I Shot the Sheriff

"I Shot the Sheriff"
German vinyl release
Single by Bob Marley and the Wailers
from the album Burnin'
Released	12 February 1973[1]
Studio	Harry J. Studios, Kingston, Jamaica
Genre	Reggae
Length	4:41
Label	Tuff Gong Island
Songwriter(s)	Bob Marley
Producer(s)	Chris Blackwell The Wailers
Bob Marley and the Wailers singles chronology
"Keep On Moving" (1972) "I Shot the Sheriff" (1973) "Concrete Jungle" (1973)
Audio
"I Shot the Sheriff" by Bob Marley and the Wailers on YouTube
Live video
"I Shot the Sheriff" (1977 live) by Bob Marley and the Wailers on YouTube

"I Shot the Sheriff" is a song written by Jamaican reggae musician Bob Marley and released in 1973 with his band the Wailers.

Bob Marley and the Wailers version

The song was first released in 1973 on The Wailers' album Burnin'. Marley explained his intention as follows: "I want to say 'I shot the police' but the government would have made a fuss so I said 'I shot the sheriff' instead... but it's the same idea: justice."^[2]

In 1992, with the controversy surrounding the Ice-T song "Cop Killer", Marley's song was often cited by Ice-T's supporters as evidence of his detractors' hypocrisy, considering that the older song was never similarly criticised despite having much the same theme.^[3]

In 2012, Marley's former girlfriend Esther Anderson claimed that the lyrics, "Sheriff John Brown always hated me / For what, I don't know / Every time I plant a seed / He said, 'Kill it before it grow'" are actually about Marley being very opposed to her use of birth control pills; Marley supposedly replaced the word "doctor" with sheriff.^[4]

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[5]	Silver	200,000^‡
^‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Eric Clapton version

"I Shot the Sheriff"
A-side of the original 1974 UK vinyl release
Single by Eric Clapton
from the album 461 Ocean Boulevard
B-side	"Give Me Strength"
Released	1974
Genre	Blues rock reggae rock
Length	4:26 (album version) 3:30 (single version)
Label	RSO
Songwriter(s)	Bob Marley
Producer(s)	Tom Dowd
Eric Clapton singles chronology
"Let It Rain" (1972) "I Shot the Sheriff" (1974) "Willie and the Hand Jive" (1974)
Audio
"I Shot the Sheriff" (album version) by Eric Clapton on YouTube
"I Shot the Sheriff" (full-length version) by Eric Clapton on YouTube
Live video
"I Shot the Sheriff" (2010 live) by Eric Clapton on YouTube

Eric Clapton recorded a cover version that was included on his 1974 album 461 Ocean Boulevard. His performance of the song adds soft rock^[6] to the reggae sound.^[7] Billboard described this version as being "a catchy goof of a winner" despite not containing a guitar solo.^[8] Cash Box called it a "smooth bluesy rocker with lots of guitar, keyboards and strong background harmonies."^[9] Record World said that Clapton is "firing straight from the hip, both vocally and riff-wise."^[10] Faring better in the charts, it peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, his only US number one to date. In 2003, Clapton's version was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.^[11]

Chart performance

Weekly charts Chart (1974) Peak position Australia (Kent Music Report)[12] 11 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[13] 19 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[14] 7 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[15] 1 Germany (GfK)[16] 4 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[17] 5 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[18] 5 New Zealand[19] 1 Norway (VG-lista)[20] 3 South Africa (Springbok)[21] 9 Spain (AFYVE)[22] 12 UK Singles (OCC)[23] 9 US Billboard Hot 100[24] 1 US Billboard Hot Soul Singles[24] 33 US Cash Box[25] 1 US Record World[26] 1

Chart (1982) Peak position Ireland (IRMA)[27] 23 UK Singles (OCC)[28] 64 Year-end charts Chart (1974) Position Australia (Kent Music Report)[29] 97 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[30] 58 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[31] 11 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[32] 50 US Billboard Hot 100[33] 76 Certifications Region Certification Certified units/sales United States (RIAA)[34] Gold 1,000,000^^ ^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Warren G version

"I Shot the Sheriff"
Single by Warren G
from the album Take a Look Over Your Shoulder
Released	February 3, 1997[35]
Genre	Hip hop
Length	4:10
Label	Def Jam
Songwriter(s)	Bob Marley Warren Griffin
Producer(s)	Warren G
Warren G singles chronology
"What's Love Got to Do with It" (1996) "I Shot the Sheriff" (1997) "Smokin' Me Out" (1997)
Music video
"I Shot the Sheriff" on YouTube

"I Shot the Sheriff" is the lead single released from Warren G's second album, Take a Look Over Your Shoulder. Warren replaced Marley's original lyrics with his own, although Clapton's version of the song is sampled and R&B singer Nancy Fletcher sings the original chorus. The song was a hit in several countries. In the US, it peaked at number 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified Gold by the RIAA on 2 May 1997. It peaked at number two in the UK and at number one in New Zealand.^[36][37]

The official remix was produced by EPMD member Erick Sermon, it is based around EPMD's "Strictly Business", which also sampled Clapton's version of the song.^{[citation needed]}

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts Chart (1997) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[38] 8 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[39] 18 Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Flanders)[40] 16 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[41] 31 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[42] 11 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[43] 6 France (SNEP)[44] 30 Germany (GfK)[45] 27 Ireland (IRMA)[27] 11 Italy (Musica e dischi)[46] 11 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40 Tipparade)[47] 5 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[48] 63 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[37] 1 Norway (VG-lista)[49] 19 Scotland (OCC)[50] 9 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[51] 11 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[52] 12 UK Singles (OCC)[36] 2 UK Dance (OCC)[53] 8 UK Hip Hop/R&B (OCC)[54] 1 US Billboard Hot 100[55] 20 US Dance Singles Sales (Billboard)[56] 26 US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[57] 16 US Hot Rap Songs (Billboard)[58] 5

Year-end charts Chart (1997) Position Australia (ARIA)[59] 58 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[60] 19 Romania (Romanian Top 100)[61] 71 UK Singles (OCC)[62] 77 US Billboard Hot 100[63] 85 Certifications Region Certification Certified units/sales Australia (ARIA)[64] Gold 35,000^^ New Zealand (RMNZ)[65] Gold 5,000^* United States (RIAA)[67] Gold 600,000[66] ^* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

See also

• List of Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles of 1974
• List of Cash Box Top 100 number-one singles of 1974
• List of number-one singles of 1974 (Canada)
• List of number-one singles from the 1990s (New Zealand)

References

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