Robbie Shakespeare, 'Wickedest Bass' in Reggae, Dead at 68

  • 📰 RollingStone
  • ⏱ Reading Time:
  • 82 sec. here
  • 3 min. at publisher
  • 📊 Quality Score:
  • News: 36%
  • Publisher: 51%

United States Headlines News

United States Latest News,United States Headlines

Reggae legend Robbie Shakespeare has died at age 68. Alongside drummer Sly Dunbar, he played with everyone from Black Uhuru to Bob Dylan

in 2012. “When I saw him playing his thing I said, ‘Wait.’ Because I was always attracted to bass, you know. … The sound from the bass that time there hit me and I said, ‘.’ I said to him, ‘I want to learn how to play this thing. You haffi teach me.’ Then the next morning he woke me up and started giving me some bass line lessons.”

When Barrett joined the Wailers, Shakespeare took his place in the Hippy Boys and also played with the Aggravators, another local band. In 1973, Shakespeare’s life changed when he was invited to hear Dunbar play at a reggae club, Tit for Tat. “I said, ‘Who’s Sly?’ ” Shakespearein 2008. “’Sly’s a drummer.’ ‘Alright, come on.’ We went over there and Sly is sitting down on the drums, and I said, ‘Whoa, he can beat a drum. That’s a good sound, I want a session with that youth.

He and Dunbar soon became members of the Revolutionaries, the house band for Jamaica’s Channel One studio. That outfit pioneered the heavily syncopated reggae offshoot that came to be known as rockers. The duo also started their own production company and record label, Taxi. During the mid Seventies the two, known as the Riddim Twins, appeared on classic albums by Tosh and also recorded with nearly every major reggae act, including Gregory Isaacs, Dennis Brown, and Barrington Levy.

Shakespeare and Dunbar reached a new level of success and renown in the late Seventies when they joined reggae’s biggest band, Black Uhuru. That association led them to Island Records head Chris Blackwell, who soon recruited them for Grace Jones’ genre-smashingLP in 1981. Starting with albums like those, Sly and Robbie began incorporating more computer-generated rhythms and sounds into their tracks.

Into the 2000s, the duo worked with Sinead O’Connor and also remixed Britney Spears’ “Piece of Me.” In 2020, Shakespeare was’s list of the greatest bassists of all time. Asked where he would have placed himself on that list,

 

Thank you for your comment. Your comment will be published after being reviewed.
Please try again later.

debbopoullo Lola rastaquouère !!

One of the players I learned from… I destroyed my vinyl of Dennis Brown’s Brown Sugar playing along to it… a true master of the bass guitar. 😞Rest in Power

ah! very sad news

Rest In Power Mr. Shakespeare. 😔💔🎼🎸

Geez. Godspeed. 'Big, big loss,” Black Uhuru’s Michael Rose tells Rolling Stone. “Nobody sounds like Robbie. He had the wickedest bass. You’ll never find nothing like that again.”

JohnFugelsang I can recognize his thump anywhere. Music selection for tomorrow settled.

JohnFugelsang Meanwhile

JohnFugelsang RIP BROTHER

ZydecoRocks NOOOOOOOOOOOO

One of the greatest of all time. I will always love Robbie Shakespeare

RIP Robbie 💔💔

RIPRobbieShakespeare

💜✊🏽

Aww man. RIP.

RobbieShakespeare & Sly Dunbar did exceptional work on CarlySimonHQ Hello Big Man album. Especially on her version of BobMarley Is This Love Rest In Peace

😢✨💔🕯Rest in Power Mr. Robbie! 🙏✨

😢

R. I.P

I always liked this one (not sure if title is accurate). 'Nipple to the Bottle' from one of Grace Jones' albums is a good one too.

We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:

 /  🏆 483. in US

United States Latest News, United States Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Rihanna, Beyoncé & Taylor Swift Make Forbes’ 2021 List of World’s 100 Most Powerful WomenRihanna, Beyoncé and Taylor Swift are included on Forbes' 2021 The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women List ❤️❤️❤️🤭 Congratulations rihanna ,Beyonce and taylorswift13 ... Why are y’all shady ? Off all the beautiful pictures of these the beautiful and powerfull ladies ladies , y’all chose this one ? Anyways Congrats to the woman !!!
Source: billboard - 🏆 112. / 63 Read more »

68 Exceptionally Epic Gifts for Every DadShop our edit for exceptionally epic gifts for every Dad
Source: VogueRunway - 🏆 705. / 51 Read more »

1 dead as car crashes into water near Niagara FallsThe black sedan was roughly 75 to 100 yards from the brink of the falls.
Source: ABC - 🏆 471. / 51 Read more »

New Hampshire college student found dead in woods after drinking with friends, police sayA University of New Hampshire student was found dead in the woods Sunday afternoon a day after he was reported missing, police said.
Source: FoxNews - 🏆 9. / 87 Read more »

Rick Grimes Movie Status Hinted At By ‘The Walking Dead: World Beyond’Rick Grimes may have some new allies and enemies if you watched the last season of Walking Dead: World Beyond. Dang, Rick still alive?
Source: Forbes - 🏆 394. / 53 Read more »

University of New Hampshire student reported missing after night out drinking is found deadA University of New Hampshire student who was reported missing Saturday after a night out drinking with friends was found dead, authorities said.
Source: NBCNews - 🏆 10. / 86 Read more »