"I Shot the Sheriff" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Bob Marley and the Wailers | ||||
from the album Burnin' | ||||
Released | 12 February 1973 [1] | |||
Studio | Harry J. Studios, Kingston, Jamaica | |||
Genre | Reggae | |||
Length | 4:41 | |||
Label | ||||
Songwriter(s) | Bob Marley | |||
Producer(s) |
| |||
Bob Marley and the Wailers singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Audio | ||||
"I Shot the Sheriff" by Bob Marley and the Wailers on YouTube | ||||
Live video | ||||
"I Shot the Sheriff" (1977 live) by Bob Marley and the Wailers on YouTube |
"I Shot the Sheriff" is a song written by Jamaican reggae musician Bob Marley and released in 1973 with his band the Wailers.
The song was first released in 1973 on The Wailers' album Burnin' . Marley explained his intention as follows:"I want to say 'I shot the police' but the government would have made a fuss so I said 'I shot the sheriff' instead... but it's the same idea:justice." [2]
In 1992,with the controversy surrounding the Ice-T song "Cop Killer",Marley's song was often cited by Ice-T's supporters as evidence of his detractors' hypocrisy,considering that the older song was never similarly criticised despite having much the same theme. [3]
In 2012,Marley's former girlfriend Esther Anderson claimed that the lyrics,"Sheriff John Brown always hated me / For what,I don't know / Every time I plant a seed / He said,'Kill it before it grow'" are actually about Marley being very opposed to her use of birth control pills;Marley supposedly replaced the word "doctor" with sheriff. [4]
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom (BPI) [5] | Silver | 200,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
"I Shot the Sheriff" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Eric Clapton | ||||
from the album 461 Ocean Boulevard | ||||
B-side | "Give Me Strength" | |||
Released | 1974 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length |
| |||
Label | RSO | |||
Songwriter(s) | Bob Marley | |||
Producer(s) | Tom Dowd | |||
Eric Clapton singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Audio | ||||
"I Shot the Sheriff" (album version) by Eric Clapton on YouTube | ||||
"I Shot the Sheriff" (full-length version) by Eric Clapton on YouTube | ||||
Live video | ||||
"I Shot the Sheriff" (2010 live) by Eric Clapton on YouTube |
Eric Clapton recorded a cover version that was included on his 1974 album 461 Ocean Boulevard . His performance of the song adds soft rock [6] to the reggae sound. [7] Billboard described this version as being "a catchy goof of a winner" despite not containing a guitar solo. [8] Cash Box called it a "smooth bluesy rocker with lots of guitar,keyboards and strong background harmonies." [9] Record World said that Clapton is "firing straight from the hip,both vocally and riff-wise." [10] Faring better in the charts,it peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100,his only US number one to date. In 2003,Clapton's version was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. [11]
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
Certifications
|
"I Shot the Sheriff" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Warren G | ||||
from the album Take a Look Over Your Shoulder | ||||
Released | February 3, 1997 [35] | |||
Genre | Hip hop | |||
Length | 4:10 | |||
Label | Def Jam | |||
Songwriter(s) |
| |||
Producer(s) | Warren G | |||
Warren G singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Music video | ||||
"I Shot the Sheriff" on YouTube |
"I Shot the Sheriff" is the lead single released from Warren G's second album, Take a Look Over Your Shoulder . Warren replaced Marley's original lyrics with his own, although Clapton's version of the song is sampled and R&B singer Nancy Fletcher sings the original chorus. The song was a hit in several countries. In the US, it peaked at number 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified Gold by the RIAA on 2 May 1997. It peaked at number two in the UK and at number one in New Zealand. [36] [37]
The official remix was produced by EPMD member Erick Sermon, it is based around EPMD's "Strictly Business", which also sampled Clapton's version of the song.[ citation needed ]
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
Certifications
|
461 Ocean Boulevard is the second solo studio album by English musician Eric Clapton. It was released in late July 1974 by RSO Records, after the record company released the hit single "I Shot the Sheriff" earlier in the month. The album topped various international charts and sold more than two million copies.
Timepieces: The Best of Eric Clapton is a greatest hits album by British musician Eric Clapton. The album was originally released by RSO/Polydor Records in April 1982. The following year a second volume, Time Pieces Vol.II Live in the Seventies, was released by the label. The album has been reissued several times and has been awarded certifications in several regions. Billboard reported the album sold more than 13,400,000 copies worldwide.
"No Woman, No Cry" is a reggae song performed by Bob Marley and the Wailers. The song was recorded in 1974 and released on the studio album Natty Dread.
The singles discography of Eric Clapton consists of 24 early career singles that Clapton recorded with various groups and singers including The Yardbirds, John Mayall & the Blues Breakers, Cream, John Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band as well as Derek and the Dominos. As a solo performer, Clapton released 91 singles and various promotional formats from 1970 to date. His most commercially successful singles are "Lay Down Sally", "Wonderful Tonight", "Change the World", "Tears in Heaven" and Bob Marley's "I Shot the Sheriff", released in 1974, charting substantially better than Marley's own earlier release had, becoming a Billboard Hot 100 number-one hit.
Legend is a compilation album by Bob Marley and the Wailers. It was released on 7 May 1984 by Island Records. It is a greatest hits collection of singles in its original vinyl format and is the best-selling reggae album of all-time, with more than 18 million copies sold in the US, more than 3.3 million in the UK and an estimated 25 million copies sold globally. In 2003, the album was ranked number 46 in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" and maintained the ranking in a 2012 revised list.
"Tears in Heaven" is a song by English guitarist, singer, and songwriter Eric Clapton and Will Jennings, written about the death of Clapton's four-year-old son, Conor. It appeared on the 1991 Rush film soundtrack. In January 1992, Clapton performed the song in front of an audience at Bray Studios, Berkshire, England for MTV Unplugged, with the recording appearing on his Unplugged album.
"Wonderful Tonight" is a ballad written by Eric Clapton. It was included on Clapton's 1977 album Slowhand. Clapton wrote the song on his 1974 Martin D-28 guitar about Pattie Boyd. The female vocal harmonies on the song are provided by Marcella Detroit and Yvonne Elliman. The song is his most popular download on Spotify with more than 480,000,000 streams.
"After Midnight" is a rock song by J. J. Cale, first released in 1966. Eric Clapton later covered it for his eponymous album, released in 1970. Clapton's rendition became a success, prompting Cale to re-record the song for his own 1971 album Naturally. In 1987, Clapton later re-recorded the song for a Michelob beer commercial and then released the re-recording as a single. "After Midnight" has been considered one of Clapton's signature songs throughout his career. Other artists covered the song in later years.
"Stir It Up" is a song composed by Bob Marley in 1967 and first recorded by the group Bob Marley and the Wailers that year and issued as a single. It was later covered by American singer Johnny Nash on his 1972 album I Can See Clearly Now. The following year, Marley and the Wailers re-recorded the song for their album Catch a Fire.
Most of Bob Marley's early music was recorded with Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer, who together with Marley were the most prominent members of the Wailers. In 1972, the Wailers had their first hit outside Jamaica when Johnny Nash covered their song "Stir It Up", which became a UK hit. The 1973 album Catch a Fire was released worldwide, and sold well. It was followed by Burnin', which included the song "I Shot the Sheriff". Eric Clapton's cover of the song became a hit in 1974.
"Change the World" is a song written by Tommy Sims, Gordon Kennedy, and Wayne Kirkpatrick and recorded by country music artist Wynonna Judd. A later version was recorded by English singer Eric Clapton for the soundtrack of the 1996 film Phenomenon. Clapton's version was produced by R&B record producer Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds.
"My Father's Eyes" is a song written and performed by British musician Eric Clapton and produced by Clapton and Simon Climie. It was released as a single in 1998 and was featured on Clapton's thirteenth solo studio album, Pilgrim (1998). The song reached the top 40 on the US Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart, peaking at number 16, which remains his last top-40 hit in said country as of 2025. It also spent five weeks at number two on the Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary chart. It became a top-five hit in Canada, where it peaked at number two, and reached the top 20 in Austria, Iceland, and Norway. In 1999, it won a Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.
"One Love" is a ska song written by Bob Marley and recorded by his group the Wailers from their 1965 debut studio album The Wailing Wailers. It was rerecorded as part of the 1970 medley "All in One", which contained reggae reworkings of their early ska songs. This was released as a single and is also included on the compilation African Herbsman under the name "All in One".
"I Wish It Would Rain Down" is a song by English musician Phil Collins from his fourth solo studio album, ...But Seriously (1989). The song was a chart success in early 1990, peaking at No. 7 on the UK Singles Chart, No. 3 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 on the Canadian RPM 100 Singles chart; in the latter country, it was the most successful song of 1990. Collins felt that it was as close as he had ever got, at the time, to writing a blues song.
George Terry is an American rock and blues guitarist and songwriter best known for his work with Eric Clapton in the 1970s and as a session musician with other artists, including ABBA, the Bee Gees, Joe Cocker, Andy Gibb, Freddie King, Diana Ross, Stephen Stills, and Kenny Rogers.
"Could You Be Loved" is a 1980 song by Jamaican reggae band Bob Marley and the Wailers. It was released as the first single from their twelfth and last album, Uprising (1980), and is also included on their greatest-hits album Legend (1984). It was written in 1979 on an aeroplane while The Wailers were experimenting on guitar. In the middle of the song, background singers quote a verse from Bob Marley's first single "Judge Not": "The road of life is rocky; And you may stumble too. So while you point your fingers, someone else is judging you". Instruments used on the original record of this song are guitars, bass, drums, acoustic piano, the Hohner Clavinet and an organ, as well as the Brazilian cuíca. "Could You be Loved" was very successful on the charts in Europe, peaking within the top 10 in Belgium, France, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Switzerland and the UK. Additionally, it was a top 20 hit in Sweden and West Germany.
"Iron Lion Zion" is a song written and recorded in April 1973 or 1974 by Jamaican singer and songwriter Bob Marley. It was first released posthumously on 7 September 1992 on the Songs of Freedom box set, reaching number five in the UK Singles Chart. The single also peaked within the top 10 in Belgium, Finland, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. On the Eurochart Hot 100, "Iron Lion Zion" peaked at number eight. Outside Europe, it reached number two in New Zealand, number 71 in Australia and number 11 on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. A remixed version was released as a single and later included in 1995 on Natural Mystic: The Legend Lives On.
"Turn Your Lights Down Low" is a song by Jamaican reggae band Bob Marley and the Wailers from their 1977 album, Exodus. It is the only song on side B of the album that was not released as a single. However, a remastered version featuring Lauryn Hill was released in 1999. The duet was commercially successful, peaking at number one on the UK R&B Chart while topping the charts in New Zealand and Romania. It received a nomination for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals at the 43rd Grammy Awards.
"I Ain't Gonna Stand for It" is the second single from Stevie Wonder's 1980 album, Hotter Than July. It reached number four on the Billboard R&B singles chart and number 11 on the Hot 100. It also hit number 10 on the UK Singles Chart. The song is famous for Wonder's imitation of a seasoned country-and-western crooner and his inspiring drumming. Charlie and Ronnie Wilson of The Gap Band provide backing vocals on the song. It was covered by Eric Clapton in 2001.
"Promises" is a song written by Richard Feldman and Roger Linn and recorded by British singer and guitarist Eric Clapton in September 1978. It appears on Clapton's studio album Backless.