Bob Marley’s backing vocal trio with Rita Marley and Judy Mowatt was called the I Threes.
The group consisted of Rita Marley, Marcia Griffiths, and Judy Mowatt. They became the principal backing singers for Bob Marley and the Wailers during the band’s internationally successful period in the 1970s and early 1980s.
The I Threes added close harmonies and a distinctive vocal presence to recordings and concerts. Their work can be heard on major Marley albums and in performances of songs such as “No Woman, No Cry” and “Could You Be Loved.”
A common mix-up is to call the trio the Wailers. The Wailers referred to Marley’s band, while the I Threes were the female vocal group supporting it. Rita Marley was both a member of the trio and Bob Marley’s wife.