Bob Marley almost never strays from the top spot on Billboard’s Reggae Albums chart. Along with his backing band, the Wailers, the superstar’s Legend compilation has ruled for 286 of the 287 frames it has spent on the tally. It’s not unusual for the iconic musician to claim more than one spot on the short roster, either.
What is fairly unusual, however, is for Marley to score a new appearance on the Reggae Albums list, as he’s been gone for decades – but that’s exactly what he manages this time around.
Uprising Debuts Inside the Top 10
Uprising, credited to both Marley and the Wailers, debuts at No. 9 on this week’s Reggae Albums chart. It’s the only new arrival this time around. Best of Shaggy: The Boombastic Collection by Shaggy reenters the list in the runner-up spot, hitting its all-time peak as it does.
Bob Marley’s Final Album
Uprising was the final full-length released during Marley’s lifetime. The collection dropped in June 1980, and although fans have been familiar with it for decades, it has only now performed well enough to appear on the Reggae Albums ranking.
The project was recently reissued to celebrate its forty-fifth anniversary, pressed on a limited-edition vinyl filled with what was described as “liquid sunshine.” The collectible nature of that pressing is likely largely responsible for Uprising finally landing on the Reggae Albums tally.
Bob Marley Claims Three Spots on the Reggae Chart
Marley fills three spaces on the 10-spot Reggae Albums chart this week. In addition to Uprising, Legend is once again ruling, while Exodus dips from No. 9 to No. 10.
Among those three titles, only Legend appears on any other Billboard rankings at the moment. This week, it falls on both the Top Album Sales ranking and the Billboard 200, slipping to Nos. 40 and 65, respectively.
Legend Nears 900 Weeks on the Billboard 200
While Legend doesn’t appear anywhere near the top 10 on those other lists, as it does on the reggae-only tally, it has spent many hundreds of weeks on both Billboard’s list of the bestselling titles in the country and the all-encompassing ranking of the most consumed albums. The compilation — one of the most successful of all time in America — will likely reach 900 weeks on the Billboard 200 in a little over a month. When it does, it will become one of only two titles to make it to that milestone.