A rare Bob Marley & the Wailers song has been reissued by reggae label JAD. Written in 1968 by Marley and Mortimer Planno, "Selassie Is My Chapel" hails the Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie who's beloved by Rastas.
According to Reggaeville, the song was originally released as a single, but "only 26 copies were pressed." The slow-paced song is now available as a limited-edition seven-inch vinyl (just 2,000 copies) with "Lick Samba" on the B-side.
DJ Greg Caz tells CelebStoner: "The actual 1968 single doesn't have more than at most three copies known to exist. The song is an adaptation of Elvis' 'Crying In The Chapel.' It's always been a mythical, legendary rarity among collectors."
Planno wrote the lyrics (see below) and produced the session in Kingston.
Piccadilly Records, which is distributing the disc, notes:
"The single is a song taken from the little-known JAD Records catalogue of Bob Marley recordings, which have remained unexploited for some time."
[Chorus]
Haile Selassie is the Chapel
Power of the Trinity (Trinity, Trinity is He)
Build your mind on this direction
Serve the living God and live (Living God and Live)
[Verse 1]
Take your troubles to Selassie
He is the only King of Kings (King of kings, King of kings is he)
Conquering Lion of Judah
Triumphantly we all must sing (All must sing, all must sing)
I search and I search on book of Man
In the Revelation, look what I find
[Chorus]
Haile Selassie is the Chapel
And the world should know (All should know, all should know)
That man is the Angel
Our God, the King of Kings
"Selassie Is the Chapel" was released with no fanfare in 2007 by JAD on Selassie in the Chapel: The Complete Bob Marlye & the Wailers 1967-1972, Vol, 1. In 2012, Stephen Marley recorded "Selassie Is the Chapel" on Revelation Pt. 1 – The Root of Life with Ziggy Marley.
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