"Stir It Up" is a song composed by

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements o ...

in 1967 and first recorded by the group

Bob Marley and the Wailers Bob Marley and the Wailers (previously known as The Wailers, and prior to that The Wailing Rudeboys, The Wailing Wailers and The Teenagers) were a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae band. The founding members, in 1963, were Bob Marley (Robert ...

that year and issued as a single. It was later covered by American singer

Johnny Nash John Lester Nash Jr. (August 19, 1940October 6, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter, best known in the United States for his 1972 hit " I Can See Clearly Now". Primarily a reggae and pop singer, he was one of the first non-Jamaican artists ...

on his 1972 album ''

I Can See Clearly Now "I Can See Clearly Now" is a song written and recorded by American singer Johnny Nash. It was the lead single from his album I Can See Clearly Now (Johnny Nash album), ''I Can See Clearly Now'' and achieved success in the United States and the U ...

''. The following year, Marley and the Wailers re-recorded the song for their album ''

Catch a Fire ''Catch a Fire'' is the fifth studio album by the reggae band The Wailers (aka Bob Marley and the Wailers), released in April 1973. It was their first album released by Island Records. After finishing a UK tour with Johnny Nash, they had star ...

''. The band performed "Stir It Up" on ''

The Old Grey Whistle Test ''The Old Grey Whistle Test'' (sometimes abbreviated to ''Whistle Test'' or ''OGWT'') is a British television music show. The show was devised by BBC producer Rowan Ayers, commissioned by David Attenborough and aired on BBC2 from 1971 to 1988. ...

'' in 1973 during their first trip to the UK, singing live over a Chris Blackwell overdubbed backing track. "Stir It Up" was the first Marley written song to be successful outside Jamaica. Another tune written by Bob Marley, "

I Shot The Sheriff "I Shot the Sheriff" is a song written by Jamaican reggae musician Bob Marley and released in 1973 with his band Bob Marley and the Wailers. Bob Marley and the Wailers version The song was first released in 1973 on The Wailers' album '' Burni ...

", was covered by

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list of ...

on the album ''

461 Ocean Boulevard ''461 Ocean Boulevard'' is the second studio album by English musician Eric Clapton. The album was released in late July 1974 for RSO Records, shortly after the record company released the hit single "I Shot the Sheriff" in early July the same y ...

'', July 1974. Marley's first international hit recorded by him, "

No Woman No Cry "No Woman, No Cry" is a reggae song by Bob Marley and the Wailers. The song was recorded in 1974 and released on the studio album ''Natty Dread''. The live recording of this song from the 1975 album '' Live!'' was released as a single and i ...

", was released on the

album ''

Live! Live may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film * ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film *'' ''Live'' (Apocalyptica DVD) Music *Live (band), American alternative rock band * List of albums ...

'', December 1975.

Certifications (Bob Marley & The Wailers version)

Chart history (Johnny Nash cover)

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

The Black Sorrows' version

In September 1993, Australian band

The Black Sorrows The Black Sorrows are an Australian blues rock band formed in 1983 by mainstay vocalist Joe Camilleri (ex-Jo Jo Zep & The Falcons), who also plays saxophone and guitar. Camilleri has used various line-ups to record 17 albums, with five reaching ...

released a version of the song. It became a hit, peaking at number 58 in Australia, number 20 in New Zealand (where it is the band's highest charting single), and number nine in Iceland. At the

ARIA Music Awards of 1994 The Eighth Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (generally known as the ARIA Music Awards or simply The ARIAS) was held on 30 March 1994 at the State Theatre in Sydney. Radio and TV personality Richard Stubbs hosted the cer ...

, Joe Camilleri was nominated for Producer of the Year for his work on this song, losing out to

Tony Cohen Anthony Lawrence Cohen (4 June 19572 August 2017) was an Australian music record producer and sound engineer. He worked with Nick Cave's groups the Birthday Party, and then the Bad Seeds from 1979 to 2001. In mid-1986 he had followed Cave to ...

Track listing

CD single (Columbia 660 105-2) # "Stir It Up" – 3:34 # "Ain't Love the Strangest Thing" (acoustic) – 4:10 # "Come On, Come On" (acoustic) – 2:50

Charts

Haddaway version

In 1994, Trinidadian-German

Eurodance Euro-Dance (sometimes referred to as Euro-NRG, Euro-electronica or Euro) is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1980s in Europe. It combines many elements of hip hop, techno, Hi-NRG, house music, and Euro-Disco. This ...

artist

Haddaway Nestor Alexander Haddaway (born 9 January 1965) is a Trinidadian-born German singer best known for his 1993 hit single "What Is Love", which reached number 1 in 13 countries. Early life Nestor Alexander Haddaway was born in Trinidad and Tobago ...

released his version of "Stir It Up" as the second single from his debut album, '' The Album'' (1993). It was only released in the US.

Critical reception

Troy J. Augusto from ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' wrote, "Hot new Arista singer (where have we heard that one before?) Haddaway looks to recover from the disappointment of last single, “

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...

”, with this solid cover of one of

’s most beloved songs. The cut’s producers add a contemporary, almost

techno-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s a ...

feel to the song (Marley’s surely bumpin’ in his grave!), but the tune’s solid arrangement and Haddaway’s likable voice translate to a crossover hit waiting to happen. Hit radio will stir it up soon."

Track listing

* 12", US (1994) #"Stir It Up" (Long Version) — 6:20 #"

Rock My Heart "Rock My Heart" is a song by Trinidadian-German musician Haddaway, released in March 1994 as the fourth and final single from his debut album, '' The Album'' (1993). It was written and produced by Dee Dee Halligan and Junior Torello. Like the ...

" (Extended Mix) — 5:58 #"Rock My Heart" (Celebration Mix) — 5:48 * CD single, US (1994) #"Stir It Up" (Single Version) — 4:16 #"Rock My Heart" (Extended Mix) — 5:58 #"When The Feeling's Gone" — 4:15 * Cassette single, US (1994) #"Stir It Up" (Long Version) #"Stir It Up" (Single Version) #"Rock My Heart" (Extended Mix)

References

{{Diana King 1967 songs Bob Marley songs Haddaway songs Johnny Nash songs Songs written by Bob Marley The Black Sorrows songs Epic Records singles 1972 singles 1973 singles 1993 singles 1994 singles