Marley’s ‘No Woman, No Cry’ Heads Jamaica Top 40
KINGSTON, Jamaica (Reuters) – Bob Marley’s “No Woman, No Cry” was chosen Jamaica’s most popular song and the reggae legend placed two others in the top 10 of a favorites’ list compiled to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Caribbean nation’s independence.
“No Woman, No Cry,” a song Marley and then members of the Wailers — Neville “Bunny Wailer” Livingstone and the late Winston Hubert McIntosh “Peter Tosh” — did in the early 1970s emerged as the No. 1 single in the Jamaica 40 song contest, results of which were announced on Tuesday.
Marley and the Wailers also placed “Redemption Song,” which condemns slavery, at No. 3 and “One Love,” a call for peace and unity named by Time magazine as its song of the century, at No. 4.
The group had three other songs in the top 40, the most of any group.
“No Woman, No Cry,” described by Marley as a song of comfort for his wife, Rita, tells a story of life in the volatile community of Trench Town, following his move to the capital from the village of Nine Miles, where he was born. He died of cancer in 1981 at age 36.
“Few people were surprised that the judges and the people in general chose ‘No Woman, No Cry’ as the number one single,” organizer Dennis Howard said.
The process started with entertainers and journalists nominating the top 100 songs from 1962, when Jamaica won independence from Britain, to 2002. Jamaicans then voted for their top choices and a panel of judges made the final selections.
Jimmy Cliff had two top-10 songs, “Many Rivers To Cross” at No. 2 and “The Harder They Come” at No. 6.
The other top 10 songs were No. 5 “Cherry Oh Baby” (Eric Donaldson); No. 7 “Night Nurse” (Gregory Isaacs); No. 8 “It Wasn’t Me” (Shaggy/Rik Rok); No. 9 “Wild Gilbert” (Lovindeer); and No. 10 “Duppy Gunman” (Ernie Smith).
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