[Today: Bunny Wailer honors a friend and former bandmate...]
Bunny Livingston founded The Wailers along with Bob Marley and Peter Tosh in Kingston, Jamaica in 1963. The group quickly made its mark on the local music scene, and by the early 70’s was one of the finest reggae bands going. However, Livingston was unprepared for the demanding touring schedule expected of a best-selling group, and left the band in 1973 to start a solo career as Bunny Wailer.
Over the remainder of that decade, Wailer made a number of relatively underappreciated albums – most notably Blackheart Man in 1976. Meanwhile, his former bandmate Marley was becoming an international superstar and the de facto worldwide ambassador for reggae music.
When Marley passed away at age 36 in 1981, reggae music lost its most iconic figure, and that role hasn’t been filled since. Shortly after Marley’s death, a shaken Bunny Wailer retreated to the studio to honor his fallen comrade by recording a number of Marley’s songs. Wailer was genuinely concerned that his friend’s music would be forgotten, and Tribute was a sincere effort to ensure that it didn’t happen.
Released in 1981, this 8 song LP features a number of inspired, soulful performances. Many reggae afficionados believe that Wailer was a more gifted vocalist than Marley, and here he lends that idea some weight. While his versions don’t quite eclipse the brilliance of the originals, Wailer’s masterful interpretations of ‘Soul Rebel’ ‘Time Will Tell’ and ‘Redemption Song’ are sure to thrill any fan of Bob Marley’s music.
Tribute itself has long been out of print, but these songs were reshuffled, and along with two additional tracks, re-released in 1990 as Time Will Tell: A Tribute To Bob Marley. Surprisingly, this pseudo-reissue netted Wailer the first of his three career Grammy awards for Best Reggae Album. As the original liner notes reveal, Wailer considered himself and Marley to be “different branches of the same tree.” Some roots run very deep indeed.
Tags: Bob Marley, Bunny Wailer, reggae, The Wailers, Tribute
