Interesting factoids - Peter Tosh and Moai on Easter Island

We we driving back from Thanksgiving with my brother's family in Clarksville, TN and hit an inevitable airways dead-zone (we were switching to the various NPR stations along the way) so we resorted to the CD player. Out of 6 discs it went to number 5 and the music of Peter Tosh "Legalize It" started blaring from the speakers. Cindi asked me if Peter Tosh was dead and I said "I believe so" but couldn't remember the details so I looked it up on wikipedia. I'm not quite sure where I was or what I was doing when he died, but the end for Mr Tosh was quite shocking to me.

It seems Tosh had been on tour but made a trip home to Jamaica, where his house was invaded by 3 thugs - they were there to rob him (I guess touring makes a musician lots of money and you know you keep all that cash under the mattress or something?). In any case there was much torture involved and intermittent visits by friends and well-wishers, which seem to have spooked the robbers. One in particular decided to blow Peter's brains out - wow! That was September 11, 1987. Note the date - I wonder if this murder has been totally obscured by the 911 attacks to the US.

The murderer was a guy named Dennis 'Leppo' Lobban who Peter Tosh had befriended - the guy had been in jail a while and Peter had helped him to find work - I guess he got paid for that kindness. Lobban was sentenced to execution which was commuted in 1995 (he remains in jail).

After 7 studio albums, 5 live albums (4 released posthumously as well as 11 compilations), you would think Peter Tosh would be a household name. Instead his music is often just thought of as another Bob Marley tune when heard on radio. Let's take a moment to both praise him, and burn this entertainer's works to memory.

On a lighter note, there's some interesting information on the Moai of Easter Island - seems they have bodies carved beneath the heads? I had never heard this before, more information here: http://www.worldsstrangest.com/mental-floss/the-easter-island-“heads”-have-bodies/ and here: http://www.eisp.org/3879/

-- John