Jamaican singer and percussionist Bunny Wailer, reggae legend, died Tuesday, March 2 at the age of 73, at Andrew’s Memorial Hospital in Kingston, Jamaica, Jamaican Culture Minister Olivia said in a statement. Barn.
The minister did not specify the cause of death of Bunny Wailer, a founding member of The Wailers with Bob Marley and Peter Tosh, who made reggae a global phenomenon. Real name Neville Livingston, the musician suffered a first stroke in 2018, then a second in July 2020. He was the last survivor of the historic trio.
Born in 1947 in Nine Mile, in the north of Jamaica, Bunny Wailer met there, since childhood, Bob Marley, with whom he befriended. Both will move to Trench Town, a district of Kingston, where they will be influenced by their meeting with Joe Higgs, considered by many to be the “father of reggae”, who will encourage them to form a first trio with Peter Tosh.
The group will change their name several times, before releasing their first album in 1965, The Wailing Wailers. It marks the emergence of a sound, at a devilish rhythm, marked by American music, in particular R & B, but also by Jamaican culture.
Bunny Wailer during a concert in Spain:
“A great loss for Jamaica”
A charismatic character, always wearing a beard and hat, a follower of the principles of the Rastafarian religious movement, Bunny Wailer plays a decisive role in the development of this musical identity.
The Wailers will release several more albums before starting their collaboration with producer Chris Blackwell. The founder of the Island Records label will significantly change the sound of the group, to give it a more electric sound likely to please, according to him, a more international audience.
Bunny Wailer will be albums Catch a Fire and Burnin ‘, which will transform reggae into a major musical movement. But he will then leave the group, as will Peter Tosh, tired of a role of Bob Marley’s foil in which he felt locked up.
He will then launch his solo career with the album Blackheart man, considered today as a classic of the genre. During the 1990s, he received three Grammy Awards, the awards of the American music industry, including two for the reggae album of the year.
“The Death of Bunny Wailer, the Last of the Wailers, Ends the Most Vibrant Period of the Jamaican Musical Experience”Jamaican politician Peter Phillips wrote in a Facebook post. Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness also paid tribute to the musician:
“This is a great loss for Jamaica and for reggae, Bunny Wailer will be forever remembered for his outstanding contribution to the music industry and Jamaican culture. “
