Beautiful Virgin Islands

Thursday, Jul 31, 2025

Reggae great Bunny Wailer dead at 73

Reggae great Bunny Wailer dead at 73

Reggae icon Bunny Wailer, who co-founded The Wailers with Bob Marley in the 1960s and helped make the catchy Jamaican beat a global phenomenon, died on Tuesday. He was 73.

No cause of death was given. but the Jamaican culture ministry said Wailer had been hospitalized in Kingston since December.

Wailer, who was born Neville Livingstone in the Nine Mile district, where Marley also came from, suffered a stroke in 2018 and another in July of last year.
He was the last surviving original member of the Wailers.

Marley died of cancer in 1981, and Peter Tosh was murdered in 1987.

Wailer, who was a childhood friend of Marley, won three Grammys over the course of his career, and in 2017, he was awarded Jamaica's Order of Merit, one of the country's highest honors.

"We remain grateful for the role that Bunny Wailer played in the development and popularity of Reggae music across the world," Culture Minister Olivia Grange said in a statement.

"We remember with great pride how Bunny, Bob Marley and Peter Tosh took Reggae music to the four corners of the earth," Grange added.

Marley and Tosh acted as The Wailers' primary singers and songwriters, but Wailer played a key role in providing harmonies and percussion to the trio's songs, according to Rolling Stone magazine.

"The Wailers are responsible for the Wailers sound. Bob, Peter, and myself: We are totally responsible for the Wailers sound, and what the Wailers brought to the world, and left as a legacy," Wailer told Afropop in 2016.

The band's debut album on a major label, "Catch a Fire," released in 1973, helped propel the group to international fame.

At one point, that record was ranked 126th on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums list.

The band's biggest hits include "Simmer Down" and "One Love."

- Solo career -


After leaving the band in 1974, Wailer went on to enjoy a prolific solo career as a writer, producer and singer of what is perhaps Jamaica's best known export.

He drew much praise for his album "Blackheart Man," which included the song "Burning Down Sentence," which drew on Wailer's experience doing a one-year prison sentence for marijuana possession.

"The tracks that were done in 'Blackheart Man' were very symbolic and significant to this whole development of reggae music," Wailer told Reggaeville in 2017.

"I really consider 'Blackheart Man' to be one of those albums that the universal reggae world should be focused on," Wailer said.

Fans in his hometown of Kingston mourned Wailer's death Tuesday.

"Bunny had a big impact on me, and I would love for some of the younger folks to listen to his message," 54-year-old clerk Devon Cole said.

"My favorite song from him was ‘Blackheart Man.'"

And Neil Parchment in nearby St. Catherine said Wailer "put (Jamaica) on the map."

"We give God thanks for blessing us with that talent and blessing the world with that talent."

Wailer, a Rastafarian like Marley, won the Grammy for best Reggae album three times in the 1990s.

Tributes to Wailer poured in Tuesday.

"In my view, Bunny Wailer was a more potent musician than even Bob Marley," said Karyl Walker, a veteran Jamaican entertainment journalist. "He played instruments, more than one, and he wrote very good songs."

Walker noted that the wildly popular line dance song "Electric Boogie" from 1983 was written by Wailer.

"Now all the Wailers are dead and it is incumbent on the younger Jamaican entertainers to raise the bar and carry on this rich legacy," Walker told AFP.

"We have lost an icon," added Herbie Harris, a keyboard player and vocalist who now leads The ATF band.

Artistic director of Jamaica's Nexus Performing Arts Company Hugh Douse also called Wailer an "icon."

"He will be missed," Douse said. "One of the best ways we can pay tribute to Bunny Wailer is to listen to the words of warning and encouragement that he gives to those who have been downpressed and dispossessed."

Wailer's death comes six months after that of another reggae giant, Toots Hibbert of Toots and the Maytals.

Hibbert, known for such hits as "Pressure Drop," died in Kingston in September at the age of 77.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Former Judge Charged After Drunk Driving Crash Kills Comedian in Brazil
Jeff Bezos hasn’t paid a dollar in taxes for decades. He makes billions and pays $0 in taxes, LEGALLY
China Increases Use of Exit Bans Amid Rising U.S. Tensions
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Procter & Gamble to Raise U.S. Prices to Offset One‑Billion‑Dollar Tariff Cost
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
Botswana Seeks Controlling Stake in De Beers as Anglo American Prepares Exit
Trump Administration Proposes Repeal of Obama‑Era Endangerment Finding, Dismantling Regulatory Basis for CO₂ Emissions Limits
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
A family has been arrested in the UK for displaying the British flag
Mel Gibson refuses to work with Robert De Niro, saying, "Keep that woke clown away from me."
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
The British propaganda channel BBC News lies again.
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
×