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Artist

Lowell Fillmore " Sly " Dunbar

Born:

10th May 1952

Artist Bio

Drummer, percussionist and producer Lowell Fillmore "Sly" Dunbar. Born 10th May in Kingston, Jamaica in 1952, he is best known as one half of the prolific Jamaican rhythm section and reggae production duo Sly and Robbie. He began playing at 15 in a band called the Yardbrooms. His first appearance on a recording was on the Dave and Ansell Collins album Double Barrel. He then joined a band with Ansell Collins called Skin, Flesh and Bones. Speaking on his influences, Sly explained: My mentor was the drummer for the Skatalites, Lloyd Knibb. And I used to listen a lot to the drummer for Booker T. & the M.G.'s, Al Jackson Jr., and a lot of Philadelphia. And there are other drummers in Jamaica, like Santa and Carly from the Wailers Band, Winston Bennett, Paul Douglas, Mikey Boo. I respect all these drummers and have learnt a lot from them. From them, I listened and created my own style. They played some things I copied, other things I recreated. In 1972, Sly met and became friends with Robbie Shakespeare, who was then bass guitarist for the Hippy Boys. Robbie recommended Sly to Bunny Lee as a possible session drummer for the Aggrovators. They then decided to continue performing together, working with Peter Tosh and his band until 1981, recording five albums. Sly noted about the Mighty Diamonds' song "Right Time": "When that tune first come out, because of that double tap on the rim nobody believe it was me on the drums, they thought it was some sort of sound effect we was using. Then when it go to number 1 and stay there, everybody started trying for that style and it soon become established." According to The Independent, the entire album Right Time was "revolutionary". In 1979, Brian Eno remarked of Sly Dunbar: " So when you buy a reggae record, there's a 90 percent chance the drummer is Sly Dunbar. You get the impression that Sly Dunbar is chained to a studio seat somewhere in Jamaica, but in fact what happens is that his drum tracks are so interesting, they get used again and again." Together the pair formed Taxi Records label in 1980. It has seen releases from many successful international artists, including Black Uhuru, Chaka Demus and Pliers, Ini Kamoze, Beenie Man and Red Dragon. Sly played drums on several noteworthy tracks produced by Lee Perry including "Night Doctor", Junior Murvin's "Police and Thieves", and Bob Marley's "Punky Reggae Party" 12" track (although the track was produced by Perry, Sly's drum track was actually recorded at Joe Gibbs Duhaney Park studio). Sly and Robbie also played on Bob Dylan's albums Infidels and Empire Burlesque (using recordings from the Infidels sessions). Other sessions include their appearance on three Grace Jones albums, and work with Herbie Hancock, Joe Cocker, Serge Gainsbourg and the Rolling Stones. In 2008, Sly collaborated with the Jamaican percussionist Larry McDonald, on McDonald's debut album Drumquestra. Sly was a 13-time Grammy nominee. He received two Grammy awards: the 1985 Grammy for Best Reggae Recording for the Black Uhuru album Anthem for which Sly and Robbie were producers, and one for the 1999 Best Reggae Album for the album entitled Friends. Sly remained active within the music industry until his death from cancer at his home in Kingston, Jamaica, on 26th January 2026, at the age of 73.

Passed: 26th Jan 2026

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