Published
Thu, Oct 8, 2020, 12:50
- Edward O'Sullivan Lee had a key role in developing the dub sound and bringing Jamaican music to an international audience.
Bunny "Striker" Lee, the influential Jamaican dub pioneer, has died at age 79.
Trojan Records, Edward O'Sullivan Lee's label for UK releases, confirmed his passing, which Dancehall Mag reports occurred on October 6th due to respiratory failure suffered at a hospital in Kingston, Jamaica.
Lee began his career in music in the '60s as a radio record plugger for Duke Reid's Treasure Isle label while producing reggae music of his own. He gained acclaim working with reggae artists like Delroy Wilson, Pat Kelly, the Sensations, Lester Sterling and Stranger Cole, John Holt and Slim Smith, and in 1967 he launched his Lee label. His most well-known production work is perhaps Eric Donaldson's 1971 song "Cherry, Oh Baby," which has been covered by the Rolling Stones and UB40.
In the early '70s, Bunny Lee worked with Lee "Scratch" Perry and Osbourne Ruddock, AKA King Tubby, in developing the dub sound by incorporating more electronics and effects. Lee produced King Tubby's 1974 album Dub From The Roots and 1975's The Roots Of Dub, around when they linked up with UK label Trojan Records which licensed their music for an overseas audience. Lee and King Tubby continued working together throughout the '70s and released under various names including King Tubby's and The Aggrovators.
In 2008, Lee received the Order Of Distinction from the Jamaican government to honor his contributions to the country's music scene on local and international levels. In 2013, he was the subject of Diggory Kenrick-directed documentary I Am The Gorgon, another one of his nicknames.
Read Trojan Records' full tribute to Lee here. For more on Lee's contributions to the UK-based label, read The Vinyl Factory's retrospective on Trojan Records. Read this 2015 interview with Lee by LargeUp, and Lloyd Bradley's tribute for the Guardian.
Listen to "Cherry, Oh Baby."
Photo credit: LargeUp