In the early 1970s, reggae would become more exposed to a global audience.  In 1973, The Harder They Come,  a Jamaican crime film, would heavily feature reggae music, as well as having Jimmy Cliff, a famous reggae artist, as the lead.

While the film helped reggae become popular around the world, the tipping point for many was the 1974
Eric Clapton cover of the classic Marley track “I Shot the Sheriff,” which retained all of the reggae elements of the original combined with Clapton’s genius on the guitar, and would become played in homes and by radio stations around the world. 

Suddenly, reggae music, and in particular Marley, was in front of a global audience and in a position to become a huge influence.

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