I Shot the Sheriff - Eric Clapton/Bob Marley (1974) 3/31/22

Bob Marley & The Wailers, Part II: Yesterday, we talked about the song that finally got Bob noticed in North America after years of being a local legend in Jamaica: 1973's "Stir It Up" by Johnny Nash.

Today, we're highlighting a song that brought him even more notice--and quite a bit of controversy--even though HIS version wasn't the HIT version.

As pretty much everyone knows,. "I Shot the Sheriff" was a HUGE hit by Eric Clapton in 1974, but Bob & The Wailers released it first in 1973.

Eric's version was a Top 15 hit in 11 countries, including #1 in the US, Canada and New Zealand. It was Eric's ONLY #1 hit in the US, and in 2003, his version was inducted into the Grammy hall of Fame.

Even so, many people (then and now) have wondered how Eric--and, by backward extension, Bob--could get away with singing about killing a cop.

That's especially poignant today...and a darn good question.

Bob didn't help matters much by saying the song was about "justice." However, Esther Anderson, his girlfriend at the time, claims she helped write the song, and it was about "birth control." Hence the lyric, "Every time I plant a seed / He said, 'Kill it before it grow." (The "HE" was supposed be mean "Doctor," but Bob changed it to "Sheriff."

Food for thought...

"I Shot the Sheriff:" A Great Song of the '70s--first by Bob Marley and The Wailers...and then by Eric Clapton.

Eric Clapton (1974):

Bob Marley and The Wailers (1973):