Bunny Wailer, the Jamaican reggae icon who played in a band alongside Bob Marley, the late music legend, is dead.
Olivia Grange, Jamaica’s minister for culture, confirmed the news of his demise in a statement on Tuesday.
According to Grange, the reggae star passed away at the Andrew’s Memorial Hospital in Kingston.
“We mourn the passing of this outstanding singer, songwriter and percussionist and celebrate his life and many accomplishments,” the statement read.
“We remain grateful for the role that Bunny Wailer played in the development and popularity of Reggae music across the world.
“We remember with great pride how Bunny, Bob Marley and Peter Tosh, took Reggae music to the four corners of the earth.
“Today, the last surviving Wailer has passed. His son Abijah said to me this morning that ‘Bunny Wailer cannot die, he has transitioned’.
“What Bunny Wailer has done for Reggae, as one of the pioneers and standard-bearers of our country’s music, lives on.”
While the statement did not reveal the cause of his death, it is understood that the reggae icon had been in the hospital since having a stroke in July 2020.
The deceased, born Neville Livingston, was a founding member of The Wailers, a band that later found international fame with Marley and Peter Tosh, who was killed during a robbery in 1987.
Before Wailer went solo in 1974, his band had achieved reggae classics like ‘Simmer Down’ and ‘Stir It Up’.
He thereafter won three Grammys and got Jamaica’s Order Of Merit in 2017.
Watch one of Wailers hits below:
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