Bob Marley & The Wailers’ ‘Get Up, Stand Up’ Certified Silver In UK

Bob Marley & The Wailers’ 1973 hit Get Up, Stand Up was certified Silver in the United Kingdom (UK) on Friday, September 2.

According to the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), the song was issued the Brit Certified Silver Award after it sold over 200,000 units in the UK, as measured by The Official Charts Company.

Produced by Chris Blackwell, Get Up, Stand Up originally appeared as the lead single on The Wailers’ 1973 album Burnin’ with Marley on lead and harmony, Peter Tosh on piano, organ, guitar, and vocals, and Bunny Wailer on congas, bongos, and vocals.

It was written by Marley and Tosh.

In 1977, Tosh recorded a solo version of Get Up, Stand Up for his album, Equal Rights.  Later that year, Bunny recorded his funky version, which featured Tosh, for his Protest album.  The song was later included on Marley’s US Diamond-certified compilation album, Legend.

Get Up Stand Up has been sampled in over 40 songs, including Rude by Magic!, Crown The King by Migos, Book of Life by Common, and Git Up, Git Out by OutKast featuring Goodie Mob. It has also been covered over 30 times by other artists and groups, including Rihanna, Santana, Big Youth, and most recently American singer Nakkia Gold and rapper Wiz Khalifa.

The certification comes as the award-winning Get Up Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical has enjoyed an extended run at the Lyric Theatre in London’s West End.  The production, written by Lee Hall and directed by Clint Dyer, traces Marley’s story — from rural Jamaica to gritty Trench Town and superstardom.

The musical will play until January of next year.

The song has also endured as an international human rights and protest anthem.

In September last year, during her address to the United Nations at the annual gathering of world leaders in New York, Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley drew for the lyrics of Get Up, Stand Up, as she rebuked the 76-year-old organization for being in a constant state of inertia.

Mottley’s address, propelled by the Marley/Tosh quote, captured news headlines worldwide, as she made her case to “spur meaningful action from the 193-member United Nations General Assembly on crises from climate and COVID-19 vaccines to poverty and education”.

Get Up, Stand Up was the last song that Marley performed on stage (on 23 September 1980 at the Stanley Theater, in Pennsylvania), before he died of cancer in 1981 at age 36.