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“Waiting In Vain” by Bob Marley

“Waiting In Vain” by Bob Marley appears on 27 radio countdowns from 10 stations between 1977 and 2026. Its best result is #32 on the John Peel's Forgotten Fifty of 1977. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #32 alternative song of 1977, #1,222 alternative song of all time and #32 of the '70s.

27countdowns
10stations
#32best position
0#1 finishes
0top 10 finishes
1977–2026years charted

Watch

Waiting In Vain (1977) - Bob Marley & The Wailers

Video from YouTube (Bob Marley). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

Bob Marley wrote "Waiting in Vain" by himself and cut it with the Wailers for Exodus in 1977, and when it went out as a single it climbed to number 27 in Britain.

The single has a collector's twist. It was one of only a handful of Marley's Island singles to carry a B-side you couldn't get on an album: "Roots", left over from the Rastaman Vibration sessions, which later surfaced on the Rebel Music compilation and on the deluxe edition of Exodus. When the single came back in 1981, "Roots" gave way to a megamix, the "Marley Mix Up Medley".

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

Classic Rock

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1977 32 John Peel (BBC Radio 1) John Peel's Forgotten Fifty of 1977 61

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
2000 714 CD101 CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) 2001
2001 715 CD101 CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 2002
2001 179 WFPK WFPK 2001 Greatest Songs of All Time 2000
2002 720 CD101 CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) 2003
2003 720 CD101 CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 2004
2004 720 CD101 CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 2005
2004 529 WXPN WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Songs (2004) 885
2005 720 CD101 CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 1994
2007 883 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2007 706 WTMD WTMD Top 897 Songs of All Time 897
2008 829 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 846 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2009 74 WXPN WXPN 885 Desert Island Songs (2009) 885
2010 872 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2011 902 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2013 945 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2014 999 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2014 397 WXPN WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Songs (2014) 885
2018 389 The Current The Current's 893 Essential Songs 892
2020 675 WXPN WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time 2020
2022 534 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '70s 908
2022 240 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Colorado Sound Songs of All Time 1055
2023 390 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of All Time 909
2023 643 WYEP WYEP Countdown to Fall 2023 1229
2026 182 KSHE 95 KSHE 95 U-Man 500 (2026) 499
2026 881 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Songs You Discovered on The Colorado Sound 1055

Also listed as: Waiting in Vain.

Charting alongside it in 1977

Best songs of 1977 →
  1. 1Dancing the Night AwayMotors
  2. 2Uptown Top RankingAlthea & Donna
  3. 3You Beat The Hell Out of MeMotors
  4. 4I Can't Stand My BabyRezillos
  5. 5Suspended SentenceJohn Cooper Clarke
  6. 6SmokescreenDesperate Bicycles

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