Rihanna's cover of Redemption Song slams into the Billboard charts

Pop singer Rihanna's cover of Bob Marley's 1979 acoustic recording Redemption Song, recently slam dunked its way onto the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart at number 81. It is to date the most successful cover of the song, stateside.

Rihanna originally sang an acoustic version of the song on her 2006 tour, as part of her set. She re-recorded a new version as a charity song for the Hope for Haiti Now campaign.

Rihanna recently performed the song on The Oprah Winfrey Show. She commented about the cover. "Growing up, many times there was a really difficult situation and I always listened to this song because it was so liberating and even now I listen to it when my back is up against the wall. I feel like the people of Haiti need to feel something inspiring."

Redemption Song is the last track on Bob Marley and the Wailers' ninth Island Records studio album Uprising. At the time when he wrote the song, Marley had been diagnosed with the cancer that later was to take his life.

It has been covered by numerous recording artistes including Stevie Wonder (who was a personal friend of Marley), Joe Strummer formerly of the Clash, Manfred Mann's Ear.

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