Obituary
Together with Robbie Shakespeare he plays on more songs in my record collection than any other musician. Some of my absolute favourite songs. Especially Junior Murvin’s Police & Thieves, which I adore, but also The Mighty Diamonds’ Right Time, Bob Dylan’s Jokerman and Grace Jones’ Nightclubbing.
Here another fab song featuring Sly and Robbie:
I do a radio show and for the last few weeks the serlist has been dictated or hijacked by a significant death. And right on cue , before tonight’s show Sly exits stage right.
RIP Sly.
Hit me with your favourite tracks.
Make ‘em Move from Language Barrier. Actually anything from that album, or from Rhythm Killers.
I agree @Leffe-Gin Language Barrier remains my favourite Sly and Robbie album.
They have appeared on literally thousands of albums – I have a modest number of their albums – around 10-12 but have a problem in knowing where to start in acquiring more.
I saw them at an Island anniversary concert quite a few years ago. They appeared with Grace Jones and with their own band. Simply brilliant – hard act to follow.
To me it’s a groundbreaking album that still sounds new; but yet it seems to have vanished from view and is quite hard to find anywhere. I don’t think it’s in print..? That electro music (if that’s even what it is?) foreshadowed what Sly really got into in the later part of his life – he was a beat programmer that couldn’t be beaten (see what I did there…)
some Black Uhuru? I’d go with Youth Of Eglington
So would I. Magnificent.
I love the version on The Dub Factor too. Love that whole album in fact.
Was he on their Hey Joe? An immense version.
(Answer: No)
Sad news, but yes so would I(&I)
👏🏻
I have the 12″ of this. Superb. Not sure why there are Bob Marley pics mind.
Walking In The Rain from Nightclubbing. In fact, anything from Nightclubbing.
pop-a-top perfection.
Brian Eno once said “When you listen to a reggae record, there’s a 90% chance the drummer is Sly Dunbar. It’s not that he’s chained to the drum stool in the studio. but his drum tracks are constantly re-used”
Is now the time to admit that for a good few years I believed that Sly Dunbar and (at the time) Whitesnake tub thumper Aynsley Dunbar were the same person …
Aynsley Dunbar has more of a CV than just Whitesnake tub thumper.
Aynsley Thomas Dunbar (born 10 January 1946) is an English drummer.[1] He has worked with John Mayall, Frank Zappa, Jeff Beck, Journey, Jefferson Starship, Nils Lofgren, Eric Burdon, Shuggie Otis, Ian Hunter, Lou Reed, David Bowie, Mick Ronson, Whitesnake, Pat Travers, Sammy Hagar, Michael Schenker, UFO, Michael Chapman, Jake E. Lee, Leslie West, Kathi McDonald, Keith Emerson, Mike Onesko, Herbie Mann and Flo & Eddie.[2] Dunbar was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Journey in 2017.[3]
But fun fact Lowell Dunbar was called Sly coz of his love of Sly and The Family Stone.
Aye, tis an impressive drum stool collection – me just picked the hair metal moment when I first came across the man
(and I admit referring to him as “the bloke from Whitesnake” does play down his past employments)
In the 90s I went to see Sly and Robbie. Robbie missed the flight.
So it was just Sly and some locals. What a performance by Sly. None of this lock down the groove stuff. He was the show. Fantastic.
I saw black Uhuru at reggae Sunsplash – Crystal Palace ground sadly not Jamaica – in 1984? Recall them being excellent.
I maintain that the first 30 secs of Pull Up To The Bumper is among the finest 30s of music anywhere.
Sad news. The greatest drummer in the history of Jamaican music.
I’m so glad that I (and kaisfatdad) got to see Sly and Robbie (along with Tyrone Downie and Ernest Ranglin) live in Stockholm in 2012.
Great article in The Guardian:
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/jan/27/10-of-the-greatest-songs-by-sly-dunbar-reggae-drummer-grace-jones-bob-dylan-sly-and-robbie
There can’t have been (m)any other musicians who played with Bob Marley, Bob Dylan and Britney Spears.
Just seen that he played on my all time favourite reggae track, Two Sevens Clash.
Cocaine in my Brain by Dillinger and Jokerman by Bob.
Heard them both when I was about 18 or 19, away from home for the first time at College. Love them as much now as then. Perfect stuff.
Looking forward very much to the show Junior, my regular Wednesday morning listening.
cheers @Jim
Played a bracket highlighting their diversity rather than all those reggae classics. But of course Jokerman got an airing.
Great show, as always.
Loved Jenny’s Got A Pony. Not too familiar with Los Lobos; a bit meatier than I was expecting and all the better for that.
The Australian (NZ born) singer Jenny Morris told me when she went to record an album using Sly and Robbie her eager young producer started a session by saying “right we’ll just set up the click track” to which Sly replied (imagine low pitched Jamaican patois) “Sly don’ use no click track lady”
It’s true. I have one of the earliest drum sample CDs called Reggae Drum Splash. Unlike every other drum loop CD in the known universe it wasn’t recorded to a click track. Instead Sly just played a bunch of variations on a groove (they all had names like “James Bond”, “Telephone”) and some poor minion worked out the tempos for every single one of over 1000 2 bar loops. To 2 decimal points. So you get 62.13 (bpm), 62.43, 62.89 etc. Needless to say the loops all have a great feel and I’ve used them many times
I was intrigued, @mousey, about how an obscure NZ singer got to work with Sly and Robbie.
It turns out she is rather well-known in your part of the world.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/nat-music/audio/2018664269/interview-nz-singer-jenny-morris-on-her-four-decade-career
Successful enough for her record company to fly her to New York to record with the best rhythm section on the planet…
She descríbes the experience…..
The only time I consciously tried for a vibe was working with Sly and Robbie. I’d assembled the songs and took them to NYC. I just sort of half hoped, half knew that those guys would do the right thing by them, and they did. Because I’m white I wanted an unselfconscious and comfortable groove that would fit me rather than me trying to fit it and they were so awesome in getting that.
Sly and Robbie can’t have had many empty pages in their diaries.
Ha! Yes “rather well known” in these parts.
One of the oddest Sly and Robbie albums I have is The Rhythm remains the same – Sly and Robbie Greets Led Zeppelin. Long time since I played it, going to give it a spin today.
They were guns for hire. There is some pretty average stuff in their catalogue as well as the good uns.
I just played it after I posted the above. There are a couple of good covers – Kashmir for example but nothing that sets the World on fire.
That’s what makes me hesitant to explore their catalogue – so much to choose from, where to start.
I think there’s always going to be that problem with artists who are so prolific
I felt a bit like that years ago, so I started with a compilation. This one, in fact, which is all-killer:
https://www.discogs.com/release/2029544-Sly-Robbie-Ultimate-Collection-In-Good-Company
Peanut Butter was the prototype for Pull Up To The Bumper, of course.
@fentonsteve wasn’t aware of this compilation. I have others but this looks fab – will search for it at a reasonable price.
thanks for the heads up.