A true legend has passed.
Lowell “Sly” Dunbar, born May 10, 1952 passed away yesterday at age 73 at his home in Kingston, Jamaica. A drummer and one-half of the iconic reggae rhythm duo Sly & Robbie.
Estimates say that he released 200,000 songs. If he started on his first birthday, that's more than 7 records per day. What an absolute superstar. Sly & Robbie as a duo released more than 250, and that doesn't count collaborations with Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, Grace Jones, Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones, Madonna, and, literally, countless others.
Sly is unquestionably one of the most influential musicians in reggae, dub, and dancehall, shaping the sound of Jamaican music for decades. The "One Drop" style, the "Rub A Dub" sound, "Bam Bam," "Murder She Wrote," ok, I'm not going to go on. You already know. This is not one of those cases where he went unrecognized in his lifetime - Sly & Robbie earned 13 Grammy nominations and had two wins. Some rare justice in this world, praise be.
Rest In Power, Sly. Your music will always live on.