Bob Marley, The Wailers, and Bob Marley & The Wailers are all separate entities, but record labels have been using them interchangeably to sell the "Bob Marley" brand. Bob Marley formed the group known specifically as Bob Marley & The Wailers in 1974 after the dissolution of the original Wailers, when Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer left the group. Some labels have repackaged recordings from the original Wailers as Bob Marley & The Wailers material. As a result, Bob Marley & The Wailers can refer to any music released by Marley from the 1960s on.
Bob Marley & The Wailers achieved more success and attention in the United Kingdom than they did in the United States. The reason for this is two-fold. U.S. radio stations were confused as to how to market the band. Reggae was a fusion of seemingly disparate genres like R&B and rock, and programmers couldn't decide on which strict format to include this music. In the late 1970s, black radio stations rejected reggae, as it didn't fit in with disco, which was then in vogue. U.S. pop stations were focused on new wave, and reggae fell by the wayside there as well. The U.S. didn't come around to the band until the 1990s, when the success of the hits collection, "Legend -- The Best of Bob Marley & The Wailers," sparked interest in all Marley music.
Bob Marley & The Wailers' breakthrough into the mainstream came in 1975, with the release of their "Live!" LP, a recording of their July 18, 1975 show at the Lyceum in London. The live version of "No Woman, No Cry" became a Top 40 hit in the U.K., renewing interest in its original album release, "Natty Dread." The "Live!" album charted both in the UK and US.
Bob Marley & The Wailers, like the original Wailers, were a group with a message, who championed the working class and protested political regimes. Releases like 1976's "Rastaman Vibration," broadcast Marley's political beliefs in songs like "Who the Cap Fit" and "War." The band's continued success lead to Marley's importance as a political figure in Jamaica. Bob Marley & The Wailers gave a free concert in 1976 to promote peace in city slums. Bob Marley & The Wailers songs like "Get Up, Stand Up" urged for people to literally stand up for their rights.