Sly Dunbar, Drummer Of Celebrated Reggae Duo Sly & Robbie, Dies At 73 – Entertainment News
By Karen Beishuizen
Another legend is gone.
Sly Dunbar, the legendary Jamaican drummer, died on 26 January. He was 73.
He was born on May 10, 1952, in Kingston, Jamaica, and started playing drums at a young age, joining his first band at 15 and, in 1972, becoming friends with bassist Robbie Shakespeare. The duo became Sly & Robbie and laid the foundation for Jamaican reggae.
They played on records by Black Uhuru, Jimmy Cliff, Peter Tosh and collaborated with Bob Dylan, Grace Jones, Joe Cocker, Herbie Hancock, Ian Dury, Marianne Faithfull, No Doubt, Simply Red, Sinead O’ Çonnor, and the Rolling Stones. They produced remixes for Madonna, Britney Spears, New Order and Fugees.
It’s been estimated that, over the decades, Sly and Robbie played on more than 200,000 recordings
Sly Dunbar was a 13-time Grammy Award nominee, first in 1985 for producing the Black Uhuru album “Anthem” and then in 1999 in the Best Reggae Album category for the Sly & Robbie record “Friends”.
He is survived by his wife and daughter.
Ringside Report sends their condolences to The Dunbar Family in their time of grief.
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