Ben & Jerry’s and The Marley Family celebrate Bob Marley’s iconic ‘Legend’ album

Ben & Jerry’s is on a music mission to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Bob Marley’s Legend album with a new special edition flavour ‘Satisfy my Bowl’, in honour of the music icon and to lend its voice to a vision for peace, love and social justice.

On October 15th saw the Legend Session unite musicians of all styles at The Vaults, London to pay tribute to Bob Marley with their own take on the ‘Legend’-ary tracks to delight ice cream, social activists and music fans alike.

Emerging musicians across the UK are invited to submit their own musical gems, from opera to R&B, to have the chance to join renowned reggae advocate, BBC DJ and the man who premiered ‘Could You be Loved’ Sir David Rodigan MBE on stage. The next generation of UK talent will be asked to stir up their own take on some of Marley’s most iconic songs, whilst being amongst the first to have a taste of the new flavour. Artists can submit their work on Twitter (twitter.com/benandjerrysUK) or through the Ben & Jerry’s Facebook page (Facebook.com/benjerryUK) by the 19th September. Then a panel, featuring a member of the Marley family, will select a lucky few to perform their rendition on stage.

As Bob Marley’s Legend album celebrates its 30th anniversary, the socially conscious ice cream company wanted to pay tribute to a man who dedicated his life to bringing people together through music. Satisfy My Bowl, which was named by a Ben & Jerry’s fan, is a concoction of banana ice cream beats, a mashup of caramel and cookie swirls, and a chorus of chocolatey peace signs. What makes this partnership all the sweeter is that proceeds from the special edition flavour will enable the 1Love Foundation and Partners for Youth Empowerment to empower young people in Jamaica, and continue Bob Marley’s legacy of using music to change the world.

Cedella Marley from the 1Love Foundation, said: “To mark Legend’s 30th anniversary, we’re celebrating our father’s legacy of bringing people together and using music to drive social change through a sweet partnership with Ben & Jerry’s. Proceeds from a special
edition ice cream flavour will enable the 1Love Foundation and Partners for Youth Empowerment to support young people in Jamaica by igniting their creative skills to promote peace, love and social equality.”

Ed Shepherd, Ben & Jerry’s Social Mission Manager, said: “In the same way Ben & Jerry’s stands for more than just (delicious) ice-cream, Bob Marley stood for more than just music – he advocated for social change and inspired millions to think about peace, love, and equality.

Ben & Jerry’s has a rich heritage of campaigning for social justice, by partnering with the Marley family’s 1Love Foundation and Partners for Youth Empowerment we want to lend our voice to Bob’s vision, and do this in a fun way that brings people together.”

Ben and Jerry’s has a rich musical history of launching special editions that tie into the company values, with flavours like Glastonberry and Bohemian Raspberry hitting the high notes over the years.

About Ben & Jerry’s: Ben & Jerry’s was founded in 1978 in a renovated gas station in Burlington, Vermont, USA, by childhood friends who dedicated themselves to peace, love and ice cream. Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield started their ice cream careers with a shared $5 ice cream making correspondence course from Penn State University and a $12,000 investment ($4,000 of which was borrowed).

They soon became popular in the local community for their innovative flavours, made from fresh Vermont milk and cream, and large portions of chunks, swirls & whatever ingredients they felt like trying in a flavour! While they both disagreed at times over flavour combinations, what they both agreed on was that they were in this business to enjoy themselves, and give back to the community. As Jerry put it “If it’s not fun, why do it?” Ben &Jerry’s has a rich heritage of standing for equality and social justice, with Marriage Equality, Get the Dough Out of Politics and the Peace Pop just some of the campaigns they’ve championed in the last 36 years.

As part of the 30th anniversary of Bob Marley’s Legend album, Ben & Jerry’s, 1Love Foundation and Partners for Youth Empowerment will partner with Jamaica’s leading youth serving organizations to activate the creative power of Jamaican youth and continue Bob’s legacy of a more integrated and peaceful world – going back to his roots. The goal is to empower communities where youth, grounded in culture and positive values, have the support and skills to find meaning and purpose in their lives, and are creatively engaged in responding to the challenges that they and society face www.benjerry.co.uk

About 1 Love Foundation
Bob Marley hoped that one day a caring and united global community would rise up and build a better world. 1Love, a movement started by the Marley family, has a mission to do good in honor of Bob Marley’s vision for a better tomorrow. Our goal is clear: we hope to inspire people to make donations so we can raise essential funds for 1Love projects that help those in need. As Bob Marley’s music and life forever changed the world; 1Love works to honor Bob Marley’s hope that we join together and make a real difference in the world through both influence and action. For more information, visit: 1Love.org.

About Bob Marley
Bob Marley is one of the most important and influential artists of the 20th century. In the digital era, Marley has the second-highest social media following of any posthumous celebrity, with the official Bob Marley Facebook page now surpassing 69 million fans, ranking it among the Top 20 of all Facebook pages and Top 10 among celebrity pages. His music catalog has sold more than 50 million albums worldwide since 1992 and his accolades continue, including an induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1994), a GRAMMY® Lifetime Achievement Award (2001), multiple entries in the GRAMMY® Hall Of Fame and the Hollywood Walk of Fame (2001). Bob Marley was the first Jamaican artist to gain worldwide fame. A musical, political and even spiritual icon, a figure of almost mystical proportions, no artist has so dominated his genre in the history of modern music as Marley has reggae. For more information on Bob Marley, visit: www.bobmarley.com.