One Love/People Get Ready

Last updated
"One Love"
Song by the Wailers
from the album The Wailing Wailers
Released1965
Recorded1965
Studio Jamaica (Brentford Road, Kingston)
Genre Ska, rocksteady
Length3:20
Label Studio One
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) Clement Dodd
"One Love / People Get Ready"
Single by Bob Marley and the Wailers
from the album Exodus
B-side "So Much Trouble in the World"
Released16 April 1984
Recorded1977
Genre Roots reggae
Length2:54
Label Island
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) Bob Marley and the Wailers
Bob Marley and the Wailers singles chronology
"Buffalo Soldier"
(1983)
"One Love / People Get Ready"
(1984)
"Iron Lion Zion"
(1992)
Official Music Video
"One Love/People Get Ready" on YouTube

"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".

Contents

The famous version of "One Love" that appears on their album Exodus was recorded in 1977 for Island Records under the title of "One Love/People Get Ready". This version credits Curtis Mayfield (as Island Records wanted to avoid copyright problems), and it gives co-authorship credits to both Marley and Mayfield as it contains an interpolation of the Impressions' song "People Get Ready", written by Mayfield. As the main artist, Marley and his group were credited as Bob Marley and the Wailers. It was not released as a single until 16 April 1984, to promote the forthcoming greatest hits album Legend . However, the single became one of his biggest hits and has been included on many of Marley and the Wailers subsequent compilation albums. The original recording of the song does not credit Mayfield's song and is simply titled "One Love"; this is because copyright law was not enforced for Jamaican recordings at this time. The original song was published in the key of B♭ major, but it has since been transposed so it is in the key of C major.

In 2007, the 1965 recording of "One Love" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. [1]

Music videos

The first music video was a posthumous release directed by Don Letts in 1984 to accompany the Bob Marley and the Wailers compilation album, Legend . It stars a young British-Jamaican boy, Jesse Lawrence, in his home on the World's End Estate, [2] and on the King's Road dancing at the head of a large crowd of punks, locals and tourists as well as archival footage of Marley (from the "Is This Love" music video). It also features several cameo appearances including Paul McCartney, two members of Bananarama, Neville Staple of The Specials, members of the reggae groups Aswad and Musical Youth, Suggs and Chas Smash of Madness; some of the short clips in this video are also in Madness' video for their song "The Return of the Los Palmas 7". The song was also released alongside the video and gave Marley a posthumous UK hit when it reached number 5 in May 1984. [3]

A second music video for "One Love" was produced by Marley's estate in 2014, with fans submitting video ideas through Tongal and then ultimately compiling a video of diverse contributors lip-syncing and dancing to the song. [4]

Charts

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Italy (FIMI) [21] Gold25,000
New Zealand (RMNZ) [22] Gold10,000*
Spain (PROMUSICAE) [23] Gold30,000
United Kingdom (BPI) [24] Platinum600,000

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Related Research Articles

<i>Exodus</i> (Bob Marley and the Wailers album) 1977 studio album by Bob Marley and the Wailers

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.

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