Drummer Lowell Fillmore “Sly” Dunbar, who with the late Robbie Shakespeare formed the iconic reggae rhythm section Sly and Robbie, has died at the age of 73, according to reports. No further details have yet emerged.
Born in Kingston on May 10, 1952, Dunbar was playing drums in local bands by the age of 15. He linked with Shakespeare in 1972, and their rhythms quickly became an integral aspect of recordings by the Mighty Diamonds, Peter Tosh, Jimmy Cliff and Dennis Brown as reggae began to explode outside of Jamaica.
With Shakespeare, Dunbar provided crucial rhythmic underpinning to Bob Dylan’s Infidels and Empire Burlesque albums in the 1980s, classic Grace Jones albums such as Warm Leatherette, Nightclubbing and Living My Life and sessions for the Rolling Stones and Herbie Hancock.
The pair formed Taxi Records in 1980 and released music by acts such as Black Uhuru, Beenie Man and Chaka Demus and Pliers. In the early 2000s, they returned to international visibility by producing the No Doubt hits “Hey Baby” and “Underneath It All.” They earned 11 Grammy nominations in total.
Dunbar also played on recordings by Bob Marley, Junior Marvin and Lee “Scratch” Perry. Shakespeare died in 2021 at the age of 68.
“Words cannot describe how heartbroken I am to hear of the passing of my friend and legend,” wrote UB40’s Ali Campbell on social media.