It Hurts To Be Alone Riddim – Studio One

Early Wailers. This 1965 Studio One cut finds Bob Marley and The Wailers on one of those tender, close-to-the-bone melodies that Coxsone Dodd knew how to frame so well, with Devon Russell’s later take sitting right beside it and underlining how durable the song’s hook really is. The original version also ties back to Ernest Ranglin, who was part of the recording, which gives the tune that polished, guitar-led feel you hear in a lot of Studio One’s finest early sides. Compared with Dodd’s ska-era output, it sits a little more relaxed and vocal-forward, already pointing toward the rootsier direction that would define so much of the label’s classic catalogue.