16 February 2024
Newsdesk
On the release of the new biopic Bob Marley: One Love, JAD Records celebrates the release of ‘Selassie is the Chapel’, a previously lost track that has been made available over 40 years after Bob Marley’s untimely death. The song was recently featured on BBC 1Xtra’s Dancehall Show with Seani B and is available to stream on all digital platforms now. A limited edition 7” vinyl of the single (limited to 2000 copies) is also available.
Bob Marley is known and loved worldwide not only for his music, but as a truly spiritual figurehead and an embodiment of peace, truth and love. ‘Selassie is the Chapel’ is a rare, spiritual and emotive recording, one that was incredibly dear to Marley and delivers a personal statement from him about his beliefs.
Bob Marley was a devout Rastafarian, and his beliefs shaped his life. When Haile Selassie visited Jamaica in 1966, he was greeted by Mortimer Planno, who wrote the lyrics for ‘Selasse is the Chapel’. Planno played a huge part in shaping Marley’s involvement in the Rastafarian religion and remains a significant spiritual figurehead throughout Jamaica. Marley’s beliefs and unswerving devotion to the Rastafarian faith were always a key part of his enduring message.
‘Selasse is the Chapel’ is the first release from JAD Records in 7 years, and is part of a larger catalogue of Bob Marley recordings that were produced exclusively for the label during the 1960s and 70s. It was conceived after Marley had been discovered in Jamaica by Johnny Nash and JAD co-founder Danny Sims, the latter of whom was partner and manager to Nash, and later to Marley.
The world lost Bob Marley far too early, but with the release of this new single and through his vast, cherished catalogue, he lives on to give us his enduring message of “One Love”.
