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Bunny Wailer

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Bunny Wailer's real name was Neville O'Riley Livingston. He was born in 1947 in Kingston, Jamaica, and spent his earliest years in the village of Nine Mile. There he met Bob Marley. Later his father lived with Marley's mother in Trenchtown, which made the two boys a kind of stepbrothers. In 1963, with their friend Peter Tosh, they began the group that was first called The Wailing Wailers and later The Wailers.

Music and breakthrough

In the early years Bunny sang lead less often than Marley and Tosh, but his voice was indispensable in the group's typical harmony singing. He was influenced by gospel and by the soul singer Curtis Mayfield. When Marley spent a time in the United States in 1966, Bunny himself sang songs such as Who Feels It Knows It. Dreamland became his best-known song. On the album Burnin' he sang Pass It On and Hallelujah Time.

Influence

When The Wailers broke through internationally, all the attention fell on Marley. In 1973 Bunny left, also because he had little desire to tour abroad and felt it did not fit his Rastafari convictions. As a solo artist he made roots reggae with political and spiritual lyrics. His 1976 album Blackheart Man is regarded as one of the high points of reggae. He also wrote Electric Boogie for Marcia Griffiths and won three Grammys for best reggae album. He died in 2021.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to a track from Blackheart Man. Notice Bunny Wailer's calm, singing voice above the slow, deep reggae groove, and the spiritual tone of the lyrics.

Discography

Studio albums

In School of Rock

The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.

See also

Categories: Artists