Editing Redemption Song (section)

==History==
The song is reported to have been written around 1979, appearing for the first time on a demo tape called "Dada Demos" which, amongst other unreleased tracks and re-recordings of older songs, features an early version of "[[Could You Be Loved?]]" with [[drum machine]] accompaniment. German journalist Teja Schwaner claims to have witnessed Marley playing ''Redemption Song'' during a hotel stay in Hamburg on tour in 1976,<ref>{{Cite web|date=2011-05-11|title=Auf Tour mit Bob Marley. Als der Messias mein Gras rauchte|url=https://www.spiegel.de/geschichte/auf-tour-mit-bob-marley-a-949372.html|access-date=2024-01-13|website=[[Der Spiegel]]|language=DE}}</ref> although he could have confused it with another song.

A few years earlier, Bob Marley had been diagnosed with the [[cancer]] in his toe that took his life in 1981. According to [[Rita Marley]], "...he was already secretly in a lot of pain and dealt with his own mortality, a feature that is clearly apparent in the album, particularly in this song."{{fact|date=February 2024}}

After its recording for the ''Uprising'' album, the song saw its first public performance during the opener show of the ''Uprising Tour'' on May 30, 1980, in [[Zürich]], Switzerland, and continued to be featured in every known setlist of that tour's further concerts. There exist at least two music video recordings of the song, one produced by the [[Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation]], featuring Marley and his keyboardist [[Earl Lindo]] both accompanying themselves on guitars, and a second one from September 1980 featuring Marley during a rehearsal break and his band members listening. A few more recordings from live concerts exist, both audio and video, amongst them a performance from [[Dortmund]], Germany, on June 13, 1980, which is featured on the official 2014 release ''Uprising Live''. 

"Redemption Song" was released as a single in the UK and France in October 1980 and included a full band rendering of the song. This version has since been included as a bonus track on the 2001 reissue of ''Uprising'', as well as on the 2001 [[compilation album|compilation]] ''[[One Love: The Very Best of Bob Marley & The Wailers]]''. Although in live performances the full band was used for the song, the solo recorded performance remains the take most familiar to listeners.{{citation needed|date=April 2013}}

In 2004, ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' placed the song at number 66 among "[[The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time]]." An updated list was published on Feb 16, 2024, where the song was placed at [https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-songs-of-all-time-1224767/bob-marley-and-the-wailers-redemption-song-2-1225296/ number 42.]
 


In 2010, the ''[[New Statesman]]'' listed it as one of the Top 20 Political Songs.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.newstatesman.com/music/2010/03/bob-marley-redemption-song |title=Top 20 Political Songs: Redemption Song |first=Ian K. |last=Smith |work=[[New Statesman]] |date=25 March 2010 |access-date=25 March 2010}}</ref>

On 5 February 2020 (on the eve of what would have been his 75th birthday), Marley's estate released an [https://75.bobmarley.com/ official animated video] for the song.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/06/entertainment/bob-marley-75-redemption-song-trnd/index.html|title=New 'Redemption Song' video celebrates Bob Marley's 75th|first=Lisa Respers |last=France|website=CNN| date=6 February 2020 |access-date=15 February 2020}}</ref> This also commemorated the 40th anniversary of the song's release.