Sly Dunbar

Last updated

Sly Dunbar
SlyDunbar1979 (cropped).png
Sly Dunbar on tour with Peter Tosh in Cardiff, Wales, 1979
Background information
Birth nameLowell Fillmore Dunbar
Born (1952-05-10) 10 May 1952 (age 72)
Kingston, Jamaica
Genres Reggae
OccupationMusician
Instrument(s)Drums, percussion, programming

Lowell Fillmore "Sly" Dunbar (born 10 May 1952, Kingston, Jamaica) [1] is a Jamaican drummer, best known as one half of the prolific Jamaican rhythm section and reggae production duo Sly and Robbie.

Contents

Biography

Dunbar began playing at 15 in a band called The Yardbrooms. His first appearance on a recording was on the Dave and Ansell Collins album Double Barrel. Dunbar joined a band Ansell Collins called Skin, Flesh and Bones. [1]

Speaking on his influences, Sly explains “My mentor was the drummer for the Skatalites, Lloyd Knibb. And I used to listen a lot to the drummer for Booker T. & the M.G.'s, Al Jackson Jr., and a lot of Philadelphia. And there are other drummers in Jamaica, like Santa and Carly from the Wailers Band, Winston Bennett, Paul Douglas, Mikey Boo. I respect all these drummers and have learnt a lot from them. From them, I listened and created my own style. They played some things I copied, other things I recreated." [2]

In 1972, Dunbar met and became friends with Robbie Shakespeare, who was then bass guitarist for the Hippy Boys. Shakespeare recommended Dunbar to Bunny Lee as a possible session drummer for the Aggrovators. Dunbar and Shakespeare decided to continue performing together. They worked with Peter Tosh and his band until 1981, recording five albums. [1]

Dunbar noted about the Mighty Diamonds' song "Right Time": "When that tune first come out, because of that double tap on the rim nobody believe it was me on the drums, they thought it was some sort of sound effect we was using. Then when it go to number 1 and stay there, everybody started trying for that style and it soon become established." [3] According to The Independent , the entire album Right Time was "revolutionary", the breakthrough album of "masters of groove and propulsion" Dunbar and Shakespeare, with "Sly's radical drumming matching the singers' insurrectionary lyrics blow-for-blow." [4]

Dunbar and Shakespeare formed their Taxi Records label in 1980. It has seen releases from many international successful artists, including Black Uhuru, Chaka Demus and Pliers, Ini Kamoze, Beenie Man and Red Dragon. [1]

Dunbar played for the Aggrovators for Bunny Lee, the Upsetters for Lee Perry, the Revolutionaries for Joseph Hoo Kim, and recorded for Barry O'Hare in the 1990s. [1]

Dunbar plays drums on several noteworthy tracks produced by Lee Perry including "Night Doctor", Junior Murvin's "Police and Thieves", and Bob Marley's "Punky Reggae Party" 12" track (although the track was produced by Perry, Dunbar's drum track was actually recorded at Joe Gibbs Duhaney Park studio). [5]

Sly and Robbie also played on Bob Dylan's albums Infidels and Empire Burlesque (using recordings from the Infidels sessions). Other sessions include their appearance on three Grace Jones albums, and work with Herbie Hancock, Joe Cocker, Serge Gainsbourg and the Rolling Stones. [1]

In 2008, Sly Dunbar collaborated with the Jamaican percussionist Larry McDonald, on his debut album Drumquestra. [6]

Dunbar appeared in the 2011 documentary Reggae Got Soul: The Story of Toots and the Maytals which was featured on the BBC and described as “The untold story of one of the most influential artists ever to come out of Jamaica”. [7] [8]

In 1979, Brian Eno remarked of Sly Dunbar: " (...) So when you buy a reggae record, there's a 90 percent chance the drummer is Sly Dunbar. You get the impression that Sly Dunbar is chained to a studio seat somewhere in Jamaica, but in fact what happens is that his drum tracks are so interesting, they get used again and again." [9]

Awards

Sly Dunbar is a 13-time Grammy nominee. He received two Grammy awards: the 1985 Grammy for Best Reggae Recording for the Black Uhuru album "Anthem" for which Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare were producers, and one for the 1999 Best Reggae Album Grammy award for the Sly & Robbie album entitled "Friends". [10]

Grammy Nominations

Grammy Wins

Collaborations

With Joan Armatrading

With Gary Barlow

With Dennis Brown

With Jackson Browne

With Jimmy Cliff

With Joe Cocker

With Bootsy Collins

With Carlene Davis

With Ian Dury

With Bob Dylan

With Gwen Guthrie

With Nona Hendryx

With Mick Jagger

With Garland Jeffreys

With Grace Jones

With Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers

With Jenny Morris

With Yoko Ono

With Sinéad O'Connor

With Barry Reynolds

With Carly Simon

With Simply Red

With The Rolling Stones

With Peter Tosh

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Island Records</span> British-Jamaican record label

Island Records is a Jamaican multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another label recently acquired by PolyGram, were both at the time the largest independent record labels in history, with Island having exerted a major influence on the progressive music scene in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s. Island Records operates four international divisions: Island US, Island UK, Island Australia, and Island France. Current key people include Island US president Darcus Beese, and MD Jon Turner. Partially due to its significant legacy, Island remains one of UMG's pre-eminent record labels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Punky Reggae Party</span> 1977 single by Bob Marley

"Punky Reggae Party" is a song by Bob Marley, recorded and released in 1977. Not appearing on any studio album, it was released in 1977 as a 12-inch single in Jamaica only on the Tuff Gong and Lee Perry's Black Art labels, as a B-side to the "Jamming" single on Chris Blackwell's Island Records label in some countries and was later released as a live single on Babylon by Bus. Subsequently, it appeared on a number of compilations and "Best of" albums as well as the Deluxe Edition of Exodus and the 2002 CD reissue of Legend.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toots and the Maytals</span> Jamaican musical group

The Maytals, known from 1972 to 2020 as Toots and the Maytals, are a Jamaican musical group, one of the best known ska and rocksteady vocal groups. The Maytals were formed in the early 1960s and were key figures in popularizing reggae music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mikey Chung</span> Jamaican musician (1950–2021)

Michael Chung also known as Mao Chung, was a Jamaican musician who played keyboards, guitar and percussion instruments. He was also an arranger and record producer of Jamaican music, and worked with a wide array of musicians, notably Lee Perry and Sly and Robbie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toots Hibbert</span> Jamaican musician (1942–2020)

Frederick Nathaniel "Toots" Hibbert, was a Jamaican singer and songwriter who was the lead vocalist for the reggae and ska band Toots and the Maytals. A reggae pioneer, he performed for six decades and helped establish some of the fundamentals of reggae music. Hibbert's 1968 song "Do the Reggay" is widely credited as the genesis of the genre name reggae. His band's album True Love won a Grammy Award in 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sly and Robbie</span> Jamaican rhythm section and production duo

Sly and Robbie were a prolific Jamaican rhythm section and production duo, associated primarily with the reggae and dub genres. Drummer Sly Dunbar and bassist Robbie Shakespeare teamed up in the mid-1970s after establishing themselves separately in Jamaica as professional musicians. Shakespeare died in December 2021 following kidney surgery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robbie Shakespeare</span> Jamaican bass guitarist (1953–2021)

Robert Warren Dale Shakespeare was a Jamaican bass guitarist and record producer, best known as half of the reggae rhythm section and production duo Sly and Robbie, with drummer Sly Dunbar. Regarded as one of the most influential reggae bassists, Shakespeare was also known for his creative use of electronics and production effects units. He was sometimes nicknamed "Basspeare".

Culture Press is an independent record label from UK specialized in Jamaican music.

Tommy McCook was a Jamaican saxophonist. A founding member of The Skatalites, he also directed The Supersonics for Duke Reid, and backed many sessions for Bunny Lee or with The Revolutionaries at Channel One Studios in the 1970s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Winston Grennan</span> Jamaican drummer

Winston Grennan was a Jamaican drummer, famous for session work from 1962 to 1973 in Jamaica as well as later in New York City through the 1970s and 1980s.

<i>Funky Kingston</i> 1973 studio album by Toots and the Maytals

Funky Kingston is the name of two albums by Jamaican reggae group Toots and the Maytals. The first was issued in Jamaica and the United Kingdom in 1973 on Dragon Records, a subsidiary label of Island Records, owned by Chris Blackwell. A different album, with the same cover and title, was issued in the United States in 1975 on Mango Records. That album was compiled from three previous Maytals albums by Island Records employee Danny Holloway and peaked at #164 on the Billboard 200. It was also voted the eleventh best album of 1975 in the annual Jazz & Pop poll. In 2003, the American version was placed at number 378 on Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, 380 in a 2012 revised list and 344 in a 2020 revised list.

Ansel Collins is a Jamaican musician, composer, singer, songwriter and producer, best known for his work with Dave Barker as Dave and Ansel Collins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carl Harvey</span> Musical artist

Carl Harvey is a Jamaican born Canadian guitarist and record producer who recorded as a member of Crack of Dawn and The Aggrovators in the 1970s, and later became guitarist for Toots & the Maytals.

<i>Anthem</i> (Black Uhuru album) 1984 studio album by Black Uhuru

Anthem is an album by Black Uhuru, released in the US in 1983 and internationally in 1984. In 1985, it won the first Grammy Award for Best Reggae Recording. It has been released in three editions, each with a different track listing and mix, and as a box set.

<i>Rhythm Killers</i> 1987 studio album by Sly and Robbie

Rhythm Killers is an album by Jamaican musical duo Sly and Robbie, released in May 1987 by Island Records. By the time of the album's recording, Sly and Robbie had transitioned away from their prolific work in the reggae genre. They spent the 1980s experimenting with electronic sounds and contemporary recording technology on international, cross-genre endeavors, which influenced their direction for Rhythm Killers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Larry McDonald (percussionist)</span> Musical artist

Larry McDonald is a Jamaican percussionist. He was born in Port Maria, Jamaica in 1937. McDonald played congas with Carlos Malcolm's band, Toots and the Maytals and the Count Ossie Band. He plays a wide variety of traditional percussion instruments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Douglas (musician)</span> Jamaican drummer

Paul Douglas is a Jamaican musician, best known for his work as the drummer, percussionist and bandleader of Toots and the Maytals. His career spans more than five decades as one of reggae's most recorded drummers. Music journalist and reggae historian David Katz wrote, "dependable drummer Paul Douglas played on countless reggae hits."

Clifton "Jackie" Jackson is a Jamaican bass player, who was an important and prolific session musician and bassist on ska, rocksteady, reggae, dub and discomix records throughout the 1960s and 1970s, and was later a member of Toots and the Maytals.

<i>Got to Be Tough</i> (Toots and the Maytals album) 2020 studio album by Toots and the Maytals

Got to Be Tough is a studio album by Jamaican reggae band Toots and the Maytals. It was released through Trojan Jamaica/BMG on 28 August 2020 and financed by Trojan Jamaica owner Zak Starkey, who also played guitar for the recording. The album is the first studio release from Toots and the Maytals in more than a decade and the first after an accident wherein bandleader Toots Hibbert was hit in the head with a glass bottle, leading to his hiatus from performing. The lyrical content of the album is political, featuring pleas for unity among people.

<i>Toots in Memphis</i> 1988 studio album by Toots Hibbert

Toots in Memphis is an album by the Jamaican musician Toots Hibbert. Released in 1988, Toots in Memphis was recorded without the Maytals. The majority of the album's tracks are covers of American R&B songs.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Biography by Craig Harris". AllMusic . Retrieved 22 October 2009.
  2. "Red Bull Music Academy". Redbullmusicacademy.com. Retrieved 13 October 2019.
  3. Bradley, Lloyd (2001). This is Reggae Music: The Story of Jamaica's Music . Grove Press. p.  479. ISBN   0-8021-3828-4. Mighty Diamonds Right Time.
  4. Murray, Charles Shaar (12 March 1999). "The rhythm kings Drum and bass are at the heart of popular music and for 20 years Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare have been acknowledged the best. But who are their own favourites?". The Independent. Archived from the original on 22 October 2012. Retrieved 17 December 2008.
  5. "The Usual Suspects Part III: Sly Dunbar interviewed by Dermot Hussey". Midnightraverblog.com. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  6. Coleman, Nick (31 May 2009). "Album: Larry McDonald, Drumquestra (MCPR)". The Independent. London.
  7. "BBC Four - Toots and the Maytals: Reggae Got Soul". BBC. Retrieved 13 October 2019.
  8. "Toots & The Maytals - Reggae Got Soul - Documentary Trailer". YouTube. 15 August 2013. Archived from the original on 22 December 2021. Retrieved 13 October 2019.
  9. "Downbeat – PRO SESSION – The Studio As Compositional Tool". Music.hyperreal.org. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  10. "Artist: Sly Dunbar". Grammy.com. Retrieved 17 February 2024.