Reggae icon Bunny Wailer has passed away.
The founding member of the original wailers trio with Bob Marley and Peter Tosh, passed away at 73 in Jamaica on Tuesday March 2nd. As reported by his manager Maxine Stowe, the reggae music giant passed away at the Medical Associates Hospital in Kingston, Jamaica.
At this time, no cause of death for Wailer has been given. It has been reported that he has been in and out of the hospital since suffering a second stroke last year.
Born in Jamaica, Wailer born Neville Livingston before adopting his famous stage name, became friends with Bob Marley at a young age. The two, along with Peter Tosh, would later go on to form the legendary reggae group The Wailers. While Tosh and Marley served as the primary singers and songwriters of the crew, Bunny was recognized for his melodic harmonies on their tracks.
In 1965 the trio released their debut record The Wailing Wailers, before going on hiatus and linking up again in the 70s. Around that time, he began penning and recording his own material, including one of his most famous tracks “Dreamland.”
The group achieved international fame in 1973 with the release of Catch a Fire, which later pushed the group to disband in 1974. Bunny went on to win a Grammy for Best Reggae Album in 1991 for Time Will Tell: A Tribute to Bob Marley, earning two more after that as well.
According to a report on BBC, Wailer is credited with reggae classics like Simmer Down and Stir It Up, before Wailer left to go solo in 1974. He went on to win three Grammys and was given Jamaica’s Order Of Merit in 2017.