Bunny Wailer, the co-founder and last living member of the Jamaican reggae group Wailers, who led Bob Marley to world stardom, died at the age of 73.
His manager Maxine Stowe confirmed his death to the Jamaica Observer. Wailer has been hospitalized frequently since suffering a stroke in July 2020.
Andrew Holness, the prime minister of Jamaica, was among those who paid tribute, offering “deep condolences” to his family, friends and fans, and calling his death “a great loss for Jamaica and reggae”.
Born Neville Livingston in 1947 in Kingston, he and Marley became small friends and formed the Wailers in 1963, who formed a central trio of the pair alongside Peter Tosh. They released their debut album, The Wailing Wailers, in 1965 (which included Jamaican champion Simmer Down), before going on a hiatus when Marley moved to Delaware, United States. Wailer was convicted of marijuana possession in 1967 and served a 14-month sentence.
They got together again after Marley’s return and Wailer’s release, joining producer Lee “Scratch” Perry and his group, the Upsetters, and started recording tracks in the new, slower reggae style that emerged from ska. Wailer wrote a series of songs by the group, including what would become his signature song, Dreamland.
In the early 1970s, the Wailers added new members and signed to Island Records, which – aided by the popularity of other new reggae stars like Jimmy Cliff – helped bring them to the international audience. They had a global breakthrough with their fifth album Catch a Fire (1973) and their next, Burnin ‘, which featured what would become one of Marley’s signature songs, I Shot the Sheriff.
The original trio split up in 1974, when Wailer left with Tosh. He started a solo career, starting with the acclaimed 1976 Blackheart Man, and maintained a steady release schedule for 40 years. He won the Grammy Award for best reggae album three times, in 1991, 1995 and 1997.