Bunny Wailer, co-founder and last living member of the Jamaican reggae group The Wailers, which brought Bob Marley to world stardom, has died at the age of 73.
His manager Maxine Stowe confirmed his death to Jamaica Observer. Wailer had been hospitalized frequently since suffering a stroke in July 2020.
Andrew Holness, Prime Minister of Jamaica, was one of those who paid tribute, offering “deep condolences” to his family, friends and fans, and called his death “a great loss for Jamaica and reggae.” “.
Born Neville Livingston in 1947 in Kingston, he and Marley became friends with young children and formed the Wailers in 1963, who settled into a basic trio of the couple alongside Peter Tosh. They released their debut album, The Wailing Wailers, in 1965 (which included their Jamaican topper Simmer Down), before taking a break when Marley moved to Delaware in the United States. Wailer was convicted of possession of marijuana in 1967 and served a 14-month sentence.
They reunited after Marley’s return and Wailer’s release, teaming up with producer Lee “Scratch” Perry and his group The Upsetters, and began recording tracks with the new slower reggae style that had emerged from l’ska. Wailer wrote several songs for the group, including what would become his original song, Dreamland.
By the early 1970s, the Wailers had added new members and signed with Island Records, which, aided by the popularity of other reggae stars like Jimmy Cliff, helped bring them to international audiences. They had a major breakthrough worldwide with their fifth album Catch a Fire (1973) and their follow-up, Burnin ‘, which featured what would become one of Marley’s signature songs, I Shot the Sheriff.
The original trio split in 1974, when Wailer left alongside Tosh. He began a solo career, beginning with the acclaimed 1976 Blackheart Man, and maintained a steady release program for 40 years. He won the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album three times, in 1991, 1995 and 1997.