Toppa Top 10: Ten Cover Songs by Bob Marley and the Wailers

Words by Jesse Serwer and Martei Korley—

Bob Marley has influenced a lot of people, but he had many influences, too. In their early years, Bob and The Wailers did versions of songs by the Beatles, Tom Jones and Jr. Walker, to name a few. And no one had a bigger impact on their music than Curtis Mayfield, whose group The Impressions was covered several times by The Wailers in their early days at Jamaica’s Studio One. Read on for a rundown of all of Bob’s most notable interpretations of other people’s songs.

Ska Jerk (Junior Walker and the All-Stars’ “Shotgun”)

Backed by the Soul Brothers Orchestra at Jamaica’s legendary Studio One, the Wailing Wailers—Bob, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer, then known as Neville Livingston—turned Junior Walker and the All-Stars’ Motown hit “Shotgun” into “Ska Jerk,” putting a Jamaican spin on one of the early ’60’s most popular dances.

Keep On Moving (The Impressions)

Bob Marley was tremendously influenced tremendously by Curtis Mayfield’s Chicago vocal group the Impressions, so much so that the Wailers covered their songs routinely in their early years. And, although it might not have been apparent yet in these early recordings, Mayfield’s political messages—he was one of the first R&B artists to incorporate themes of civil rights and Black pride into his music—would clearly influence Marley as he, too, evolved from love songs to social commentary. Bob would record three different versions of the Impressions’ “Keep on Moving,” two times with the Wailers in the early ’70s and again while exiled in London in 1977, and he even performed it at his most famed live show, at the 1976 Smile Jamaica concert days after his attempted assassination.

Wings of a Dove (Traditional)

“Wings of a Dove” is a traditional folk song sung in Jamaica, adapted here for the ska era by the Wailers on Studio One. The message is simple, and relatable: “Since I have no wings, I’m gonna sing!”

Long Long Winter (The Impressions)

Bob puts a raspy spin on Curtis Mayfield’s velvety melody, on another terrific Impressions cover. The original was a B-side to the Impressions’ better-known 1964 single, “Amen.”

Ten Commandments of Love (The Moonglows)

“One: Vow that you will never…love another girl…” The rudebwoy trio of Bunny Wailer, Bob Marley and Peter Tosh run some foreign-style, make-believe romanticism for the young girls of their hometown on this update of The Moonglows’ US hit.

I Made A Mistake (The Impressions)

“I Made a Mistake” is another gem from The Impressions, which the Wailers covered for Coxsone Dodd (this time on his Coxsone label). Although this was one of the Wailers’ finest ballads, the original, however little-known, was hard to top.

What’s New Pussycat (Tom Jones)

The Wailers didn’t just re-interpret American soul for the Jamaican audience; they took stabs at swingin’ British pop, too, like Tom Jones’ campy 1965 hit “What’s New Pussycat,” from the movie of the same name.

I Need You (Chuck Jackson)

Bob sings a somber lead on this Studio One version of Chuck Jackson’s Brill Building R&B ballad “I Need You,” which is not to be confused with another early Wailers tune also called “I Need You.” That song, retitled “I Need You So”  in later years to avoid confusion, happens to also be a cover, of “Baby, Baby I Need You” by the Temptations. Meanwhile, the Wailers would also cover Jackson’s “Can’t You See” with Peter Tosh on lead.

And I Love Her (The Beatles)

“And I Love Her” was a massive Beatles hit, and Bob definitely did his thing on this 1965 cover. As did several other people: for a more soulful take, check Alton Ellis’ version. However, his recording, more than a decade later, gave him plenty of time to ponder the intricacies of the tune. Bob Marley covered the song while it was current—and with genuine British pop style!

One Love/People Get Ready (“People Get Ready” by The Impressions)

“People Get Ready,” Curtis Mayfield’s best-known hit with the Impressions, has been covered hundreds of times over, by everyone from Bob Dylan and the Band to Prince and Phil Collins. What Bob Marley did with Curtis’ gospel-inspired composition, first on the Wailers’ ska-era version of “One Love” and on the ubiquitous version from 1977’s Exodus album, isn’t so much of a cover as a re-imagining of it. Though it borrows far less liberally from “People Get Ready” than a track like, say, John Mayer’s “Waiting on the World to Change,” there was enough of a resemblance that the 1977 version was re-titled “One Love/People Get Ready.”