Legendary Reggae Icon Bunny Wailer Passes Away At 73
Bunny Wailer - Consequence of Sound / Youtube
Reggae pioneer Bunny Wailer has passed away at the age of 73, as confirmed by his manager Maxine Stowe on the Jamaican Observer. The cause of death wasn’t specified, but Wailer suffered a stroke, allegedly the second time, back in 2020.
Born as Neville Livingstone, Wailer helped establish the Wailers band with Bob Marley and Peter Tosh, along with singers Junior Braithwaite, Beverley Kelso, and Cherry Smith.
Moving forward, the Wailers hit it big with the Marley original tune, “Simmer Down”, which led to the debut of Marley, Tosh, and Wailer in 1965 with the Wailing Wailers. Things went quickly for the band, as they managed to place five songs in the Jamaican Top 10 in the following year.
The Wailers then went into an extended period of inactivity by the late ’60s, with Marley making a family and Tosh being sentenced to a brief term due to marijuana possession. They came back in with two records, Soul Rebels from 1970 and Soul Revolution in 1971.
Wailer was busy with his solo debut in 1976, Blackheart Man, and banked up the reputation thanks to the Wailers’ 1973 album, Catch A Fire, which was their major label debut on Island Records.
He was the final living member of the Wailers trio, with Marley dying of cancer in 1981 and Tosh being killed in 1987 after a robbery attempt.
