One of Bob Marley’s biggest hits just got the country music treatment courtesy of Kacey Musgraves.
On Friday, January 26, the Musgraves, 35, released the first single from the soundtrack of the upcoming biopic Bob Marley: One Love. Musgraves’ new song is an acoustic take on Bob Marley and the Wailers’ 1977 song “Three Little Birds.”
Known for its chorus reminding listeners that “every little thing is gonna be alright,” the song became synonymous with Marley decades after its release. Musgraves maintains the emotional weight behind the original while putting her own spin on the inspirational reggae tune. The result is a country-inspired moment of reflection and affirmation bolstered by piano and steel guitar.
Musgraves’s rendition is the first cut from Bob Marley: One Love (Music Inspired by the Film), a seven-song EP featuring other reinterpretations of Marley’s work that will arrive on February 14, the same day the movie hits theaters. Daniel Caesar (“Waiting in Vain”), Wizkid (“One Love”), Leon Bridges (“Redemption Song”), Jessie Reyez (“Is This Love”), Bloody Civilian (“Natural Mystic”) and Marley’s grandson Skip Marley (“Exodus”) also appear on the EP.
Bob died in 1981 at age 36 following a battle with cancer. The film is not an origin story but instead follows Bob during the peak of his fame — and homes in on his 1976 shooting in Kingston, Jamaica. Armed men raided the home to shoot Bob, his wife, Rita Marley, and his manager. All three survived, and days after the shooting, Bob took the stage at a peace concert. The film will also detail the One Love concert, which saw the reggae star attempt to save his native Jamaica from political civil war.
Kingsley Ben-Adir stars as Bob, with Lashana Lynch portraying Rita.
The Marley family was involved in the film and the accompanying EP, choosing all the songs to be covered. “The mission is always to spread Daddy’s music to every corner of the Earth, and we were very thoughtful in handpicking these artists,” Bob’s daughter Cedella Marley said in a statement, per Rolling Stone. “Having his songs rebirthed at the same time we get to show the world his story through this movie is something that my family and I are extremely proud to be a part of.”
Bob’s son Ziggy Marley, also a musician, weighed in on the project via Instagram on January 9. “This project is something that’s been talked about for a long while, still by the will of JAH and the universe, nothing can happen before it’s supposed to,” he wrote. “So now, at this time in human history with this film and everything connected to it, the message and legacy of [Bob Marley] spread even wider and higher.”
Bob Marley: One Love hits theaters on Wednesday, February 14.
