10 Best Bob Marley Songs

Written by Bob Marley and Peter Tosh, this song specifically refers to the Rastafarian belief (a movement that originated in Jamaica in the '30s) that the Emperor of Ethiopia -- Haile Selassie I -- was God incarnate. This was the last song Marley performed on stage -- a performance at the Stanley Theatre in Pittsburgh on September 23, 1980.

Released in 1997 on the 'Exodus' album, the single reached No. 27 on the UK Single Chart. This Bob Marley song was later covered as a single by Annie Lennox and reached No. 37 in the UK Single Chart in 1995.

The version we know today is on the 'Catch a Fire' album, released in 1973 by Island Records. There are however, two other previous releases of the song: First as a single on The Wailers own label, 'Wail'n Soul'm' (which soon after folded); and second on Johnny Nash's 1972 album, 'I Can See Clearly Now,' which is how the song originally gained popularity. The original album cover for 'Catch a Fire,' included a sleeve that functioned as a Zippo lighter case; only 20,000 copies of this cover were made.

The Wailers wrote this song in 1979 on an airplane while experimenting on the guitar. In the middle of the song, the background singers sing a few lines inspired from Marley's first single, 'Judge Not' released in 1961 changing, "you talk about me," to "you point your fingers": "The road of life is rocky and you may stumble too, So while you point your fingers someone else is judging you."

From the album 'Exodus,' the single reached No. 17 on the UK's Top 20 in 1980. The music video depicts a young girl walking the streets carrying a T.V. showing video clips of Bob Marley. Various drawn graffiti animation (remember this is the '80s) of posterized birds and lyrics are included in the music video as well.

The single, released in 1977 was also on the 'Exodus' album, which was recorded mostly in London while Marley was recovering from an assassination attempt.

Released on the 'Natty Dread' album in 1974, this version is slightly different than the widely known 1975 version on the album 'Live!' The song credits were given to Marley's childhood friend Vincent Ford so that Ford could continue to run his Trenchtown soup kitchen.

From the album 'Kaya,' this Bob Marley song reached No. nine on the UK charts in 1978. The music video includes supermodel Naomi Campbell at age seven.

The song lyrics depict some historical inaccuracies, but the concept of the song came from Marley's appreciation for the Buffalo Soldiers (U.S. African-American cavalry regiments that originated during the Indian Wars) and invokes them as a symbol of black resistance.

'One Love/People Get Ready' is a hybrid of The Wailers 'One Love' ska rendition on their 1965 album, 'The Wailing Wailers' and The Impressions' song 'People Get Ready,' written by Curtis Mayfield. Marley's inspiration for this song came from his friend, painter Roman Selvaggio.