On this day, 13 April 1973, The Wailers, led by Bob Marley, release their fifth studio album, Catch a Fire. The first album on their new label, Island Records, it makes Marley and the Wailers international recording stars and brings reggae music to the forefront.

The motivation for the album is desperation. It is not desperation for fame: the band was stranded in England. Marley and his bandmates Peter Tosh and Lee Perry were left there after their tour with fellow reggae singer, Johnny Nash, came to an abrupt halt. Nash and co-founder of JoDa Records, Danny Sims, bolted back to the US after getting word that sales of their 1972 hit, “I Can See Clearly Now”, had begun to drop. With no money for the airfare back to Kingston, Marley visits Chris Blackwell at his London music studio. Blackwell was born in England but grew up in Jamaica and already knew about the Wailers. After hearing about Marley’s dilemma, he fronts the band 8,000 pounds under the condition that they record an album for his Island label.