Stir It Up is a song composed by Bob Marley in 1967, and first made popular by Johnny Nash, peaking on the UK chart in June 1972.

When Bob Marley returned to Jamaica from the United States in 1967, The Wailers started their own label, ‘Wail'n Soul'm’ records, and released their first independent single "Freedom Time" backed with "Bend Down Low." "Nice Time," "Hypocrites," "Mellow Mood," "Thank You Lord," and "Stir It Up" are all recorded in the same year.

The label folded shortly after and Marley began writing for American singer Johnny Nash. On Nash's I Can See Clearly Now album, he used members of The Wailers and recorded several Marley songs: "Stir It Up," the follow-up single, "Comma Comma," "Guava Jelly," and the Nash/Marley co-written ballad, "You Poured Sugar on Me." The track "(It Was) So Nice While It Lasted" received radio play.

"Stir It Up" was Bob Marley's first successful song outside Jamaica. Another song written by Bob Marley, "I Shot The Sheriff", was made a hit by Eric Clapton in 1974. Marley's first "own" international hit would be "No Woman No Cry," from the Natty Dread album in 1975. One distinction particular to this song, is that the single version (from the 45 rpm original hit release) has never been made available on CD. It includes several audio tracks that are not on the album version (eg. the prominent wooden guiro percussion), and some recorded at different levels (brass and strings in particular), which give the song a more powerful and authentic sound, as it was the version played on the radio during the time the song was a hit, and for many years thereafter, until the CD version was released.

In 1993, the song was covered by Haddaway on his debut album Haddaway.

"Stir It Up" is the second single from Patti LaBelle taken from the soundtrack album to the 1984 film Beverly Hills Cop -- the later won a Grammy Award for Best Album of Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or Television Special (1986). The singe is also the second of a couple of songs (the other being "New Attitude") she recorded for MCA Records immediately after signing her new contract with that company. Her first full-length album for MCA, Winner in You, would follow the next year.