Getting his start playing in a variety of bands around his hometown of Ripley, Surrey, United Kingdom, Eric Clapton took centerstage no matter where he went. Following stints with the Yardbirds and Cream, Clapton scored his first Top 40 solo hit in 1970 with a cover of the J.J. Cale track “After Midnight”. Many more solo successes would follow, including “Layla” (1971), “Lay Down Sally” (1977), and “Wonderful Tonight” (also 1977).

However, none of those songs would ever reach the summit of the Hot 100. To date, Clapton has sent only one song to No. 1 on the U.S. charts and it wasn’t an original. On this day (May 10) in 1974, the three-time Rock and Roll Hall of Famer recorded a cover of “I Shot the Sheriff”, a song released the previous year by reggae phenom Bob Marley and his band the Wailers. Clapton’s rendition would peak at No. 1 in the United States and eclipse the original’s popularity even in Marley’s home country of Jamaica.

Eric Clapton Mixed Reggae With Soft Rock on Bob Marley Cover

By some accounts, Eric Clapton was reticent to cover “I Shot the Sheriff” out of respect for Marley. However, the 18-time Grammy Award winner claimed in a 1987 interview that it was his idea to record the song.

“Bob was the first person I heard singing with a real message, you know? And he was completely unique,” Clapton said.

“He had a vision… he was like a prophet, in a way,” added the “Tears in Heaven” singer. “Very serious, and it wasn’t just music. He was delivering a message too.”

[RELATED: Behind the Meaning of “I Shot the Sheriff” by Bob Marley]

What Bob Marley Really Thought of This Clapton Cover

Eric Clapton made Marley’s anthem his own, adding blues guitar, keyboards, and more prominent harmonies. The Brit’s version of “I Shot the Sheriff” introduced Marley, and reggae, to a wider audience.

Within time, Clapton’s rendition had surpassed Marley’s, even in the reggae singer’s home country of Jamaica. This “infuriated” the “Three Little Birds” crooner, according to a 1985 biography written by Stephen Davis—so much so that he reportedly confronted local DJs. It’s worth noting that it’s not believed that Marley was angry at Clapton himself, but rather what he viewed as the industry inequality.

“Clapton’s ‘I Shot the Sheriff’ was being played every hour on the JBC, while the Wailers’ new single ‘Knotty Dread’ was never to be heard,” Davis wrote.

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