Happy Birthday Bob Marley: Watch 5 ‘Three Little Birds’ Covers
Watch live takes on the Marley classic from Dave Matthews and Trey Anastasio, Kacey Musgraves, The Black Crowes and more.
By Nate Todd Feb 6, 2022 • 8:04 am PST
Photo by Adrian Boot
The late great Bob Marley would have celebrated his 77th birthday today. While he was just 36 when he died on May 11, 1981, Bob left the world with lifetimes of songs about love and war, slavery and freedom, oppression and revolution as well as hope and joy. The subject of today’s Sunday Cinema highlights a song that falls under the latter categories: five covers of the Marley classic “Three Little Birds,” which appears on Bob Marley & The Wailers landmark 1977 LP Exodus.
Dave Matthews & Trey Anastasio
The first cover on the list is from guitarists Dave Matthews and Trey Anastasio. In one of his recent and amazing music lessons (Pt 5 Viewer Mail), Trey calls “Three Little Birds” “the greatest song ever written.” Check out Trey and Dave performing “Three Little Birds” during the acoustic portion of the encore of a Dave & Friends show (the Marley cover was a Dave & Friends debut) on December 19, 2003.
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| LessThanFace Productions (See 1,684 videos) | |
| Dave Matthews (See 90 videos) and Trey Anastasio (See 283 videos) |
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Kacey Musgraves
Next, acclaimed singer-songwriter Kacey Musgraves paired her reggae-tinged 2013 anthem “Step Off” with “Three Little Birds” during the recording of her Austin City Limits debut. ACL shared the performance as a web-only exclusive in early 2014.
| AustinCityLimitsTV (See 572 videos) | |
| Kacey Musgraves (See 39 videos) |
The Black Crowes
The Black Crowes delivered a bluesy rendition of “Three Little Birds” back in 1992. The performance above comes from a concert in Barcelona, Spain on December 6, 1992 where The Crowes closed down their main set with the beloved Marley tune.
| Amorica – Womb of the Free (See 152 videos) | |
| The Black Crowes (See 291 videos) |
Blackberry Smoke
On September 16, 2017, southern rockers Blackberry Smoke worked “Three Little Birds” into their performance of “Ain’t Much Left of Me.” BBS’s Marley nod came during Farm Aid 2017 taking place that year at KeyBank Pavilion in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania.
| Farm Aid (See 1,888 videos) | |
| Blackberry Smoke (See 47 videos) |
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Jack Johnson, Taj Mahal, Ziggy Marley, Paula Fuga & Others
The final “Three Little Birds” cover on the list comes from Jack Johnson’s Kokua Festival in 2010. On April 24, Jack Johnson and Friends’ version featured Bob’s son Ziggy Marley, blues legend Taj Mahal, Hawaiian singer-songwriter and Marley family collaborator Paula Fuga and more.
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| tdunski (See 392 videos) | |
| Jack Johnson (See 67 videos) |
