Neville O' Riley Livingstone,
born on 10th of April 1947, and loved by
generations of Jamaican music lovers as Bunny
Wailer, remains one of reggae's most reclusive
and understated heroes.
He grew up alongside Bob Marley in the country,
his father, Thaddius "Taddy" Livingstone, moved
to Kingston at the same time as Bob's mother
Cedella, where he opened a rum bar. Both the
young boys were left behind to be looked after
by relatives until they were old enough to move
to the city themselves. Eventually a
relationship developed between Cedella and Taddy,
which led to the birth of a daughter Pearl.
Growing up together in Kingston, the boys developed a strong desire to become musicians, and along with another friend, Winston McIntosh (Peter Tosh), began attending music lessons in the yard of local recording artist Joe Higgs.
Beginning their recording career with Clement "Coxson" Dodd in December 1963, the boys, under the name of The Wailers, soon became local celebrities, scoring a string of hits beginning with the rude boy commentry "Simmer Down" recorded at their very first session.
Although Bunny possesed one of the most beautiful voices ever to be captured in a Jamaican studio, he did not effectively step out from the shadow cast by Bob until Marley left to stay wth his mother in the US in 1966. During Marley's sabbatical, Bunny mined a previously untapped creative vein, recording his own compositions such as "Dancing Shoes", "Who Feels It Knows It", "Rock Sweet Rock" and the first attempt at "Dreamland".
Unfortunately, this creativity was brought to a halt early in 1967, when Bunny was arrested for possesing marijuana. Even though no herb was found, Bunny was convicted, and sent to Richmond Farm prison for 14 months, in which time the Wailers began a deal with Danny Sims and his JAD organisation.
Released in September 1968, Bunny returned to the Wailers who continued their works with JAD, as well as issuing recordings on their own Wail 'N' Soul' 'M label. Once again Bunny kept a relatively low profile in the band, his only major recording from this time being the amusing "Tread Oh", which features the memorable line "take it easy on my pony".
Following an albums worth of material recorded for Leslie Kong in April 1970, the Wailers next teamed up with Lee Perry, and Bunny sang lead on "Rebel's Hop", "Riding High", and the memorable "Brain Washing". In 1971 Bunny enjoyed huge popularity with a Perry produced version of "Dreamland", which remains one of his most important and enduring recordings.
Under Perry's guidance , the Wailers finally developed and settled on a sound that would become the pillar for their future work. In 1972 work began on an album for Island Records, during which time Bunny also began releasing records on his own Solomonic label. Amongst the earliets releases on this label were "Search For Love", and "Bide Up".
The first Wailers album on Island, "Catch A Fire" came out in April 1973, but it wasn't until the second album in November that year that Bunny contributed a lead vocal. In fact that album, "Burnin'" featured two splendid tracks from Bunny, "Hallelujah Time" and "Pass It On", both wonderfully uplifting tracks with Bunny in fine voice. A third Bunny track "Reincarnated Souls" was originally slated as the title track, but was eventually relegated to the B side of the "Concrete Jungle" single.
With the Wailers picking up rave reviews, both for their records and live shows, the future looked bright for the band, but at the end of 1973, Bunny refused to tour any longer, and his place on the American leg of the tour was taken by mentor Joe Higgs.
Back in Jamaica with the tour complete, the original trio of the Wailers fell apart. Bunny continued his refusal to tour, and Peter Tosh was unhappy at the limited outlets for his own compositions within the band. By 1974, Bunny and Peter were no longer in the Wailers, but Bob retained the name for his backing musicians, and both Peter and Bunny issued singles crediting the Wailers.
Growing up together in Kingston, the boys developed a strong desire to become musicians, and along with another friend, Winston McIntosh (Peter Tosh), began attending music lessons in the yard of local recording artist Joe Higgs.
Beginning their recording career with Clement "Coxson" Dodd in December 1963, the boys, under the name of The Wailers, soon became local celebrities, scoring a string of hits beginning with the rude boy commentry "Simmer Down" recorded at their very first session.
Although Bunny possesed one of the most beautiful voices ever to be captured in a Jamaican studio, he did not effectively step out from the shadow cast by Bob until Marley left to stay wth his mother in the US in 1966. During Marley's sabbatical, Bunny mined a previously untapped creative vein, recording his own compositions such as "Dancing Shoes", "Who Feels It Knows It", "Rock Sweet Rock" and the first attempt at "Dreamland".
Unfortunately, this creativity was brought to a halt early in 1967, when Bunny was arrested for possesing marijuana. Even though no herb was found, Bunny was convicted, and sent to Richmond Farm prison for 14 months, in which time the Wailers began a deal with Danny Sims and his JAD organisation.
Released in September 1968, Bunny returned to the Wailers who continued their works with JAD, as well as issuing recordings on their own Wail 'N' Soul' 'M label. Once again Bunny kept a relatively low profile in the band, his only major recording from this time being the amusing "Tread Oh", which features the memorable line "take it easy on my pony".
Following an albums worth of material recorded for Leslie Kong in April 1970, the Wailers next teamed up with Lee Perry, and Bunny sang lead on "Rebel's Hop", "Riding High", and the memorable "Brain Washing". In 1971 Bunny enjoyed huge popularity with a Perry produced version of "Dreamland", which remains one of his most important and enduring recordings.
Under Perry's guidance , the Wailers finally developed and settled on a sound that would become the pillar for their future work. In 1972 work began on an album for Island Records, during which time Bunny also began releasing records on his own Solomonic label. Amongst the earliets releases on this label were "Search For Love", and "Bide Up".
The first Wailers album on Island, "Catch A Fire" came out in April 1973, but it wasn't until the second album in November that year that Bunny contributed a lead vocal. In fact that album, "Burnin'" featured two splendid tracks from Bunny, "Hallelujah Time" and "Pass It On", both wonderfully uplifting tracks with Bunny in fine voice. A third Bunny track "Reincarnated Souls" was originally slated as the title track, but was eventually relegated to the B side of the "Concrete Jungle" single.
With the Wailers picking up rave reviews, both for their records and live shows, the future looked bright for the band, but at the end of 1973, Bunny refused to tour any longer, and his place on the American leg of the tour was taken by mentor Joe Higgs.
Back in Jamaica with the tour complete, the original trio of the Wailers fell apart. Bunny continued his refusal to tour, and Peter Tosh was unhappy at the limited outlets for his own compositions within the band. By 1974, Bunny and Peter were no longer in the Wailers, but Bob retained the name for his backing musicians, and both Peter and Bunny issued singles crediting the Wailers.