The Jamaica Observer’s Entertainment Desk presents the 10th in a series titled Bob Marley — The Last 40 Days to commemorate the 40th anniversary of his passing.
RELEASED in June 1980 by Island Records, Uprising was the 12th studio album for Bob Marley and The Wailers. It was the band’s final studio project while Marley was alive. He died in May 1981 at age 36.
Uprising has been described as one of Marley’s most religious works, with nearly every song addressing his Rastafarian beliefs. It was produced by Marley and Island Records boss Chris Blackwell.
It was the follow-up to the hard-hitting Survival which was inspired by the freedom fighter movement in Africa, which led to Marley’s performance in newly independent Zimbabwe in April 1980.
Uprising did well on the charts, peaking at number 41 on Billboard’s Black Albums Chart (now known as the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Chart), and number 45 on Billboard’s Pop Albums Chart (now known as the Billboard 200 Albums Chart).
The album also reached number six in the United Kingdom, number three in Sweden, number six in Austria, and number six in Norway.
It has to date been certified gold or platinum in France, Germany, New Zealand, Spain, the United Kingdom, and United States.
Among the songs on Uprising are Coming in From The Cold, Bad Card, Forever Loving Jah, Could You Be Loved, and Work.
Bad Card was huge in Jamaica, topping the JBC Radio Chart. Coming in From The Cold was a Top 10 hit locally, while Could You Be Loved, a reggae/disco nugget, reached number six on Billboard’s Club Play Chart and number 56 on the Black Singles Chart. It fared better in the United Kingdom, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Norway, New Zealand, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Belgium where it made the Top 10.
Could You Be Loved has been certified gold in Denmark, platinum in Italy, gold in New Zealand, and platinum in the United Kingdom.
A Definitive Remastered Edition of Uprising was released in 2001 with 12 tracks.
In commemoration of Marley’s 75th birthday last year, Eagle Records and the Bob Marley Estate released Uprising Live!. Available for the first time on vinyl, the three-LP set features 23 tracks, from Bob Marley and The Wailers’s live Uprising Tour performance in Germany in 1980.
Uprising Live! went number one on the sales-driven US Current Reggae Albums Chart in late 2020
