Bunny Wailer

Lore & Background

Born in Kingston on 10 April 1947, Bunny spent his earliest years in Nine Mile, Saint Ann Parish, where he first met a young Bob Marley. Both boys came from single-parent families; Livingston was primarily raised by his grandmother, while Marley was raised by his mother Cedella Booker. Their bond deepened when Wailer's father later lived with Cedella in Trenchtown, resulting in a half-sister named Pearl. Peter Tosh also became family, having a son, Andrew Tosh, with Bunny's sister Shirley. In 1962, Bunny attempted to audition for Leslie Kong at Beverley's Records but missed it due to being late from school. By 1963, he formed "The Wailing Wailers" with Marley and Peter Tosh, joined by Junior Braithwaite and Beverley Kelso. While Bunny sang lead less frequently than his peers initially, the departure of Marley in 1966 saw him step up on tracks like "Who Feels It Knows It," "I Stand Predominate," and "Sunday Morning." His style was deeply influenced by gospel and Curtis Mayfield, leading to recordings like "This Train" at Studio One in 1967. After an 18-month prison sentence for cannabis possession that same year, he signed exclusive deals with JAD Records and Cayman Music.

Reader's Guide

After leaving The Wailers, Bunny experimented with disco on Hook Line & Sinker and reworked group classics on Bunny Wailer Sings the Wailers, backed by Sly and Robbie at Harry J Studio. He composed Marcia Griffiths' hit "Electric Boogie" in 1982, which sparked the "Electric Slide" dance craze in 1986; he recorded his own versions but with less success. His solo work often featured dancehall and rockers influences alongside traditional roots styles. Bunny won the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album three times: in 1991 for Time Will Tell: A Tribute to Bob Marley, in 1995 for Crucial! Roots Classics, and in 1997 for Hall of Fame: A Tribute to Bob Marley's 50th Anniversary. He also appeared on Toots and the Maytals' True Love, which won a Grammy in 2004. His career faced a low point in 1991 at the Portmore Sting event when he was driven off stage by bottles from an audience preferring newer dancehall artists like Ninjaman and Shabba Ranks. Honors followed later: he received the Order of Jamaica in August 2012, the Order of Merit (the nation's fourth-highest honour) in October 2017, and a Pinnacle Award from the Coalition to Preserve Reggae in November 2019. A blue plaque honoring him, Marley, and Tosh was placed at London's former Basing Street Studios in October 2019.

Did You Know?

• Bunny composed the hit "Electric Boogie" for Marcia Griffiths in 1982, which later inspired the famous "Electric Slide" dance—though the dance itself was created by Ric Silver in 1976 to a different song.
• He suffered a minor stroke in October 2018 and died on 2 March 2021 from complications of a second stroke in July 2020.