“One Love” by Bob Marley

“One Love” (also known as “One Love/People Get Ready”) is an iconic song by the late Jamaican reggae singer and songwriter Bob Marley. The lyrics mainly preach love and unity among the people of the world. In the song, Marley calls on all us to put our differences aside and come together as one. Besides preaching unity, some of the song’s lyrics also make mention of evil doers and the punishments that await them in the end.

Music Video

The official music video of the song, which was directed by British film director and musician Don Letts, was released in 1984. This was about three years after Marley’s death. A number of famous personalities make cameo appearances in the music video. They include the following:

• Paul McCartney of the Beatles fame
• Chas Smash of the band Madness
• Members of the British pop group Bananarama

Writing Credits for “One Love/People Get Ready”

“One Love” was written by Bob Marley and American singer and songwriter Curtis Mayfield. The reason Mayfield received a co-writing credit on the song is because the song contains a prominent interpretation of the iconic 1965 Curtis Mayfield written song. Said song, which is titled “People Get Ready“, was performed by the American music group The Impressions.

Release Date

The song was originally released in 1965 as a single in Jamaica by the Jamaican reggae band The Wailers. The 1965 version of the song, which is its original version, was titled just “One Love” because it didn’t credit Mayfield as a co-writer. However, after being released again in 1977, Mayfield was given co-writing credits. The title was subsequently changed to “One Love/People Get Ready”.

The original version of this track appeared as the fifth track on the 1965 debut album of The Wailers titled “The Wailing Wailers”.

The 1976 version (the version that credits Mayfield as a co-writer) appears on the ninth studio album of the reggae band Bob Marley & the Wailers titled “Exodus”.

“One Love / People Get Ready” was one of the tracks on Marley’s iconic “Legend” compilation album. The album, which was released in 1984, sold about 28 million copies across the globe. Today, that project is considered the best-selling reggae album ever released. The album is also ranked high among the greatest albums ever made.

Honors

In 2000, “One Love/People Get Together” was chosen by the BBC as the Song of the Millennium.

The song peaked at number 5 in the United Kingdom’s official singles charts. It also scored Marley a top 10 hit in these countries:

• New Zealand (1)
• Netherlands (2)
• Belgium (4)

Who is the boy in the music video of “One Love”?

Contrary to popular belief, the young boy in the music video of “One Love” isn’t any of Bob Marley’s children. His name is Jesse Lawrence and he is a British actor. FYI: Jesse also starred in the music video of Marley’s song “Waiting in Vain”.

What musical genre is “One Love/People Get Ready”?

It is a roots reggae song.