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Roger’s photographs have appeared in hundreds of magazines, books and publications, helping tell the story of reggae for generations.

And those photographs have been saved. Roger’s children, Devon and Kate, took on the enormous task of digitizing the collection, preserving tens of thousands of images before time could take its toll on the original film.

But the rest of Roger’s archive hasn’t been so lucky. Over the years, friends of Roger have stepped in to help digitize some of the archive’s most important and endangered recordings, preserving pieces of history that might otherwise have been lost. But they can only do so much. Thousands of hours of material remain un-digitized, and time is not on their side.

And unlike a photograph sitting safely in a sleeve, magnetic tape has a clock ticking inside it. The materials and chemicals that make up these tapes deteriorate with age.

Tapes can become fragile, shed their magnetic coating, suffer from sticky shed syndrome, and eventually become difficult or impossible to play.

Some of what is sitting on those shelves may exist nowhere else in the world.

That is the race at the heart of LIVICATED.

From Jamaica to Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific Islands, Bob Marley’s image has appeared on postage stamps across the world. And these are only a small part of the collection in Roger Steffens’ Reggae Archives, which also includes Marley stamps from Asia and Europe.

For decades, Roger has documented something much bigger than the international popularity of reggae: how Bob Marley became a voice embraced by people and cultures thousands of miles from Jamaica.

In many emerging and post-colonial nations, Marley’s songs about oppression, freedom, dignity, resistance and African identity spoke to experiences that were already deeply familiar. People didn’t need to be Jamaican to understand the message. They made it their own.

These stamps tell part of that story. From Jamaica to Grenada, Tanzania, Mozambique, Burundi, Niger, Burkina Faso, Mongolia and beyond, Bob’s face appearing on a nation’s postage is another small piece of evidence of just how far the music and the message traveled.

Roger has spent decades documenting this internationalization of Bob Marley and reggae: not simply how reggae spread around the world, but how the world embraced it and gave it new meaning.

Every photograph in Roger Steffens’ archives has a story the lens couldn't capture.

At first glance, this looks like a simple candid moment between Roger Steffens and Neville Garrick, Bob Marley’s legendary art director, whose relationship with Roger went back decades through their shared history of documenting and preserving reggae.

But look at what Neville is pointing at: Roger’s T-shirt.

The image on Roger’s shirt is Neville’s own artwork for Bob Marley & The Wailers’ Confrontation album.

Released posthumously in 1983, Confrontation features Bob as St. George on horseback, striking down the dragon, a representation of Babylon and the struggle of good against evil.

Neville later recalled that Bob himself had wanted the album to be called Confrontation and described its theme as “the fight of good against evil.” Neville developed the Ethiopian St. George and the Dragon concept and spent around 100 hours painting the cover.

There’s also a fascinating detail behind the artwork. According to the story preserved by Roger, Neville’s original version depicted the dragon wearing a crown, reinforcing its representation of Babylon, but the crown was removed before the artwork appeared on the finished album.

We don't know exactly what Roger and Neville were saying when this photograph was taken, but Neville pointing at his own artwork on Roger's chest, and the expressions on their faces, makes the moment speak pretty well for itself.

Sometimes the story really is hiding right there in the photograph.

From the Roger Steffens Reggae Archives

LIVICATED: THE STORY OF ROGER STEFFENS’ REGGAE ARCHIVES

Every photograph in Roger Steffens’ archives has a story the lens couldn't capture.

At first glance, this looks like a simple candid moment between Roger Steffens and Neville Garrick, Bob Marley’s legendary art director, whose relationship with Roger went back decades through their shared history of documenting and preserving reggae.

But look at what Neville is pointing at: Roger’s T-shirt.

The image on Roger’s shirt is Neville’s own artwork for Bob Marley & The Wailers’ Confrontation album.

Released posthumously in 1983, Confrontation features Bob as St. George on horseback, striking down the dragon, a representation of Babylon and the struggle of good against evil.

Neville later recalled that Bob himself had wanted the album to be called Confrontation and described its theme as “the fight of good against evil.” Neville developed the Ethiopian St. George and the Dragon concept and spent around 100 hours painting the cover.

There’s also a fascinating detail behind the artwork. According to the story preserved by Roger, Neville’s original version depicted the dragon wearing a crown, reinforcing its representation of Babylon, but the crown was removed before the artwork appeared on the finished album.

We don't know exactly what Roger and Neville were saying when this photograph was taken, but Neville pointing at his own artwork on Roger's chest, and the expressions on their faces, makes the moment speak pretty well for itself.

Sometimes the story really is hiding right there in the photograph.

From the Roger Steffens Reggae Archives

LIVICATED: THE STORY OF ROGER STEFFENS’ REGGAE ARCHIVES

Over the years, he even conducted interviews while getting high with some of the artists he was interviewing, including Peter Tosh.

But there was one exception. In the 1980s, Roger stopped smoking completely for 14 months. Then came an opportunity that was apparently too good to pass up: the chance to smoke with Paul McCartney. 😂 And just like that, the 14-month spell was over.

Another story from a lifetime spent inside reggae culture — told by the man who was there.

🎬 LIVICATED – THE STORY OF ROGER STEFFENS’ REGGAE ARCHIVES

#RogerSteffens #Livicated #PeterTosh #PaulMcCartney #ReggaeHistory #ReggaeCulture

THE STORY BEHIND THE SHOT

Every photograph in Roger Steffens’ archives has a story the lens couldn’t capture. Sometimes, the story is about what happens when the people who made the history step inside the archive themselves.

When David Hinds of Steel Pulse visited Roger Steffens’ Reggae Archives in Los Angeles, he wasn’t simply walking through a collection of reggae memorabilia. He was walking through a history he helped create.

Roger has followed, documented and preserved the story of Steel Pulse for decades. In fact, his connection with the band goes back to the early 1980s, when he worked in reggae promotion at Elektra Records on Steel Pulse’s True Democracy.

During the visit, David explored the rooms packed with photographs, records, posters, books and pieces of reggae history. In these photos, you can see him discovering some of those pieces for himself — including a Bob Marley & The Wailers concert poster covered in signatures and other artifacts Roger has preserved over the years.

There’s something special about watching an artist encounter his own history through someone else’s lifetime of preservation.

And perhaps that’s what Roger’s archives are really about: not simply collecting the past, but keeping it alive long enough for the people who made it — and the generations that follow — to experience it again.

From Roger Steffens’ Reggae Archives

LIVICATED – THE STORY OF ROGER STEFFENS’ REGGAE ARCHIVES

Every photograph in Roger Steffens’ archives has a story the lens couldn’t capture. Sometimes, the story is about what happens when the people who made the history step inside the archive themselves.

When David Hinds of Steel Pulse visited Roger Steffens’ Reggae Archives in Los Angeles, he wasn’t simply walking through a collection of reggae memorabilia. He was walking through a history he helped create.

Roger has followed, documented and preserved the story of Steel Pulse for decades. In fact, his connection with the band goes back to the early 1980s, when he worked in reggae promotion at Elektra Records on Steel Pulse’s True Democracy.

During the visit, David explored the rooms packed with photographs, records, posters, books and pieces of reggae history. In these photos, you can see him discovering some of those pieces for himself — including a Bob Marley & The Wailers concert poster covered in signatures and other artifacts Roger has preserved over the years.

There’s something special about watching an artist encounter his own history through someone else’s lifetime of preservation.

And perhaps that’s what Roger’s archives are really about: not simply collecting the past, but keeping it alive long enough for the people who made it — and the generations that follow — to experience it again.

From Roger Steffens’ Reggae Archives

LIVICATED – THE STORY OF ROGER STEFFENS’ REGGAE ARCHIVES

While digging through an old KCRW cassette of Roger's interview with the legendary Nina Simone, Roger couldn't resist singing one of her songs for us... complete with some wonderfully strange lyrics!

It's moments like these that make spending time in the archives so special. Every tape, photograph, and recording has a story, and Roger always seems to have one more to tell.

LIVICATED – THE STORY OF ROGER STEFFENS' REGGAE ARCHIVES

Because preserving history isn't just about saving recordings... it's about preserving the memories, laughter, and stories that come with them.

Have you ever heard Roger sing?

A huge thank you to everyone who believed in this project and helped us preserve one of the world's greatest collections of reggae history.

Your support is making LIVICATED possible.

... he felt a philosophical kinship with her and was deeply impressed by her voice.

That connection led to three weeks of recording in Kingston, Jamaica, in 1975

The result was Escape From Babylon (1976), produced by Bob Marley and featuring The Wailers, The I-Threes, Earl "Chinna" Smith, Aston "Family Man" Barrett, Carlton Barrett, Al Anderson, and even Lee "Scratch" Perry as co-producer.

Roger Steffens has often pointed to unreleased demos and composing sessions as invaluable insights into Bob Marley's creative process. The 1975 recordings with Martha Veléz offer a rare glimpse of Marley developing songs in an intimate acoustic setting.

Bob didn't just produce the album. He also contributed several of his own songs, including "Bend Down Low," "Get Up, Stand Up," and "There You Are" ("Stand Alone"), while "Disco Night" was co-written by Bob Marley and Martha Veléz. During this period, some songwriting credits were also published under Rita Marley's name because of Bob's publishing dispute.

These rare signed front and back album covers are part of Roger Steffens' Reggae Archives, preserving one of the least -known collaborations in Bob Marley's remarkable career

LIVICATED – THE STORY OF ROGER STEFFENS' REGGAE ARCHIVES

Have you ever listened to Escape From Babylon?

More than just a photograph, it's a rare moment connecting two generations of reggae history, preserved forever in Roger Steffens' extraordinary Reggae Archives.

LIVICATED – THE STORY OF ROGER STEFFENS' REGGAE ARCHIVES

Behind the Contact Sheet. 📸

Before digital cameras, photographers had to wait until their film was developed to see what they had captured. Contact sheets like this one were an essential part of the creative process, allowing them to review every frame before selecting the final images.

These are the kinds of hidden treasures preserved in Roger Steffens' extraordinary Reggae Archives, one of the world's largest collections dedicated to reggae history.

🎬 LIVICATED – THE STORY OF ROGER STEFFENS' REGGAE ARCHIVES tells the story behind these priceless photographs and the lifelong mission to preserve them for future generations.

Which frame would you choose as your favorite?

In 1978, legendary Jamaican artist Neville Garrick designed the cover for Peter Tosh's Bush Doctor.

The first UK pressing included a scratch-and-sniff sticker scented to smell like ganja; a bold marketing idea decades before "viral marketing" was even a term.

The promotion was so controversial that major British retailers, including Boots and W.H. Smith, refused to stock copies with the scented sticker, forcing EMI to produce replacement sleeves without it.

Today, it's considered one of reggae's most memorable promotional campaigns. Just one more incredible story preserved in Roger Steffens' reggae archives.

This is not Roger's copy, his is framed, autographed, and stored in a secure warehouse in the Los Angeles area

Documentary Livicated: The Story Of Roger Steffens' Reggae Archives

For Bob, football wasn't just a pastime. It was part of his daily life, whether he was in Kingston, London, or on tour.

These photographs remind us that even on concert days, the beautiful game was never far away.

📸 Photos by Roger Steffens.

Roger's relationship with Burning Spear extended well beyond these images. While working at Slash Records, he handled national reggae promotion for Burning Spear's 1986 album People of the World, helping introduce the record to a broader audience in the United States.

He also featured Burning Spear's music on his acclaimed radio programs and welcomed the legendary artist for interviews, giving listeners a deeper appreciation of the man and the message behind the music.

These photographs reflect more than a moment in time—they're part of Roger's lifelong dedication to documenting, promoting, and preserving reggae's rich cultural legacy.