Bunny Wailer, the co-founder and last living member of the Jamaican reggae group, the Wailers, who took Bob Marley to worldwide stars, is 73 years old.
His driver Maxine Stowe confirmed his death to the Jamaica Observer. Wailer has been hospitalized regularly since suffering a stroke in July 2020.
Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness was among those who paid tribute to his family, friends and supporters’ deep sympathy ‘and called his death a great loss for Jamaica and for reggae’.
Born in Kingston in 1947, Neville Livingston became friends with Marley and formed the Wailers in 1963. They released their debut album, The Wailing Wailers, in 1965 (which included their Jamaican topper Simmer Down), before going to bed when Marley moved to Delaware, USA. Wailer was convicted of possession of marijuana in 1967 and sentenced to 14 months in prison.
They reunited after the return of Marley and Wailer’s release, along with producer Lee “Scratch” Perry and his band Upsetters, and began recording tracks in the new, slower reggae style that emerged from ska has. Wailer wrote a number of the group’s songs, including what would become his distinctive song, Dreamland.
By the early ’70s, the Wailers had added and signed new members to Island Records, which – aided by the popularity of other new reggae stars such as Jimmy Cliff – helped bring them among international audiences. They had a worldwide breakthrough with the fifth album Catch a Fire (1973) and its sequel, Burnin ‘, which contained what would become one of Marley’s most iconic songs, I Shot the Sheriff.
The original trio split in 1974, when Wailer left with Tosh. He began a solo career, starting the award-winning Blackheart Man in 1976, and keeping a steady release schedule for 40 years. He won three Grammy Awards for Best Reggae Album in 1991, 1995 and 1997.