#319 - The Wailers - Burnin' (1973)

MUSIC HISTORY COMPILED BY ADAM BERNARD:

THE WAILERS BIO

The Wailers were initially a group called The Teenagers, and were formed by Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, and Bunny Wailer (actual name Neville Livingston) in 1963. The band would add other members, and other names they went by along the way were The Wailing Rudeboys, the Wailing Wailers, and the Hartford Whalers (just kidding). After other musicians made their way through the band during the 1960s, members from the band "The Upsetters", who The Wailers had collaborated with in the past, joined the group as backing instrumentalists - Aston "Family Man" Barrett and his brother Carlton "Carly" Barrett.

BACKGROUND – BURNIN’

This was the 6th album by Marley & The Wailers, released in October 1973, just 6 months after "Catch A Fire". It was mostly written by Marley and recorded in April of that year in Kingston, Jamaica, then mastered in London. This was the last album before band members Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer left for solo careers. 

Burnin peaked at #151 on the Billboard 200, and #41 on their "Black Albums"* chart.The album was certified gold in the United States and was added to the National Recording Registry since the Library of Congress deemed it historically and culturally significant. 

“The "Black Albums" category was known as Hot R&B in the 60s, Soul in the 70s, Black Albums in the 80s, and R&B in the 1990s before adding a "Hip-Hop" designation in 1999. 

The album was originally called “Reincarnated Souls” after member Bunny Wailer’s song of the same name but was changed because of his departure from the group along with the song being cut from the album and being released as a B-Side to Concrete Jungle.