Over four decades after his death, reggae legend Bob Marley is still making history.
Legend, the greatest hits compilation by Bob Marley and the Wailers, ranked No. 106 on this week’s Billboard 200, marking its 800th week on the chart.
The album is the second in history to make it to 800 weeks on the Billboard 200 — which ranks the most-consumed albums in the U.S. based on a methodology that combines sales and streaming activity.
The Dark Side of the Moon album by the English rock band Pink Floyd achieved this feat years ago. In 2020, the classic rock album reached an unprecedented 950 weeks on the Billboard 200.
The Legend album was released in May 1984 by Island Records, several years after Marley’s passing in 1981. It collects many of the singer’s biggest hits and several other recordings, and it has gone on to become one of the bestselling albums in U.S. history, with over 12 million sold in the US, over 3.3 million in the United Kingdom, and an estimated 25 million copies sold globally. It also ranks as the best-selling reggae album of all time.
A little less than a decade ago, it was certified 15 times platinum by the RIAA for shifting at least 15 million copies in the United States, and later certified 14 times platinum in the U.K.
Legend has also spent 1,100 weeks in the top 100 of the UK Albums Chart — the third longest run in that chart’s history, behind works by British rock band Queen and pop group ABBA.
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Marley also ranks as one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with estimated sales of more than 75 million records worldwide.
In 1994, Bob Marley was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Rolling Stone ranked him No. 11 on its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time and No. 98 on its list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time.
His other achievements include a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and induction into the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame.
