Bob Marley’s ‘Legend’ is the first reggae album to chart on the Billboard 200 for 800 weeks
Bob Marley has made history again after his 1984 compilation album ‘Legend’ became the first reggae album to chart for 800 weeks on the Billboard 200.
Earlier this week (September 25), Forbes confirmed the feat, revealing that ‘Legend’ is also the second-ever album to do this. The first to hit this milestone was Pink Floyd’s 1974 classic ‘Dark Side Of The Moon’.
The achievement comes 42 years after Marley’s death in 1981, passing away from cancer at the age of 36. To honour the revolutionary reggae pioneer, ‘Legend’ was released by Island Records as a Greatest Hits record.
The album – which features Marley’s classic songs ‘No Woman No Cry’, ‘Three Little Birds’, and ‘Get Up, Stand Up – has been reissued three times since its original release; including a special edition to celebrate the 30-year anniversary of the record with never-before-heard versions of ‘Easy Skanking’ and Punky Reggae Party’.
‘Legend’ is widely regarded as the best-selling reggae album of all time, having gone multi-platinum in 10 countries. In America alone, ‘Legend’ is 15 times platinum, selling over 15 million copies since it dropped.
The news comes three days after the 50th anniversary of Bob Marley and The Wailers’ fifth studio album, ‘Catch A Fire’. Seen as the album that put reggae on the map, a reissue of the pivotal record will be made available on November 3 this year. Fans can pre-order the special edition 3CD set and 3LP vinyl set here.
In July, a trailer for the upcoming Bob Marley: One Love biopic was unveiled. The movie is set to depict the life of the prolific Jamaican icon, from his rise in fame to his death in 1981 with actor Kingsley Ben-Adir starring as Marley. The film is directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green (King Richard) and written by Zach Baylin, Frank E. Flowers and Terence Winter.
Bob Marley: One Love is set to be released on January 24. 2024.
The post Bob Marley’s ‘Legend’ is the first reggae album to chart on the Billboard 200 for 800 weeks appeared first on NME.
