Bob Marley 1975, Marley had his international breakthrough with his first hit outside Jamaica, "No Woman, No Cry", from the "Natty Dread" album. This was followed by his breakthrough album in the United States, "Rastaman Vibration" (1976), which reached the Top 50 of the Billboard Soul Charts. On 3 December 1976, two days before "Smile Jamaica", a free concert organised by the Jamaican Prime Minister Michael Manley in an attempt to ease tension between two warring political groups, Marley, his wife, and manager Don Taylor were wounded in an assault by unknown gunmen inside Marley's home. Taylor and Marley's wife sustained serious
War (Bob Marley song) player Allen "Skill" Cole or Wailers drummer Carlton "Carly" Barrett therefore enabled Bob Marley to circumvent the law until new, more favorable agreements were made. This practice, along with the practice of rewarding friends who contributed to compositions by crediting them — even if they only contributed with ideas — and Marley's sudden death without leaving a will all combined to create confusion about the copyright status of several songs, including "War". Barrett's brother, Wailer musician Aston "Family Man" Barrett (who created the bass line, key to the song's efficiency) has since brought lawsuits against the Marley estate (in practice,