Bunny Wailer, the sole surviving founding member of the seminal reggae act the Wailers, has passed away at the age of 73.

His death was confirmed in a statement by his manager, Maxine Stowe, who confirmed that Wailer died on Tuesday in Kingston, Jamaica. No cause of death was given, but Wailer had been in and out of hospital care since suffering a second stroke in 2020.

Wailer, born Neville Livingston on April 10th, 1947, was an original member of the Wailers alongside Bob Marley and Peter Tosh. Livingston and Marley were childhood friends, following the death of Marley’s father, Norval, in 1955, Marley’s mother, Cedella, lived with Livingston’s father, Thaddeus.

Livingston, Marley and Tosh formed the Wailers in 1963. The band released their debut album, The Wailing Wailers, in 1965. Following the album’s release, the Wailers went on hiatus when Marley married his wife Rita and moved to Wilmington, Delaware to be with his mother. During this time, Livinstong served fourteen months in prison for marijuana possession. The band reunited upon Marley’s return to Jamaica.

Amid an ever-rotating lineup, Wailer was one of the continual members of the lineup through the ’60s and early ’70s. He sang and played the drums on a number of beloved Wailers records including 1973’s Catch a Fire and Burnin’.

In 1973, Livingston left the band — claiming the touring lifestyle clashed with his Rastafarian beliefs. He went on to pursue a solo career, releasing his debut solo record Blackheart Man in 1976. Over the next four decades, Livingstone would carve out a consistent, indelible legacy. Earning three Grammy awards for best reggae album in 1991, 1995, and 1997.

Check out ‘Battering Down Sentence’ by Bunny Wailer:

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