"Get Up, Stand Up" is a song written by
Bob Marley
Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981) was a Jamaican singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, he fused elements of reggae, ska and rocksteady and was renowned for his distinctive voca ...
and
Peter Tosh
Winston Hubert McIntosh (19 October 1944 – 11 September 1987), professionally known as Peter Tosh, was a Jamaican reggae musician. Along with Bob Marley and Bunny Wailer, he was one of the core members of the band Bob Marley and the Wa ...
. It originally appeared on
The Wailers' 1973 album ''
Burnin'''. It was recorded and played live in numerous versions by Bob Marley and the Wailers, along with solo versions by Peter Tosh and
Bunny Wailer. It was later included on the compilations ''
Legend
A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess certain qualities that give the ...
'' and ''
Rebel Music'', as well as live recordings such as ''
Live at the Roxy'' among others. In 1973, "Get Up, Stand Up" peaked at number 33 on the
Dutch Top 40
The Dutch Top 40 () is a weekly music chart compiled by ''Stichting Nederlandse Top 40''. It started as a radio program titled "Veronica Top 40", on the offshore radio, offshore station Radio Veronica in 1965. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" ...
. In 1986, it peaked at number 49 in New Zealand.
"Get Up, Stand Up" is considered one of Marley's greatest songs. In 2020, ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason.
The magazine was first known fo ...
'' ranked it number one on their list of the 50 greatest Bob Marley songs, while ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' ranked it number two on their list of Marley's 30 greatest songs.
In 1999, the 1973 recording of "Get Up, Stand Up" by
Bob Marley & The Wailers on Island Records was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
Premise and usage in concerts
Marley wrote the song while touring Haiti, deeply moved by its poverty and the lives of Haitians, according to his then-girlfriend
Esther Anderson. The tune of the chorus is clearly based on the instrumental hook in "
Slippin' into Darkness" by
War, which was released the previous year, a band Marley had expressed admiration for. The song was frequently performed at Marley's concerts, often as the last song. "Get Up, Stand Up" was also the last song Marley ever performed on stage, on 23 September 1980 at the Stanley Theater, now the
Benedum Center in
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
.
On his DVD ''
Live at the Hollywood Bowl'', artist
Ben Harper relates a childhood experience in which, during a 1978 Bob Marley concert at the Starlight Amphitheater, Peter Tosh showed up unannounced as this song was being performed, took the microphone from Marley and started singing the last verse of the song to thunderous applause. Tosh was on tour opening for the Rolling Stones at the time.
Recordings by the Wailers
The song was re-recorded and re-released by the three major Wailers on their own solo releases, each with varying arrangements and approaches to the third verse, which claims that "Almighty God is a living man". Bob Marley and the Wailers released a Bob Marley only version on ''
Live!'' in 1975, this version was notable for the "WO-YO!" refrain after the third verse. Tosh would include his own solo version on his second album, ''
Equal Rights'' in 1977. Bunny Wailer was the last to release his own version on ''Protest''. This version actually featured Tosh due to his involvement in recording the album before his death.
Certifications
Covers and remixes
In 1988, the song was performed live at an
Amnesty International Concert for Human Rights by
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American Rock music, rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Nicknamed "the Boss", Springsteen has released 21 studio albums spanning six decades; most of his albums feature th ...
,
Sting,
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and human rights activist. He came to prominence as the original frontman of the rock band Genesis. He left the band in 1975 and launched a solo career wit ...
,
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman (born March 30, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter, widely known for her hit singles " Fast Car" (1988) and " Give Me One Reason" (1995).
She was signed to Elektra Records by Bob Krasnow in 1987. The following year she rel ...
and
Youssou N'Dour
Youssou N'Dour (, ; also known as Youssou Madjiguène Ndour; born 1 October 1959) is a Senegalese singer, songwriter, musician, composer, occasional actor, businessman, and politician. In 2004, ''Rolling Stone'' described him as, "perhaps the m ...
. The 2014 album ''
Songs from a Stolen Spring'' features a version of the song performed by
Glenn Tilbrook of
Squeeze fame. The version is
meshed with "Beyond These Doors" by Egyptian singer
Dina El Wedidi. The Ukrainian band
Bloom Twins recorded a version in 2014, in support of the
Euromaidan
Euromaidan ( ; , , ), or the Maidan Uprising, was a wave of Political demonstration, demonstrations and civil unrest in Ukraine, which began on 21 November 2013 with large protests in Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square) in Kyiv. The p ...
protesters occupying
Independence Square in
Kyiv
Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...
.
References
External links
Recording history of ''Get Up, Stand Up''at ''The 60's Jamaican Music Reference''.
{{authority control
1973 songs
Amnesty International
Bob Marley songs
Peter Tosh songs
Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients
Protest songs
Songs written by Bob Marley
Island Records singles
The Specials songs