Although Bob Marley is currently reggae’s biggest star, with a major Paramount Pictures movie set to be released about his life, he had only one Hot 100 chart entry before his passing in 1981 according to Billboard. However, he holds the record for the most No. 1s, totaling 19, in the 30-year history of Billboard’s Reggae Albums chart.
His album, “Legend: The Best of Bob Marley and The Wailers,” has spent an impressive 820 weeks on the Billboard 200, this week ranking at No. 57 (peaking No. 5 in 2014). This album is the second-longest-charting album in Billboard history.
Marley’s influence extends to numerous Hot 100 chart entries under songwriter billing due to covers, samples, or interpolations of his songs.
These include: Eric Clapton’s “I Shot the Sheriff,” ((No. 1, 1974), Warren G’s “I Shot the Sheriff,” (No. 20, 1997)), 50 Cent’s “Window Shopper,” (No. 20, 2005) and Rihanna’s “Redemption Song” (No. 81, 2010).
Billboard lists the Marley Family’s Hot 100 peak positions chronologically as:
- “Roots, Rock, Reggae,” Bob Marley and The Wailers, No. 51 (1976)
- “Tomorrow People,” Ziggy Marley and The Melody Makers, No. 39 (1988)
- “Good Time,” Ziggy Marley and The Melody Makers, No. 85 (1991)
- “Avenues,” Refugee Camp All Stars feat. Pras with Ky-Mani, No. 35 (1997)
- “Gotta Be…Movin’ On Up,” Prince Be & Ky-Mani, No. 90 (1998)
- “Welcome To Jamrock,” Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley, No. 55 (2005)
- “Chained to the Rhythm,” Katy Perry feat. Skip Marley, No. 4 (2017)
- “Bam,” Jay-Z feat. Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley, No. 47 (2017)
- “Praise Jah in the Moonlight,” YG Marley, No. 74 (2024)
“Praise Jah In The Moonlight” is the latest entry and it includes a sample of Bob Marley and The Wailers’ 1978 track “Crisis,” resulting in Bob Marley being listed as a co-songwriter on the track alongside YG and his mother Lauryn Hill. This marks Bob Marley’s first appearance on the Hot 100 since his writing credit on James Blunt’s “Stay the Night” which peaked at No. 94 in the week of February 5, 2011, which interpolates Marley’s 1978 classic “Is This Love.”
“Praise Jah” debuts prior to the theatrical release of “Bob Marley: One Love” (Feb. 14), a biopic about the late icon directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green. YG’s performances of the song at several of Hill’s tour stops generated interest leading up to its official release, with buzz spreading to TikTok where the song has been featured in over 150,000 clips to date.
