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Bunny Wailer, a bright reggae man who was the last founding member of the legendary group The Wailers, died Tuesday in his native Jamaica. He was 73 years old.
Wailer, a baritone singer named Neville Livingston, formed The Wailers in 1963 with the late superstars Bob Marley and Peter Tosh when they lived in a slum in the capital, Kingston. They catapulted to international fame with the album “Catch a Fire” and also helped popularize Rastafarian culture among the most favored Jamaicans from the 1970s onwards.
“Jah-B was a vanguard, always pushing the boundaries of expression, whether in song, style or word,” said Brian Paul Welsh, a local reggae musician known as Blvk H3ro. “There was and can only be one Neville Livingston.”
Wailer died at Andrews Memorial Hospital in Jamaica’s St. Andrew’s Parish from complications of a stroke he suffered in July, director Maxine Stowe told The Associated Press.
His death was mourned around the world as people shared music, memories and images of the renowned artist.
“The passing of Bunny Wailer, the last of the original Wailers, puts an end to the most vibrant period of Jamaica’s musical experience,” Jamaican politician Peter Phillips wrote in a Facebook post. “Bunny was a good, conscientious Jamaican brother.”
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Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness also paid tribute to Wailer, calling him “a respected senior statesman in the Jamaican music scene,” in a series of tweets.
“This is a great loss for Jamaica and for Reggae, no doubt Bunny Wailer will always be remembered for his sterling contribution to Jamaica’s music industry and culture,” he wrote.
While Wailer toured the world, he was more at home in the mountains of Jamaica and enjoyed cultivating while writing and recording songs on his label, Solomonic.
“I think I love the country a little more than the city,” Wailer told The Associated Press in 1989. “It has more to do with life, health, and strength. The city takes it out sometimes. The country is good. to meditate. It has fresh food and a cool atmosphere, which keeps you going. “
A year earlier, in 1988, he had rented a plane and flew to Jamaica with food to help those affected by Hurricane Gilbert.
″ Sometimes people pay less attention to these things (food), but it turns out to be the most important thing. I’m a farmer, ”he told the AP.
He was the third and final original Wailer. Marley died in 1981 of a brain tumor at the age of 36 and Tosh was shot dead in Jamaica in 1987 at the age of 42.
