Legendary Jamaican musician Lowell “Sly” Dunbar has died at age 73. Drummer Dunbar, who was one-half of the prolific reggae songwriting/producing duo Sly & Robbie, reportedly died at his home in Kingston, Jamaica on Monday (Jan. 26), according to TMZ, with the Jamaica Observer also reporting that Dunbar died suddenly at his home, with neither offering any details on the cause of death; TMZ reported that Dunbar’s daughter, Natasha Dunbar, confirmed her father’s passing.
“As one half of Sly & Robbie, Sly helped shape the sound of reggae and Jamaican music for generations,” read a statement from his family posted on TMZ. “His extraordinary talent, innovation, and lasting contributions will never be forgotten. Sly’s music, spirit, and legacy touched people around the world, and we are deeply grateful for the love and support during this difficult time.”
While Billboard has not been able to independently confirm Dunbar’s death at press time, Jamaican Newspaper The Gleaner quoted Dunbar’s wife, Thelma, reporting that when she checked on the drummer early Monday morning he was unresponsive. “I called the doctor and that was the news,” she said, with his wife reporting that he’d had a visit with friends the day before and that he seemed in good spirits; Dunbar had reportedly been fighting an unidentified illness for a while.
Working with longtime partner bassist Robbie Shakespeare (who died in 2021), Dunbar was one half of the dynamic duo that provided the thrumming backbeat to reggae classics from the likes of Black Uhuru, Peter Tosh, Burning Spear, Bunny Wailer, Gregory Isaacs and countless others.
Born Lowell Fillmore Dunbar on May 10, 1952 in Kingston, Jamaica, Dunbar got his start playing in a group called the Yardbrooms at age 15, before moving on to the group Skin Flesh and Bones and his first recording session with Lee “Scratch” Perry and the Upsetters’ on the 1969 single “Night Doctor.” That same year he also played on Dave and Ansel Collins’ Double Barrel album, with the title track hitting the top of the U.K. singles chart.
His life and career would change forever when he met Shakespeare in 1972, with the pair who shared similar musical sensibilities ranging from homegrown Jamaican riddims to Motown and soul music developing a close relationship with Tosh, with whom they recorded five albums. Sly and Robbie appeared on late great Tosh’s beloved 1977 LP Equal Rights, as well as 1978’s Bush Doctor and 1983’s Mama Africa, which became Tosh’s highest-charting album in the U.S. when it hit No. 59 on the Billboard 200 album chart.
The hard-working pair — who are believed to have appeared on more than 200,000 tracks, including remixes and songs that sampled their work — also had a long and fruitful working relationship with lovers rock icon Dennis Brown, performing on more than a dozen albums by the “Money In My Pocket” singer and serving time in the Revolutionaries, the house band at Jamaica’s legendary Channel One studio. Known as the Riddim Twins, the duo developed a number of signature grooves over their four-plus decade career, including the “rockers” rhythm, which helped them inject some energy into the popular 1970s and 80s “one drop” reggae rhythm.
Dunbar’s drums can also be heard on a number of beloved reggae singles, including Marley’s “Punky Reggae Party” 12 remix and Junior Murvin’s “Police and Thieves,” as well as the LP that would put the duo on the map: The Mighty Diamonds’ 1976 roots reggae landmark Right Time, which featured Sly & Robbie signature steady-on bass-drum groove on the title track and the skanking “Gnashing of Teeth.”
Working with Shakespeare, Dunbar carved a wide path through music, performing on a trio of Bob Dylan albums in the 1980s (Infidels, Empire Burlesque and Down in the Groove), as well as playing on albums by Joan Armatrading (Walk Under Ladders), Jackson Browne (World in Motion) and former Take That singer Gary Barlow (Sing). They also provided the backbeat for Joe Cocker (Sheffield Steel) both Mick Jagger (She’s the Boss) and the Rolling Stones (Undercover), as well as British punk singer Ian Dury (Lord Upminster), disco queen Grace Jones (Warm Leatherette, Nighclubbing), Yoko Ono (Starpeace), Sinead O’Connor (Throw Down Your Arms) and Carly Simon (Hello Big Man) among many others.
Their collaborations with Cocker and Jones came in the mid-1980s when Island Records founder Chris Blackwell made them the house rhythm section for his Compass Point All Stars band at his Nassau-based Compass Point Studios.
Dunbar and Shakespeare formed their own label, Taxi Records, in 1980, which was home to releases from the pair (Gamblers Choice, A Dub Experience, Electro Reggae), as well as albums by Ini Kamoze, Isaacs, Black Uhuru, Chaka Demus & Pliers, Yellowman and Brown, among others.
Together with Shakespeare, Dunbar helped push reggae towards digital production and instrumentation in the 1990s, best evidenced by the bouncy, staccato groove of Chaka Demus & Pliers 1993 classic “Murder She Wrote.” The duo also helped push reggae further into other territories int the 1990s by layering Latin rhythms into dancehall and reaching their peak of mainstream success in 1996 with their contributions to the Fugees’ Billboard 200 chart-topping classic The Score.
In addition to releasing dozens of studio and dub remix albums together, the pair also appeared on No Doubt’s 2001 Billboard Hot 100 No. 5 dancehall-inspired single “Hey Baby” from their Rock Steady album, as well playing on and also co-producing that album’s hit ballad “Underneath It All.” They also played on and produced Black Uhuru’s Anthem album, which won the first-ever best reggae recording Grammy Award in 1985.
Dunbar played on two reggae songs that reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, Maxi Priest’s “Close to You” in 1990 and Omi’s 2012 hit “Cheerleader.”