Bunny 'Striker' Lee, Jamaican reggae producer, dies aged 79
Bunny 'Striker' Lee, Jamaican reggae producer, dies aged 79
Jamaican producer Bunny “Striker” Lee, who helped cultivate rhythms of reggae and dub working with many of the island’s biggest stars, has died aged 79.
His cause of death is not known, but it he was reported to have suffered kidney disease in recent months. DJ David Rodigan was among those paying tribute, saying: “The reggae world has lost another iconic figure; Bunny “Striker” Lee was unquestionably one of the most charismatic and inspirational record producers in Jamaican music with a phenomenal catalogue of hits. He drove the music forward across the decades & will be sorely missed.”
Lee was born Edward O’Sullivan Lee in 1941 in Kingston, Jamaica, and began his career as a record plugger, sourcing tracks for radio stations. A trained electrical engineer, he also began producing and, after working with various labels, set up his own, Lee’s. He helmed hits by John Holt, Slim Smith, Delroy Wilson, Peter Tosh, Horace Andy and more from the mid-1960s onwards, often licensing them to other labels like Island Records.
Lee’s rhythms would help to move Jamaican music from the ska and rocksteady styles towards the distinctive tempo and bounce of reggae. Do the Reggay by the recently deceased Toots Hibbert may have cemented the genre’s name, but Bangarang, a Lee track recorded with Stranger Cole, is regarded by many as the first reggae song. Lee had a UK Top 10 hit in 1969 with Max Romeo’s raunchy reggae track Wet Dream, which spent 25 weeks on the chart.
Working with producer and engineer King Tubby in the early 1970s, he also helped to pioneer the echoing, eerie sound of dub with its focus on drums, bass and studio effects. The massively prolific Lee was also one of the first producers to work with Bob Marley’s band the Wailers, as well as with other, later Jamaican stars including Sly & Robbie, Beenie Man and Buju Banton.
Lee, who also received the nicknames Striker and the Gorgon, was known for his snappy dress sense including a signature yachting cap: “People like to see you looking clean,” he reasoned in 2015. “You have to dress to match what you are doing. Cleanliness is godliness, so you always have to look good.” A documentary about his life, I Am the Gorgon, was released in 2013.
The Guardian: Ben Beaumont-Thomas:
Articles - Latest
- DARTH VADER ACTOR DAVE PROWSE DIES AGED 85
- JERRY RAWLINGS, GHANAIAN STRONG MAN WHO CAME TO POWER IN A COUP BUT INTRODUCED DEMOCRACY – OBITUARY
- BUDDHA WOULD BE GREEN': DALAI LAMA CALLS FOR URGENT CLIMATE ACTION
- DEATH OF PEACE NEGOTIATOR EREKAT IS A GREAT LOSS FOR THE PALESTINIAN CAUSE
- KEN HENSLEY, SONGWRITER WITH 70S ROCK BAND URIAH HEEP, DIES AGED 75
- SEAN CONNERY DEATH: DANIEL CRAIG PAYS TRIBUTE TO FELLOW 007 ACTOR – 'HE DEFINED AN ERA'
- JAMIE FOXX MOURNS DEATH OF SISTER: 'MY HEART IS SHATTERED INTO A MILLION PIECES'
- 'THE GRIEF IS IMMEASURABLE': ROBERT REDFORD PAYS TRIBUTE TO HIS SON
- Guru and Empowerment
- The Kagyu lineage of Buddhist Practice
- On the Plane of Self Consciousness - VI
- On the Plane of Self Consciousness- V
- Contemplation and the Divine Therapy - 2 - The Human Condition
- Contemplation and the Divine Therapy - The Human Condition
- Trinny Woodall reveals her 'darling mummy' Ann has passed away aged 90
- Bunny 'Striker' Lee, Jamaican reggae producer, dies aged 79
- French First Lady Brigitte Macron's first husband dies a recluse, 69
- Egypt reveals 59 ancient coffins found near Saqqara pyramids
- Mexican Nobel laureate Molina, ozone layer prophet, dies at 77
- Eddie Van Halen's widow 'shattered' by rocker's death
Articles - Most Read
- Main
- Contact Us
- Cosmic Consciousness - What is Cosmic Consciousness-2
- Cosmic Consciousness-Introduction
- Cosmic Consciousness - Introduction-2
- Cosmic Consciousness - What is Cosmic Consciousness?
- Cosmic Consciousness First Words - 1V - 2
- Cosmic Consciousness V - 2
- Cosmic Consciousness First Words - V -
- Cosmic consciousness - First Words - IV
- The Human Condition-Thomas Keating
- Cosmic Consciousness-On the Plane of Self Consciousness
- Drinking From The Mountain Stream - Milarepa
- The Human Condition - 4
- Evolution and Devolution-Chapter 2
- The Human Condition - Thomas keating-3
- Cosmic Consciousness - 3 - On the Plane of Self Consciousness
- The Human Condition-2-Thomas Keating
- Evolution and Devolution-Chapter 1
- The Human Condition - 6