"I Shot the Sheriff" is a reggae song written by Bob Marley, who is its sole writer. Bob Marley and the Wailers recorded it at Harry J Studio in Kingston, Jamaica, with production by Chris Blackwell and the Wailers. Released as a single on 12 February 1973, it first appeared on the Wailers' album Burnin', issued in 1973 on Island and Tuff Gong. The recording runs 4:41.
Eric Clapton's 1974 cover, produced by Tom Dowd for his album 461 Ocean Boulevard on RSO, was a single that reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, Marley's only US number one to date. It also reached No. 1 in Canada and New Zealand. Clapton's version was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2003. Warren G interpolated and sampled the song on his 1997 hit "I Shot the Sheriff".
