Sly Dunbar leaves behind legacy of hits that touched the world
KINGSTON, Jamaica — Lowell “Sly” Dunbar, the celebrated drummer who helped fashion the reggae beat, died on January 26, his wife Thelma told Observer Online.
She said he died at home but did not disclose the cause of death.
Dunbar, who played on and produced numerous hit songs with bassist Robbie Shakespeare, was 73 years old.
Dunbar played on classic songs such as Double Barrell, the 1971 single by Dave Barker and Ansel Collins that topped the British national chart. He was the driving force behind The Revolutionaries house band at Channel One studio in the 1970s, that played on songs such as Right Time and I Need A Roof by The Mighty Diamonds, Jah Jah Give us Life (The Wailing Souls), Ballistic Affair (Leroy Smart) and Woman is Like A Shadow (The Meditations).
With Shakespeare, he was a key member of Peter Tosh’s Word, Sound And Power band. They played on some of the fiery singer’s best albums, including Mystic Man and Bush Doctor.
Releasing songs through their Taxi label, Sly and Robbie hit their stride in the late 1970s. They produced hit singles, including Love And Devotion by Jimmy Riley, Soon Forward by Gregory Isaacs and Merry Go Round by Junior Delgado.
The duo were also in demand internationally during the 1980s. They produced or backed acts such as Black Uhuru, Grace Jones, Bob Dylan and The Rolling Stones.
They produced Anthem, the 1984 album by Black Uhuru that won the first Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album. Shakespeare died in 2021 at age 68.
The unassuming Dunbar considered his work with Black Uhuru and on Chaka Demus and Pliers’ 1993 album, Tease Me, as career highlights. The latter produced six songs — Tease Me, Murder She Wrote, Twist And Shout, Gal Wine, She Don’t Love Nobody, and I Wanna Be Your Man — that entered the British national chart.
In a 2004 interview with the Jamaica Observer, Dunbar said he came of age as a drummer at Channel One.
“If yuh listen to Studio One, they had a concept drum sound, Treasure Isle the same thing, Philadelphia (International Records) the same thing and Motown the same thing,” he explained. “Wi look at all the big labels and realise dat they have the same set of musicians, so musicians could jus’ look at musicians and create a feel by eye contact; we had the same thing at Channel One, where wi could guarantee how the record would come out jus’ by the drum sound.”
Dunbar pointed to Lloyd Knibb (of The Skatalites), Earl Young from MFSB (house band at PIR), Steve Gad, Harvey Mason and Bernard Purdie as his biggest influences.
In 2015, Sly Dunbar was named at number 66 on Rolling Stone Magazine’s Top 100 Drummers.
He is survived by his wife Thelma, daughter Natasha and sister Norma.
