Reggae Drum Legend Sly Dunbar Beats On Forever at 73

Sly Dunbar, a legendary reggae drummer from Jamaica, has died at the age of 73. He was known for playing with some of the biggest names in music, including Bob Marley and The Rolling Stones. Sly was born Lowell Fillmore Dunbar in Kingston, Jamaica. As a child, he was inspired to play drums after watching Lloyd Knibbs and the Skatalites on television. He started out by playing on tin cans and learned by watching other drummers. Sly said that Knibbs was his idol and that he taught himself a lot by observing others.

In his teenage years, Sly met Robbie Shakespeare, a talented bass player. Together, they formed the rhythm section of a band called the Revolutionaries. They became well-known session musicians at Channel One, a famous recording studio in Jamaica. Sly and Robbie created a new style of reggae music that focused more on the beat, which made their sound different from other reggae bands like Bob Marley’s. They worked with many famous reggae artists, such as Gregory Isaacs, Dennis Brown, and Barrington Levy. During the 1970s, they toured the United States with Peter Tosh and saved money to start their own production company. In 1980, they founded Taxi Records, which helped launch the careers of new Jamaican artists like Shaggy, Shabba Ranks, and Beenie Man.

Sly and Robbie also worked with artists from other music genres, including Bob Dylan, Grace Jones, and Madonna. They were known for updating the sound of reggae by adding electronic instruments and new textures. In the early 1990s, they worked with Chaka Demus & Pliers and had hits like Tease Me and Murder She Wrote. Sly and Robbie were so busy that it was said they played on more than 200,000 recordings. Producer Brian Eno once said that if you bought a reggae record, there was a 90 percent chance Sly was the drummer. Sly’s wife, Thelma, said she found him unresponsive one morning. He had been sick for some time, but his death was still a shock to his family and friends. Many people, including British DJ David Rodigan, paid tribute to Sly, calling him a true icon and one of the greatest drummers of all time. Sly Dunbar’s influence on reggae and music in general will never be forgotten.