More than 50 years after its original release, Bob Marley and The Wailers’ Burnin’ has officially been certified Gold in the United Kingdom.
According to the British Phonographic Industry so album has earned more than 100,000 equivalent units in streams and sales as measured by the Official Charts Company, as of May 15, 2026.
Originally released in October 1973, just a couple months following their Island Records debut Catch A Fire, Burnin’ was the final studio album recorded by Marley, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer before the trio pursued solo careers. The album introduced some of the most influential songs in reggae music, including “Get Up, Stand Up” and “I Shot the Sheriff,” the latter becoming an international hit after being covered by Eric Clapton.
Recorded at Harry J Studios in Kingston and later mixed in London under the guidance of producer Chris Blackwell, Burnin’ captured a more militant and politically conscious side of the Wailers. Songs such as “Burnin’ and Lootin’,”“Duppy Conqueror” and “Small Axe” blended Rastafarian spirituality, social commentary and revolutionary themes with the group’s evolving roots reggae sound.
Upon its released Burnin peaked at No. 151 on the US Billboard 200 albums chart. The Island Records project was certified Gold in the US for selling 500,000 copies on May 23, 1994.
In his memoir, Island Records founder Chris Blackwell reflected on the gradual rise of the Wailers’ early Island releases, noting that Catch a Fire, “didn’t open big but it sold forever.” Blackwell recalled that while reggae was still not taken seriously by much of the rock press at the time, the album’s strong reviews helped establish Marley and the Wailers as more than a regional act.
Blackwell also revealed how American soul music indirectly shaped one of Marley’s most enduring songs. A fan of producer Norman Whitfield’s work with Marvin Gaye, Edwin Starr and especially The Temptations, Blackwell said he once played “Papa Was a Rolling Stone” for Marley and immediately noticed a reaction.
“I could see from his face that it had switched something on in his brain,” Blackwell wrote, adding that Marley had “a very visceral response” to music he connected with. According to Blackwell, the influence of the Temptations classic can be heard directly in “Get Up, Stand Up,” particularly in the bass line.
The success of Burnin’ would eventually pave the way for Natty Dread and “No Woman, No Cry,” the records that helped take Marley’s music to a truly global audience.
Over the decades, the album has continued to grow in stature. In 2003, Rolling Stone ranked Burnin’ among the 500 greatest albums of all time, while the United States Library of Congress later added the project to its National Recording Registry, describing it as historically and culturally significant.
