Song · Bob Marley
“Iron Lion Zion” by Bob Marley
“Iron Lion Zion” by Bob Marley appears on 12 radio countdowns from 5 stations between 1992 and 2005. Its best result is #60 on the 91X Top 91 Songs of 1992. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #163 alternative song of 1992 and #2,143 alternative song of all time.
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Bob Marley wrote and recorded "Iron Lion Zion" in April of 1973 or 1974, then it stayed unreleased until 7 September 1992, when Tuff Gong and Island finally put it out, after his death, on the Songs of Freedom box set. That long wait makes it a time capsule, an early specimen of the "stepper" style, with the Wailers credited as producers.
It was worth the wait. It went to No. 5 in the UK and No. 2 in New Zealand, made the top 10 across much of Europe, from Ireland and France to Sweden and Switzerland, and peaked at No. 8 on the Eurochart Hot 100. In America it got to No. 11 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks. A remix went out as a single too, and it later turned up on Natural Mystic: The Legend Lives On in 1995.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | 96 | KROQ Los Angeles, CA | KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1992 | 107 |
| 1992 | 60 | 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana | 91X Top 91 Songs of 1992 | 91 |
| 1992 | 96 | Q101 Chicago, IL | Q101 Top 101 Songs of 1992 | 101 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 976 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) | 2000 |
| 2000 | 1027 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) | 2001 |
| 2001 | 1028 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) | 2002 |
| 2002 | 1028 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) | 2003 |
| 2002 | 1841 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) | 2002 |
| 2003 | 1013 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) | 2004 |
| 2003 | 837 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) | 2044 |
| 2004 | 1013 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) | 2005 |
| 2005 | 1013 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) | 1994 |
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