"No Woman, No Cry" | |
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Song by Bob Marley and the Wailers | |
from the album Natty Dread | |
Language | English, Jamaican Patois |
Released | 25 October 1974 |
Recorded | 1974 |
Studio | Harry J. Studios, Kingston, Jamaica |
Genre | Reggae |
Length | 3:46 |
Label | Island/Tuff Gong |
Songwriter(s) | Vincent Ford |
Producer(s) | Chris Blackwell and the Wailers |
"No Woman, No Cry (Live '75)" | ||||
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Single by Bob Marley and the Wailers | ||||
from the album Live! | ||||
Language | English, Jamaican Patois | |||
B-side | "Kinky Reggae" | |||
Released | 29 August 1975 [1] live version | |||
Recorded | 17 July 1975 | |||
Venue | Lyceum Theatre, London | |||
Genre | Reggae | |||
Length | 7:07 | |||
Label | Island | |||
Songwriter(s) | Vincent Ford, Bob Marley (uncredited) | |||
Producer(s) | Bob Marley and the Wailers, Steve Smith, Chris Blackwell | |||
Bob Marley and the Wailers singles chronology | ||||
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"No Woman, No Cry" is a reggae song performed by Bob Marley and the Wailers. The song was recorded in 1974 and released on the studio album Natty Dread . [2]
The live recording of this song from the 1975 album Live! was released as a single and is the best-known version; it was later included on several compilation albums, including the greatest hits compilation Legend . It was recorded at the Lyceum Theatre in London on 17 July 1975 as part of his Natty Dread Tour . [3]
The live version of the song ranked No. 37 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. [4]
In 2005, the live version of the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. [5]
Although Bob Marley is widely believed to have written the song, [6] [7] or at least the melody, [8] songwriting credit was given to Vincent Ford, a friend of Marley's who ran a soup kitchen in Trenchtown, the ghetto of Kingston, Jamaica, where Marley grew up (he specifically mentions the Government Yards of Trenchtown, a public housing project). The royalty payments received by Ford ensured his efforts would continue. [9]
The original studio version of the song used a drum machine. Jean Roussel provided the arrangement and Hammond organ parts for this recording.[ citation needed ] The title and main refrain, "No Woman, No Cry", means "Woman, don't cry". [10] The lyric is sometimes misunderstood outside Jamaica to mean "if there is no woman, there is no reason to cry". [11] The lyric is rendered "No, woman, nuh cry" in Jamaican Patois. The "nuh" is pronounced with a short schwa vowel (a "mumbled" vowel, often represented as "uh" in spelling) and represents a clitic ("weakened") form of "no".
Chart (1975) | Peak position |
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Australia (Kent Music Report) [12] | 97 |
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) [13] | 23 |
UK Singles (OCC) [14] | 22 |
Chart (1981) | Peak position |
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New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) [15] | 30 |
UK Singles (OCC) [16] | 8 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil) [17] | Gold | 30,000* |
Italy (FIMI) [18] | Gold | 15,000‡ |
Spain (PROMUSICAE) [19] | Gold | 30,000‡ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [20] | Platinum | 600,000‡ |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
"No Woman, No Cry" | ||||
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Single by Fugees | ||||
from the album The Score | ||||
Released | 18 November 1996 [21] | |||
Genre | Reggae | |||
Length | 4:33 | |||
Label | Ruffhouse | |||
Songwriter(s) | Vincent Ford, Bob Marley (uncredited) | |||
Producer(s) | Wyclef Jean, Lauryn Hill | |||
Fugees singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"No Woman, No Cry" on YouTube |
"No Woman, No Cry" was covered by American hip hop group Fugees. It was released in November 1996 as the fourth single from their second studio album, The Score (1996). The song was produced by Wyclef Jean and Lauryn Hill. Fugees' version of the track features Jean on lead vocals and changes the lyric "in a government yard in Trenchtown" to "in a project yard in Brooklyn." An official remix of the track, featuring Stephen Marley, was included on the group's third release, Bootleg Versions . Jean later recorded a solo version of the track for his 2003 anthology Greatest Hits .
Fugees' version was successful worldwide, peaking atop the New Zealand Singles Chart for two weeks, reaching number-two in the United Kingdom and becoming a top 40 hit in 13 additional countries. It did not chart on the US Billboard Hot 100 due to not receiving a physical release in the US, which at the time was a requirement for songs to appear on the Hot 100. It instead charted on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart, peaking at number 38.
Larry Flick from Billboard wrote, "Fugees continue to offer the hip-hop masses a thorough musical history—this time targeting Bob Marley's classic reggae hit 'No Woman, No Cry'. Steve Marley's heartwarming vocal similarity to his dad and Wyclef's present-day Brooklyn, N.Y.- project-sensitive lyrics successfully bind new jacks to danceball's reggae origins. The music video for the single continues the legacy: Lauryn Hill gets her unique vocal swerve on with the Melody Makers in scenes reminiscent of Rita, Judy, and Marcia's I-Three days, and early Wailers footage interspersed with the collaborators' studio time supplies an overall tear-jerking, historic experience." [22]
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
New Zealand (RMNZ) [47] | Gold | 5,000* |
United Kingdom (BPI) [48] | Silver | 200,000^ |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
"No Woman, No Cry" | ||||
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Single by Tems and Marvel | ||||
from the album Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (soundtrack) | ||||
Released | 25 July 2022 | |||
Genre | Reggae, R&B | |||
Length | 3:34 | |||
Label | ||||
Songwriter(s) | Temilade Openiyi, Bob Marley | |||
Producer(s) | Ludwig Göransson | |||
Tems singles chronology | ||||
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"No Woman, No Cry" was covered by Nigerian singer, Tems and Marvel Music for the soundtrack of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever . [49] [50] [51] It was produced by Ludwig Göransson and released on 25 July 2022 as the lead single off the EP. [52] [53] It received generally positive reception from fans who viewed the teaser trailer and it debuted at number one on the Billboard World Digital Song Sales chart. [54]
Chart (2022) | Peak position |
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US Afrobeats Songs ( Billboard ) [55] | 7 |
US Digital Song Sales ( Billboard ) [56] | 50 |
US World Digital Song Sales ( Billboard ) [57] | 1 |
Natty Dread is the seventh album by Bob Marley and the Wailers, released in 1974. Previously Marley had recorded with Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer as the Wailers, and this was his first record without them.
Exodus is the ninth studio album by Jamaican reggae band Bob Marley and the Wailers, first released in June 1977 through Island Records, following Rastaman Vibration (1976). The album's production has been characterized as laid-back with pulsating bass beats and an emphasis on piano, trumpet and guitar. Unlike previous albums from the band, Exodus thematically moves away from cryptic story-telling; instead it revolves around themes of change, religious politics, and sexuality. The album is split into two halves: the first half revolves around religious politics, while the second half is focused on themes of making love and keeping faith.
Rastaman Vibration is the eighth studio album by Jamaican reggae band Bob Marley and the Wailers, released in April 1976.
The Score is the second studio album by the hip hop trio Fugees, released worldwide on February 13, 1996, on Columbia Records. The album features a wide range of samples and instrumentation, with many aspects of alternative hip hop that would come to dominate the hip-hop music scene in the mid- to late-1990s. Primarily, The Score's production was handled by the Fugees themselves, Jerry Duplessis and Warren Riker, with additional production from Salaam Remi, John Forté, Diamond D, and Shawn King. The album's guest verses are from Outsidaz members Rah Digga, Young Zee, and Pacewon, as well as John Forté, and Diamond D. Most versions of the album feature four bonus tracks, including three remixes of "Fu-Gee-La", and a short acoustic Wyclef Jean solo track entitled "Mista Mista".
Bob Marley and the Wailers were a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae band. The founding members, in 1963, were Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, and Bunny Wailer.
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Legend is a compilation album by Bob Marley and the Wailers. It was released on 7 May 1984 by Island Records. It is a greatest hits collection of singles in its original vinyl format and is the best-selling reggae album of all-time, with more than 12 million copies sold in the US, more than 3.3 million in the UK and an estimated 25 million copies sold globally. In 2003, the album was ranked number 46 in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" and maintained the ranking in a 2012 revised list.
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