The year 1995 was marked among reggae fans as Bob Marley's fiftieth anniversary. In 97 it was Bunny Wailer's turn, the youngest of the three original Wailers (Bob Marley, Bunny Wailer and Peter Tosh) and the only one still alive. The mystical member of the group that brought the message of Jamaican rhythm to five continents completed 50 years in April 97, receiving due tributes for his life and work devoted to reggae and Rastafari philosophy.
To begin with, Bunny Wailer brought home his third Grammy (the highest award given by the recording industry) for the monumental double CD "Hall of Fame: Tribute to Bob Marley's 50th Anniversary", in which he performed fifty classics composed by the king of reggae, by him and by Peter Tosh, in the good old days of the Wailers. His biography was also released, named "Old Fire Sticks", under the responsibility of American journalist and researcher Roger Steffens, a name that is a guarantee of quantity and quality of information when the subject is reggae. Roger was the one who got the most interviews with Marley and with the greats of world reggae.
Neville O'Riley Livingstone - his baptismal name - was born on April 10, 1947, in Jamaica. He met Bob Marley as a child and the friendship between them grew stronger after Bob Marley's mother, Cedella Booker, became the partner of Bunny's father, Toddy Livingstone. The two friends became brothers and would continue treating each other that way until the death of the greatest idol of Jamaican music, in 1981. The musical careers of the two also crossed from the beginning.
One year after recording his first single, "Judge Not", Bob Marley would form with Bunny, Peter and other friends from the ghetto the group The Wailers, which would stand out in the following years among the dozens of groups that formed in that era on the Caribbean island.
After spending almost ten years in the Wailers, Bunny Wailer would record the first solo single "Search for Love", on his independent label, Solomonic Records. At the same time the Wailers signed a contract with the Anglo-Jamaican label Island Records and began their international career. At the end of that same year they would release the album "Catch a Fire", attracting worldwide press attention and leading the group on a grueling tour of Europe at the beginning of 73.
After a rest in Jamaica, they were supposed to return to the road, this time going to the United States, but Bunny refused to travel. He was already seriously committed to the Rastafari religion and did not wish to stay away from his farm and rituals for so long. He ended up leaving the Wailers, which would be followed by Peter Tosh a few months later, after both participated in the album "Burning". It was the beginning of a new phase for Bunny Wailer, in which he would release his studio work regularly, but reduced performances at shows outside Jamaica because he did not want to travel much.
His first solo LP, "Blackheart Man" (Island Records - 1976), is today acclaimed as a masterpiece of roots reggae and is considered by many as his best work, alongside "Liberation" (Shanachie Records - 1987). Later production would maintain quality, but his most popular works were the albums made in tribute to the Wailers. Taking upon himself the responsibility of keeping the group's legacy alive, he recorded "Sings The Wailers", "Time will Tell" and "Hall of Fame", winning the Grammy for best reggae album for the last two (the other Grammy was for the singles compilation "Crucial! Roots Classics", released in 94).
From the height of his nearly 70 years, the rastaman Bunny Wailer is today one of the greatest names in world reggae, always reminding his companions of the importance of roots in music. This is a message that seems to be understood by the new generation of the rhythm, currently committed to recovering the original feeling and art of reggae, keeping the rhythm we love so much as a living and active force on the musical scene of the third millennium.
Live, Bunny Wailer performs with the Solomonic Reggaestra, literally a reggae orchestra with some of the most competent and legendary musicians in the history of the genre. In total, there are no less than three backing vocals, two keyboardists, two guitarists, a brass trio, percussionist, bassist and drummer, plus of course the frontman - the legendary and last living Wailer who continues writing reggae history - Bunny Wailer.