by Howard Campbell
LOS ANGELES – Forty years after its release, Legend, the greatest hits album by Bob Marley and The Wailers, has logged its 850th week in Billboard Magazine’s 200 Album chart.
That took place the week starting September 5. It makes the compilation, released in 1984 by Island Records, only the second album to achieve this milestone, joining The Dark Side of The Moon by British rock band Pink Floyd.
Legend — which contains standards like No Woman No Cry, Get Up, Stand Up, Could You be Loved, Jamming, Exodus and Satisfy my Soul — was released three years after Marley’s death from cancer at age 36.
It is currently number 61 on the Billboard 200 Album Chart, with global sales of over 25 million units.
According to Forbes Magazine, Legend sold 14,300 units in the first week of September. Originally released on vinyl, it has been reissued and repackaged in different formats such as compact disc and digital. Island Records and the Universal Music Group own the Marley catalog. They have released Deluxe, Remixed, and 30th anniversary editions of the album.
The Marley brand is one of the most lucrative in pop music. It ranks alongside other luminaries such as The Beatles, Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson.
Last February, Paramount Pictures released Bob Marley: One Love. This movie is based on two years of his life. Starring British actor Kingsley Ben-Adir as Marley, it grossed over $180 million.
