In 1962, the Caribbean island of Jamaica gained independence from Great Britain, and the fledgling nation yearned to establish an identity of its own. Two years later, Rita Anderson was a teenage single mother living in the impoverished Kingston suburb of Trenchtown, in search of something beyond her circumstances. She would find it as a singer in a rocksteady group. That would lead her to discover her twin flame: a shy young man who also saw music as his ticket out of Trenchtown. His name was Bob Marley. 

SOURCES:

• Elvis and Me by Priscilla Presley

• Biography article

• Elvis Presley: The Searcher (Documentary)