing. Once again, he kept his talent in the family, contributing tracks to Julian's CD, Lion in the Morning, and Damian's first album, Mr. Marley, both released in 1996. Three years later, he spearheaded Chant Down Babylon, a star-studded tribute album featuring hip-hop-flavored updates of his father's songs. Propelled by Lauryn Hill's inspired cover of ''Turn Your Lights Down Low'' — originally an ode to Damian's mom — the disc sold 782,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan, and introduced Stephen's work to a wider audience. ''Stephen is the patriarch of the family as far as the music goes,'' says Tuff Gong president Cristy Barber. ''He works on everybody's records. He's like Prince — he can play every instrument you can imagine.''
In the meantime, Damian was struggling to find his own niche. In his early teens, he formed a group called the Shepherds with Shiah Coore, son of Third World guitarist Cat Coore, and Yashema McGregor, daughter of I-Threes vocalist Judy Mowatt and reggae singer Freddie McGregor. They never released a CD, but they earned props in Jamaica for their live shows. After striking out on his own with Mr. Marley, Damian hoped to be embraced by the island's rough-and-tough dancehall community. That didn't happen. ''My first album was more well-received in places like Hawaii than it was in Kingston,'' he says. ''I couldn't tell you why. Maybe just the nature of the music...it's very happy sounding.''
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