Classic Pop Icons

Bob Marley’s “One Love” is Song of the Week on Classic Pop Icons.

“One Love” featured on Marley’s classic 1977 album “Exodus” and was also a posthumous hit when released on single in 1984.

Bob Marley wrote and first recorded “One Love” more than a decade before he recorded it for the “Exodus” album. The first recording was made in ska style with his group The Wailers and was released on single in 1965 and on “The Wailing Wailers” album the following year.

“One Love” (Original) – Bob Marley & The Wailers

Marley would also return to the song in 1970 when he featured it in a medley of his early recordings called “All in One”.

When Herve Muller of Rock and Folk Magazine asked Marley why he decided to re-record “One Love” for the “Exodus” album, Marley explained:

“Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. it’s a matter of vibrations. I couldn’t even know for One Love. Musically, I had never felt it as good. It’s as if I understood them [the lyrics] better now than the first time. The first time is raw inspiration. The second time is comprehension… songs evolve. I don’t know how or why. There are songs I don’t really understand until I see the reactions they lead to in the street. Someone else finds out their meaning, and I understand it in turn.”

The lyrical discrepancies between the original recording and the later version are minor and of little consequence, but the musical changes are very significant, with the slower arrangement on the later recording allowing the song to breathe more and the listener to absorb the call for peacy and unity – “One love, one heart/Let’s get together and feel all right”.

This call is framed in a religious context, with Marley inviting listeners to “…get together to fight this Holy Armageddon/So when the Man comes there will be no, no doom”. He also questions the spiritual consequences of following a negative path via lines borrowed from Curtis Mayfield’s “People Get Ready” – “Is there a place for the hopeless sinner/Who has hurt all mankind just to save his own” and “Have pity on those whose chances grow thinner/There ain’t no hiding place from the Father of Creation”. The inclusion of these lines required Marley to title the song “One Love”/”People Get Ready” when it was released on “Exodus” and to give Curtis Mayfield a songwriting credit.

Marley’s plea is particularly poignant when considering that prior to the “Exodus” sessions a carload of men armed with submachine guns stormed his house in Jamaica and shot him, his wife and his friend, Don Taylor. This assassination attempt occurred against the backdrop of escalating violence between supporters of Edward Seaga’s Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) and Prime Minister Michael Manley’s People’s National Party (PNP). Marley was scheduled to appear at Manley’s “Smile Jamaica” free concert a couple of days later, and did recover in time to play the show. He would leave Jamaica within days though and spend two years in exile in England where he would record the “Exodus” album, including finishing work on “One Love”.

The song title “One Love” was borrowed for the 1978 “One Love Peace Concert” which Bob Marley headlined in Jamaica in April 1978. The concert had been organised by members of the JLP and PNP, and featured 16 of reggae’s biggest acts. Seaga and Manley joined Marley on stage and shook hands, but this did little to suppress tensions between the two sides and the violence persisted.

The song was released on single in 1984 after Bob Marley’s untimely death. This is the video that accompanied that release.

“One Love/People Get Ready” – Bob Marley

Authorship

“One Love” was written by Bob Marley, with additional words from Curtis Mayfield’s “People Get Ready”.

Recording date/location

“One Love” was recorded late 1976 at Harry J. Studios, Kingston, Jamaica, and overdubbed at Island Studios, London, England in early 1977.

Musicians

The following musicians appeared on “One Love”:

• Bob Marley – lead vocal, rhythm guitar
• Junior Marvin – lead guitar
• Aston Barrett – bass
• Tyrone Downie – keyboards
• Carlton Barrett – drums
• Alvin “Seeco” Patterson – percussion
• The I-Threes – backing vocals.

Chart performance

The version of “One Love” on Exodus was not released as a single until 1984. The single reached number five on the UK singles chart.

Covers

“One Love” – Jason Mraz

Jason Mraz’s cover of “One Love” was featured on the “GAP – Favorite Songs (Fall 2005)” album. Mraz’s laidback style is well suited to the song and the sparse instrumentation works well with his arrangement.

“One Love” – Anakelly

Various artists contributed to the slightly bizarre 2005 album “Bossa ‘N’ Marley,” which featured some of Bob Marley’s biggest songs performed in bossa nova style. Anakelly took on “One Love” and it’s a strange cover, with the singer’s dreamy vocals constrasting strongly with the slightly manic backing. It’s doubtful that many Bob Marley devotees would have much time for the recording.

“One Love” – Texas

Scottish band Texas featured a cover of “One Love” as an additional track on their CD single “So In Love With You” in 1994. It’s a simple acoustic performance, which sounds like it was put together in impromptu fashion at the end of a session. Sharleen Spiteri is talented, but not at her best on this.

“One Love” is available on “Exodus” and on various compilations, including “Legend: The Best Of Bob Marley And The Wailers”.

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Exodus – 30th Anniversary (CD)	Buy Now	Buy Now	Buy Now
Legend: The Best Of Bob Marley And The Wailers (CD)	Buy Now	Buy Now	Buy Now