"Waiting in Vain" | ||||
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Single by Bob Marley & the Wailers | ||||
from the album Exodus | ||||
B-side | "Roots" | |||
Released | 1977 | |||
Genre | Reggae | |||
Length | 4:15 | |||
Label | Tuff Gong, Island | |||
Songwriter(s) | Bob Marley | |||
Bob Marley & the Wailers singles chronology | ||||
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Audio | ||||
"Waiting in Vain" on YouTube |
"Waiting in Vain" is a song written by reggae musician Bob Marley and recorded by Bob Marley and the Wailers, for their 1977 album Exodus . Released as a single, it reached number 27 on the UK Singles Chart.
The single was one of only a few of Marley's Island singles to feature a non-album B-side, this being the song "Roots", an outtake from the Rastaman Vibration sessions. This later appeared on the compilation Rebel Music and on Exodus (Deluxe Edition) . The 1981 reissue of Waiting in Vain featured a megamix called Marley Mix Up Medley instead.
A rare 19-minute long acoustic version is available on YouTube. [1]
Chart (1977–1984) | Peak position |
---|---|
UK Singles (OCC) [2] | 27 (1977) |
UK Singles (OCC) [2] | 31 (1984) |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom (BPI) [3] | Gold | 400,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
In 1993, American Jazz guitarist Lee Ritenour recorded his version of the song featuring British reggae artist Maxi Priest. It was also included on his 21st album Wes Bound . The single peaked at number 54 in the US R&B chart. [4]
Chart (1993) | Peak position |
---|---|
US R&B chart [4] | 54 |
"Waiting in Vain" | ||||
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Single by Annie Lennox | ||||
from the album Medusa | ||||
Released | 18 September 1995 [5] | |||
Length | 5:41 | |||
Label | Arista | |||
Songwriter(s) | Bob Marley | |||
Producer(s) | Stephen Lipson | |||
Annie Lennox singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"Waiting in Vain" on YouTube | ||||
Audio | ||||
"Waiting in Vain" on YouTube |
"Waiting in Vain" was recorded by Annie Lennox for her album Medusa in 1995,18 years after Marley recorded it. It was released as the album's third single in 1995 and reached number thirty-one on the UK Singles Chart. Lennox's version was used in the 2001 film Serendipity ,the 2002 film Changing Lanes ,the 2003 film In the Cut ,and the final episode of Peter Kay's Car Share in 2018.
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Waiting in Vain" (Single Mix) | 4:07 |
2. | "No More 'I Love You's'" (Junior Vasquez Mix) | 7:32 |
3. | "Waiting in Vain" (Strong Body Mix) | 5:27 |
4. | "Medusa" (Interview excerpts) | 5:01 |
Chart (1995) | Peak position |
---|---|
UK Singles Chart [6] | 31 |
In 2023, the song was translated into the traditional Hawaiian language and released by Hawaiian Reggae band theVitals808 under the title "Kali Ana Au". [7] [8]
Exodus is the ninth studio album by Jamaican reggae band Bob Marley and the Wailers, first released in June 1977 through Island Records, following Rastaman Vibration (1976). The album's production has been characterized as laid-back with pulsating bass beats and an emphasis on piano, trumpet and guitar. Unlike previous albums from the band, Exodus thematically moves away from cryptic story-telling; instead it revolves around themes of change, religious politics, and sexuality. The album is split into two halves: the first half revolves around religious politics, while the second half is focused on themes of making love and keeping faith.
Catch a Fire is the fifth studio album by the reggae band The Wailers, released in April 1973. It was their first album released by Island Records. After finishing a UK tour with Johnny Nash, they had started laying down tracks for JAD Records when a disputed CBS contract with Danny Sims created tensions. The band did not have enough money to return to Jamaica, so their road manager Brent Clarke approached producer Chris Blackwell, who agreed to advance The Wailers money for an album. They instead used this money to pay their fares back home, where they completed the recordings that constitute Catch a Fire. The album has nine songs, two of which were written and composed by Peter Tosh; the remaining seven were by Bob Marley. While Bunny Wailer is not credited as a writer, the group's writing style was a collective process. For the immediate follow-up album, Burnin', also released in 1973, he contributed four songs. After Marley returned with the tapes to London, Blackwell reworked the tracks at Island Studios, with contributions by Muscle Shoals session musician Wayne Perkins, who played guitar on three overdubbed tracks. The album had a limited original release under the name The Wailers in a sleeve depicting a Zippo lighter, designed by graphic artists Rod Dyer and Bob Weiner; subsequent releases had an alternative cover designed by John Bonis, featuring an Esther Anderson portrait of Marley smoking a "spliff", and crediting the band as Bob Marley and the Wailers.
Rastaman Vibration is the eighth studio album by Jamaican reggae band Bob Marley and the Wailers, released in April 1976.
Kaya is the tenth studio album by the Jamaican band Bob Marley and the Wailers, released in 1978. The album consists of tracks recorded alongside those released on the Exodus album. It was produced by the band.
"No Woman, No Cry" is a reggae song by Bob Marley and the Wailers. The song was recorded in 1974 and released on the studio album Natty Dread.
Bob Marley and the Wailers were a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae band. The founding members, in 1963, were Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, and Bunny Wailer.
Babylon by Bus is a live album released by Bob Marley and the Wailers in 1978. The tracks on this album are considered, with two exceptions, to be from the Pavillon de Paris concerts over 3 nights, 25–27 June 1978, during the Kaya Tour, though there are discrepancies in the track listing.
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 over 12 million sold in the US, over 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", maintaining the ranking in a 2012 revised list, but dropping to number 48 in the 2020 revised list.
Gold is a two-disc compilation album by Bob Marley and the Wailers that was released on the Island Records label in 2005. The compilation is intended to be a career-spanning retrospective, and no fewer than two songs are selected from each of Bob Marley and the Wailers' albums with the company. Songs range from his first album for the label, Catch a Fire, and span all the way through to the last album Marley would live to see released in his lifetime, Uprising, concluding with the posthumous releases "Iron Lion Zion", and tracks from Confrontation.
"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.
One drop rhythm is a reggae style drum beat.
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.
"Is This Love" is a song by Bob Marley and the Wailers, released on their 1978 album Kaya. The song became one of the best-known Marley songs and was part of the Legend compilation. It peaked at number 9 in the UK charts upon its release in 1978. A live rendition of the song can be found on the Babylon by Bus live album from Paris in 1978.
Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers were a Jamaican-American reggae family group whose line-up consisted of the children of musicians, Bob Marley and Rita Marley, which includes lead singer Ziggy Marley with Sharon Marley, Cedella Marley, and Stephen Marley. Formed in 1979 in Brooklyn, New York, Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers members began their musical endeavours in their pre-teens under the name the Melody Makers.
"Three Little Birds" is a song by Bob Marley and the Wailers. It is the fourth track on side two of their 1977 album Exodus and was released as a single in 1980. The song reached the Top 20 in the UK, peaking at number 17. It is one of Marley's most popular songs and has been covered by numerous other artists. The song is often thought to be named "Don't Worry About a Thing" or "Every Little Thing is Gonna Be Alright", because of the prominent and repeated use of these phrases in the chorus.
"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".
"Jamming" is a song by the reggae band Bob Marley and the Wailers from their 1977 album Exodus. The song also appears on the compilation album Legend. The song was re-released 10 years later as a tribute to Bob Marley and was again a hit, as in the Netherlands, where it was classified in the charts for 4 weeks. In Jamaican patois the word jamming refers to a getting together or celebration. It is still receiving moderate airplay from adult alternative stations.
"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.
One Love: The Very Best of Bob Marley & The Wailers is a compilation album of Bob Marley and the Wailers songs that was released on the Island Records label in 2001.
"Exodus" is a song written by reggae musician Bob Marley and recorded by Bob Marley and the Wailers, for the Exodus (1977) album. Released as a single, it reached number 14 on the UK Singles Chart. "Exodus" was Marley's first single to receive widespread airplay on black radio stations in the US, expanding the artist's predominantly white college age and Caribbean expats fanbase in the country.