Three Little Birds

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For other uses, see Three Little Birds (disambiguation)
"Three Little Birds"
Song
B-side"Every Need Got an Ego to Feed"

"Three Little Birds" is a song by Bob Marley & The Wailers from their 1977 album Exodus. It is one of Bob Marley's most popular songs. The single was released in 1980 and reached the Top 20 in the UK, peaking at number 17. The song has been covered by numerous other artists. One of the most notable covers was by English singer Connie Talbot, whose version reached number one on the Billboard Hot Singles Sales chart in 2008.

Music video

The video clip sees a young girl make her way through the street while carrying a television showing images of Bob Marley, while hand-drawn images of birds and lyrics to the song flash by on screen. The ending has the girl pretending to drive a car which has no tires.

Covers

Releases

Film appearances

Connie Talbot version

"Three Little Birds"
Song
B-side"You Raise Me Up"

"Three Little Birds" was released as the first single by child singer Connie Talbot on 10 June 2008. It was taken from the 2008 rerelease of her 2007 album, Over the Rainbow. Talbot released a music video to publicise the single, which was filmed in Jamaica. The release reached number 3 on the UK Independent Singles Chart, and number 1 on the Billboard Hot Singles Sales chart in the United States.

Background

After rising to fame on the first series of Britain's Got Talent, Talbot signed with Rainbow Recording Company and began production of her debut album, Over the Rainbow.[1] The album initially featured several Christmas themed songs, and the first single, "Over the Rainbow"/"White Christmas", was planned be released on 3 December 2007.[1] The single was then cancelled in favour of an album-first release.[2] The album was rereleased with more general tracks to replace the Christmas songs, and one of the new tracks was a cover of Bob Marley's "Three Little Birds".[3] The songs on the album were chosen with collaboration between Talbot and her management; first Talbot and her family wrote "a list of the songs that Connie would sing at her birthday party", and the management then thought "long and hard" about including the more adult songs, including "I Will Always Love You", but Talbot herself insisted.[4] The album was recorded in a bedroom studio, nicknamed "the hut".[5]

Release and reception

"Three Little Birds" was released as Talbot's first single on 10 June 2008 in the UK,[6] and released alongside the album in the U.S. on 14 October.[7] Rashvin Bedi, writing for Malaysian newspaper The Star, said that "Three Little Birds" was her favourite song on Over the Rainbow.[8] The single peaked at number 3 on the Independent Singles Charts in the United Kingdom,[9] and entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 2, dropping to 3 the next week.[10] It then raised back to number 2, and, on the sixth week, reached number 1.[11] Talbot received attention from the British press because of the single's success, with the Daily Mail and Daily Telegraph attributing her success in America to her appeal to the Christian market,[12][13] and to the success of her videos on YouTube.[13] Talbot's father, Gavin, spoke about the song reaching number one, saying "When we received the phone call we were driving back from doing a round of radio interviews in London and Connie was asleep in the back of the car. When we told her she just took it in her stride. I just cannot believe that she is number one in America. We are all very proud of her. It is a big achievement – people have just taken a shine to her." He also said it was "a big shock to hear she was number one. It is tremendous."[14] As of November 2008, the single has sold more than 250,000 copies worldwide.[15]

Music video

A music video for the song was shot in Jamaica in late March/early April 2008.[16] Talbot was quoted as saying that "going to Jamaica was the best thing I've done this year".[16] The video begins with images of Talbot skipping through a garden, which is then replaced with an image of her singing on a beach. She then joins a child whose parents had been arguing and plays with them and others in a field, then dances with them on the beach. The children are then lead to a stage, where Talbot performs as the others sing and play musical instruments. The video closes with Talbot in the garden, skipping away from the camera. After the success of the single in the U.S., the Daily Mail attributed much of Talbot's success to her YouTube videos, mentioning that the "Three Little Birds" music video had attracted more than 82 million views.[13]

Chart performance

Chart Country Peak Date
Independent Singles Charts UK 3 20 June 2008
Hot Singles Sales U.S. 1 27 November 2008

Track listing

No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."Three Little Birds"Bob MarleyBob Marley3:08
2."You Raise Me Up"Brendan GrahamRolf Løvland4:04

References

  1. ^ a b Sewards, Lisa (2007-11-17). "Connie gets second bite at stardom as gap-toothed girl shrugs off Cowell's rejection". Daily Mail. Retrieved 2007-11-16. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  2. ^ "Connie's dream of a hit single". Express & Star. 2008-01-13. Retrieved 2008-02-11. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  3. ^ "Britain's Got Talent Connie Talbot sings Three Little Birds". Daily Mirror. 2008-06-12. Retrieved 2008-06-12. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  4. ^ Mason, Kerri (2008-10-10). "Record buyers head-"Over"-heels for 7-year-old". Reuters. Retrieved 2008-10-30. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ Lopez, Korina (2008-11-02). "'Talent' star Connie Talbot is 7 going on globally successful". U.S.A. Today. Retrieved 11 November 2008. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help); Unknown parameter |curly= ignored (help)
  6. ^ "Buy Connies single today!". Rhythm Riders. 2008-06-10. Retrieved 2008-06-12. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. ^ "Connie Talbot Soars 'Over The Rainbow' and Up the Billboard Charts (press release)". AAO Music/Reality Records. 2008-10-27. Retrieved 2008-10-29. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ Bedi, Rashvin. "Over the Rainbow". The Star. Retrieved 11 November 2008. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  9. ^ "Connies single at No. 3!". Rhythm Riders. 2008-06-20. Retrieved 2008-08-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ "Three Little Birds- Hot 100". Billboard. 2008-11-22. Retrieved 16 November 2008. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  11. ^ "Hot Singles Sales". Billboard. Retrieved 2008-11-27. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  12. ^ "Connie Talbot goes to Number One on the Billboard Charts". Daily Telegraph. 2008-11-28. Retrieved 30 November 2008. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help); Unknown parameter |curly= ignored (help)
  13. ^ a b c "Connie Talbot, 8, the Britain's Got Talent star snubbed by Simon Cowell, breaks America". Daily Mail. 2008-11-28. Retrieved 30 November 2008. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help); Unknown parameter |curly= ignored (help)
  14. ^ "Connie tops the US charts". Sutton Coldfield Observer. 2008-12-03. Retrieved 3 December 2008. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help); Unknown parameter |curly= ignored (help)
  15. ^ Harrison, Ruth (2008-11-27). "Album Review: Connie Talbot's Christmas Album". FemaleFirst. Retrieved 30 November 2008. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help); Unknown parameter |curly= ignored (help)
  16. ^ a b Van Guens, Sharon (2008-04-06). "Britains Got Talent star Connie's got teeth". The Sunday Mirror. Retrieved 16 November 2008. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help); Unknown parameter |curly= ignored (help)

External links