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March 2, 2021 4:07 PM Subscribe
RIP Neville Livingston a/k/a Bunny Wailer. Wailer's high tenor, almost a soprano, lent an otherworldly quality to the Wailers' early work, contrasted with Bob Marley's gritty tenor and Peter Tosh's grounding baritone. He was seventy-three years old and had been in and out of the hospital for a while following a second stroke last year.
Marley and Wailer were childhood friends and informal stepbrothers (Marley's mother lived with Wailer's father for a time). "We were a frowny, frowny bunch," Wailer once said of the Wailers' intense work habits, which resulted in major hits in the sixties recorded at Jamaica's famous Studio One, followed on by worldwide superstardom in the seventies.
While Marley and Tosh were the primary songwriters, it's impossible to imagine the Wailers' work in the sixties and early seventies without Wailer's voice.
Per the Rolling Stone obit:
Bob Marley & The Wailers - Greatest Hits at Studio One
Full set on BBC's The Old Grey Whistle Test, 1973
Marley and Wailer were childhood friends and informal stepbrothers (Marley's mother lived with Wailer's father for a time). "We were a frowny, frowny bunch," Wailer once said of the Wailers' intense work habits, which resulted in major hits in the sixties recorded at Jamaica's famous Studio One, followed on by worldwide superstardom in the seventies.
While Marley and Tosh were the primary songwriters, it's impossible to imagine the Wailers' work in the sixties and early seventies without Wailer's voice.
Per the Rolling Stone obit:
Reflecting on his career in 2016, Wailer told Afropop, “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.”Some of Wailer's lesser-known vocals:
Bob Marley & The Wailers - Greatest Hits at Studio One
Full set on BBC's The Old Grey Whistle Test, 1973
R^I^P
posted by Liquidwolf at 5:00 PM on March 2, 2021
posted by Liquidwolf at 5:00 PM on March 2, 2021
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posted by May Kasahara at 5:27 PM on March 2, 2021
posted by May Kasahara at 5:27 PM on March 2, 2021
Well fuck me. Between this and Toots, I'm feeling old. Bunny on vocals is my favorite. You should hear us in the car.
posted by HotToddy at 5:40 PM on March 2, 2021 [5 favorites]
posted by HotToddy at 5:40 PM on March 2, 2021 [5 favorites]
After losing Toots Hibbert last year I thought a moment and realized how many of the remaining pioneering voices of Jamaican music we stand to lose and the picture is a grim one.
For those that are still with us, the time to honor them and express our appreciation for their accomplishments is now.
posted by Nerd of the North at 5:44 PM on March 2, 2021 [6 favorites]
For those that are still with us, the time to honor them and express our appreciation for their accomplishments is now.
posted by Nerd of the North at 5:44 PM on March 2, 2021 [6 favorites]
What your hands do,
It's your own eyes that see,
So won't you judge you're actions
To make sure the results are clean.
It's your own conscience that is gonna remind you
That it's your heart and nobody else's
That is gonna judge.
Be not selfish in your doings,
Pass it on
Help your brothers in their needs
Pass it on
Live for yourself - you will live in vain
Live for others - you will live again
In the kingdom of Jah Man shall reign
Pass it on...
posted by Meatbomb at 9:12 PM on March 2, 2021 [6 favorites]
It's your own eyes that see,
So won't you judge you're actions
To make sure the results are clean.
It's your own conscience that is gonna remind you
That it's your heart and nobody else's
That is gonna judge.
Be not selfish in your doings,
Pass it on
Help your brothers in their needs
Pass it on
Live for yourself - you will live in vain
Live for others - you will live again
In the kingdom of Jah Man shall reign
Pass it on...
posted by Meatbomb at 9:12 PM on March 2, 2021 [6 favorites]
I consider myself an extremely casual reggae fan, but I feel like Bunny Wailer's "Blackheart Man" album is something like George Harrison's "All Things Must Pass."
posted by HunterFelt at 9:23 PM on March 2, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by HunterFelt at 9:23 PM on March 2, 2021 [2 favorites]
Blackheart Man is one of the greatest reggae albums of all time and proof that Bunny Wailer could write songs with the best. Such a perfect record.
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posted by mediareport at 3:27 AM on March 3, 2021 [1 favorite]
.
posted by mediareport at 3:27 AM on March 3, 2021 [1 favorite]
♩. ♪ ♫ ♬.
posted by adekllny at 6:50 AM on March 3, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by adekllny at 6:50 AM on March 3, 2021 [1 favorite]
𝄽
posted by 20 year lurk at 7:57 AM on March 3, 2021
posted by 20 year lurk at 7:57 AM on March 3, 2021
.
posted by Cookiebastard at 8:59 AM on March 3, 2021
posted by Cookiebastard at 8:59 AM on March 3, 2021
.
posted by hap_hazard at 1:25 PM on March 3, 2021
posted by hap_hazard at 1:25 PM on March 3, 2021
Farewell Bredda Bunny. Jah Live
posted by a humble nudibranch at 7:37 PM on March 3, 2021
posted by a humble nudibranch at 7:37 PM on March 3, 2021
.
posted by LobsterMitten at 6:38 AM on March 4, 2021
posted by LobsterMitten at 6:38 AM on March 4, 2021
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posted by PhineasGage at 4:23 PM on March 2, 2021