Stir It Up

"Stir It Up"
Single by Johnny Nash
from the album I Can See Clearly Now
B-side	"Cream Puff"
Released	March 31, 1972
Format	7" single
Genre	Reggae
Length	2:58
Label	Epic
Writer(s)	Bob Marley
Johnny Nash singles chronology
"Cupid" (1969) "Stir It Up" (1972 "I Can See Clearly Now" (1972)

"Stir It Up"
Single by Bob Marley & The Wailers
from the album Catch a Fire
Released	1973
Format	7"
Recorded	1972
Genre	Rocksteady reggae
Label	Wail'n Soul'm
Writer(s)	Bob Marley
Producer(s)	Bob Marley and the Wailers
Bob Marley & The Wailers singles chronology
"Freedom Time" (1973) "Stir It Up" (1973) "This Train" (1973)

"Stir It Up" is a song composed by Bob Marley in 1967. On Nash's I Can See Clearly Now album, he used members of The Wailers and recorded several Marley songs: "Stir It Up", the follow-up single, "Comma Comma", "Guava Jelly", and the Nash / Marley co-written ballad, "You Poured Sugar on Me". The track "(It Was) So Nice While It Lasted" received radio play.

The Wailers performed the song on The Old Grey Whistle Test in 1973 during their first trip to the UK.^[1]

"Stir It Up" was Marley's first successful song outside Jamaica. Another song written by Bob Marley, "I Shot The Sheriff", was made a hit by Eric Clapton on the album 461 Ocean Boulevard, July 1974. Marley's first "own" international hit, "No Woman No Cry", was released on the Bob Marley and the Wailers album Live!, December 1975.

The Black Sorrows' version

"Stir It Up"
Single by The Black Sorrows
from the album The Chosen Ones - Greatest Hits
Released	September 1, 1993
Format	CD single
Genre	Blues rock
Length	3:34
Label	CBS
Producer(s)	Joe Camilleri
The Black Sorrows singles chronology
"Sweet Inspiration" (1993) "Stir It Up" (1993) "Snake Skin Shoes" (1994)

In September 1993, Australian band The Black Sorrows released a version of the song. It became a hit, peaking at number 20 in New Zealand, the band's highest charting single in that territory. At the ARIA Music Awards of 1994, Joe Camilleri was nominated for Producer of the Year for his work on this song, losing out to Tony Cohen.

Track listing

CD single (Columbia 660 105-2)

1. "Stir It Up" – 3:34
2. "Ain't Love the Strangest Thing" (acoustic) – 4:10
3. "Come On, Come On" (acoustic) – 2:50

Charts

Chart (1993–94)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA)[2]	58
Germany (Official German Charts)[3]	53
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[4]	20

Other cover versions

• In 1991, the song was covered by Dread Zeppelin on their second album 5,000,000.
• In 1993, the song was covered by Haddaway on his debut album Haddaway.
• In 1998, Gilberto Gil's live cover appeared on his Grammy Award-winning album Quanta Live^[5]

References

1. The Old Grey Whistle Test (DVD). Warner Home Video. 2003.
2. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988-2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
3. "Offiziellecharts.de – The Black Sorrows – Stir It Up". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved August 5, 2016.
4. "Charts.org.nz – The Black Sorrows – Stir It Up". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved August 5, 2016.
5. Gordon, Diane (January 1999). "Gilberto Gil - Quanta Live". Jazz Times.