KINGSTON, Jamaica – Lowell “Sly” Dunbar, the legendary Jamaican drummer who gained fame as a member of the production duo Sly and Robbie, has died, his wife, Thelma Dunbar has confirmed.
Sly Dunbar (left) and Robbie Shakespeare in this file photo.“About 7 o’clock this morning I went to wake him up and he wasn’t responding, I called the doctor and that was the news,” she said.
Media reports said that Sly, who had been ailing for some time, along with bassist Robbie Shakespeare, who died in 2021 in Miami, played and produced countless hit songs.
“Yesterday was such a good day for him. He had friends come over to visit him and we all had such a good time. He ate well yesterday … sometimes he’s not into food. I knew he was sick … but I didn’t know that he was this sick,” Thelma told the Jamaica Gleaner newspaper.
His death follows that of musician Stephen ‘Cat’ Coore, the co-founder of the internationally acclaimed Third World band, who died suddenly last Sunday night at the age of 69.
Dunbar, whose first recording appearance was on the Dave and Ansell Collins album Double Barrel, began playing drums at the age of 15 with The Yardbrooms. He later joined the Ansell Collins-led band Skin, Flesh & Bones.
According to his Wikipedia biography, Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare met in 1972, when Shakespeare recommended Sly to producer Bunny Lee as a potential session drummer for the Aggrovators. The two soon decided to continue performing together, eventually working with the late Peter Tosh and his band until 1981, during which they recorded five albums.
In 1980, Sly and Robbie formed the Taxi Records label, which released many hits from many international successful artistes, including Black Uhuru, Chaka Demus and Pliers, Ini Kamoze, Beenie Man and Red Dragon.
Dunbar was recognised by the Jamaican Government with the Order of Distinction, awarded the Musgrave Gold Medal by the Institute of Jamaica in 2015, and received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the University of Minnesota in May 2025.
