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Sly and Robbie | |
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.png)  Sly Dunbar (left) andRobbie Shakespeare in the late 1970s. | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Jamaica |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1970s–2021 |
| Labels |
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| Past members | Lowell "Sly" Dunbar Robert "Robbie" Shakespeare (deceased) |
Sly and Robbie were a prolific Jamaicanrhythm section and production duo, associated primarily with thereggae anddub genres.[1] DrummerSly Dunbar and bassistRobbie Shakespeare teamed up in the mid-1970s after establishing themselves separately in Jamaica as professional musicians.[2] Shakespeare died in December 2021 following kidney surgery.[3]
Sly Dunbar, then drumming for Skin Flesh and Bones, and Robbie Shakespeare, playing bass and guitar with the Aggrovators, discovered they had the same ideas about music in general[2] (both are fans ofMotown,Stax Records, thePhilly Sound, andcountry music, in addition to Jamaican record labels Studio One and Treasure Isle), andreggae production in particular. Speaking on his influences, Sly explains “My mentor was the drummer forThe Skatalites,Lloyd Knibb. And I used to listen a lot to the drummer forBooker T. & the M.G.'s,Al Jackson Jr., and a lot of Philadelphia. And there are other drummers in Jamaica, like Santa and Carly fromThe Wailers Band, Winston Bennett,Paul Douglas, Mikey Boo. I respect all these drummers and have learnt a lot from them. From them, I listened and created my own style. They played some things I copied, other things I recreated.[4]” Sly and Robbie first worked together withThe Revolutionaries for the newly createdChannel One studio and label, operated by theHoo Kim brothers.
According toThe Independent, their breakthrough album wasThe Mighty Diamonds' 1976 releaseRight Time, which helped to establish them as the "masters of groove and propulsion."[5] The drum beat on the title song was particularly tricky; in 2001 Dunbar recalled, "When that tune first come out, because of that double tap on the rim nobody believe it was me on the drums, they thought it was some sort of sound effect we was using. Then when it go to number 1 and stay there, everybody started trying for that style and it soon become establish."[6]
In 1976, they introduced a harder beat called "Rockers", which quickly replaced the then-prevalent "One Drop" style, then introduced the "Rub a Dub" sound in the early 1980s. Sly and Robbie were important in developing the trend towards computer-assisted music andprogramming in the mid-1980s.Chris Blackwell made them the core of theCompass Point All Stars, theNassau recording band based atCompass Point Studios that was to produce classic records forGrace Jones,Joe Cocker andGwen Guthrie among many others.
On 1985 Sly and Robbie play drum and bass on albumScacchi e tarocchi byFrancesco De Gregori[7]
Their 1987funk anddance albumRhythm Killers was produced byBill Laswell with an ensemble of musicians and showcased the duo's branching outside of the reggae market and experimenting withelectronic sounds.[1][8] It also produced a number 12 hit on theUK Singles Chart in 1987 with "Boops (Here to Go)" whichRobbie Williams later sampled for his single "Rudebox".
In the early 1990s, Sly and Robbie introduced a novel sound with the hits "Bam Bam" and "Murder She Wrote" byChaka Demus & Pliers.[2]Chaka Demus' rough DJ vocals were matched withPliers' sweet, melodic, soul-influenced singing; this unusual vocal pairing was championed by Sly and Robbie. This formula has since been used with success by the likes ofShaggy (who teamed up with singersRayvon andRik Rok),Shabba Ranks,Maxi Priest and others. This predates the trend in somerap music where a song's "hook" or chorus is sung by a guest, while the verses are rapped.
In the "Bam Bam" style, Dunbar introduced Indiantabla sounds in his drum beats, while Shakespeare altogether stopped playing bass on this particular project.
Sly & Robbie continued to innovate during the late 1990s and early 2000s, fusingdancehall andLatin music sounds (La Trenggae) or dancehall andhip hop/R&B (their 2004 'Big Up' riddim). They had a second UK top 40 hit in 1997, collaborating withSimply Red on a cover ofGregory Isaacs' "Night Nurse", reaching number 13.Also in 1997, their collaboration with The Fugees was included on The Score, which went on to be one of the best selling albums of the decade. In 1999, theirStrip to the Bone album paired them with Scottish electro producerHowie B, and together they explored new dub territories. Their 1999 single "Superthruster" from this album became a mainstream hit, whose music video was played onMTV frequently. The animated video depicted Sly and Robbie inbattlesuits chasing aharlequin through a technological complex. As the video progresses, the harlequin turns out to be amarionette directed by the real villain. The early scene involving the Harlequin marionette bears at least a passing resemblance[according to whom?] toSven Väth's 1994 animated cult-video "Harlequin". "Superthruster" was released on vinyl and as aDVD single, its February 1999 release date making it one of or even the first DVD single ever to go on sale.
They won aGrammy Award in 1999 for the albumFriends.[9]
In 2003, they compiled and mixed aDJ mix album,Late Night Tales: Sly & Robbie, as part of theLate Night Tales series forAzuli Records. Far from restricting themselves to the Jamaican scene, (in which they have played for virtually every prominent Jamaican musical artist fromBeenie Man toSean Paul toPeter Tosh,Black Uhuru,Gregory Isaacs,Dennis Brown, Spanner Banner,Ini Kamoze and others), they have played with and produced artists such asMadonna,Bob Dylan,Mick Jagger,The Rolling Stones,Grace Jones,Joan Armatrading,Gilberto Gil,Joe Cocker,Matisyahu,Serge Gainsbourg,Simply Red,Michael Franti,Sting,Khaled,Mey Vidal,Tricky,Doug E. Fresh,Carlos Santana,Sinéad O'Connor,Monty Alexander,Ian Dury, and others.
Sly and Robbie producedNo Doubt's international hits "Hey Baby" and "Underneath It All".[10]
They also produced some tracks forSuggs' 1996 debut solo albumThe Lone Ranger including the hit version of "Cecilia" featuringLouchie Lou & Michie One which sold over 500,000 copies in the UK alone and reached number 4 on the UK Singles Chart.
After 35 years together, they still toured and recorded in the 2000s, until Shakespeare's death in 2021. In early 2005, they toured withTony Rebel andHalf Pint. During the summer of 2005, they toured Europe and the UK withBunny Rugs, lead singer for Third World. During the fall of 2005 they were on the road withSinéad O'Connor. in August 2006, they appeared with Don Carlos at theReggae on the River festival, and in August 2007 they performed on a tour of the Western United States and Canada along with dancehall-soul singer and actressCherine Anderson, including headliningReggae Rising inHumboldt County and theHollywood Bowl. They toured with Bitty McLean, the TAXI Gang, and in 2012, planned a Jamaican Legends tour throughout Europe, with jazz pianistMonty Alexander and guitaristErnest Ranglin.
They have produced several new Jamaican artists for their Taxi label, as well as such asElephant Man andBuju Banton, for whom they re-used their 1982 instrumental song "Unmetered Taxi" for the number one hit "Driver A". In 2006, they recorded with their original group, the Revolutionaries, to produce Horace Andy's new albumLivin' It Up and produced several hits forCherine Anderson. In 2007, they collaborated with the ItalianrapperJovanotti on the albumSafari. They also produced tracks forPaul McCartney andBritney Spears. Sly and Robbie collaborated with the Ecuadorian singer-songwriter Cecilia Villar Eljuri,[11] on several occasions; on her song "El Aire" from her 2008 albumEn Paz, in 2012 on her song "Empuja" fromFuerte and in 2016 on her song "Quiero Saber" fromLa Lucha. Sung in Spanish, these songs quickly charted on Worldbeat and Latin Alternative international radio. Sly and Robbie worked on Brazilian singer-songwriterVanessa da Mata's third albumSim, bringing their own feel to several tracks. Partially recorded in Kingston, Jamaica,Sim was released on 28 May 2007 by Sony BMG.
In 2009,Movin' On, the new album byBitty McLean, which they produced with McLean and their longtime friend and associate Guillaume Bougard, came out and was widely acclaimed as the best reggae album of the year. Sly and Robbie toured Japan, Morocco (Mawazine festival) and Europe with McLean to showcase the album. Sly and Robbie produced four songs onCherine Anderson's EPThe Introduction-Dubstyle. The second single "Shine on Jamaica", which was produced by the duo, peaked at number 1 for four weeks on both the South Florida Reggae charts, as well as the WAVS 1170 Reggae Charts. In 2012, they[when?] worked on Khalifa's albumG.RIOT 2012 and Bitty McLean's album. Their 2014 project,Sly and Robbie presentsNo-Maddz, was released at the end of 2014.[12]
They received their 11th Grammy Award nomination in 2014 for the albumThe Reggae Power.[9] In October 2015, the duo received the GoldMusgrave Medal in recognition of their contribution to music.[13]
In 2019, they collaborated with the reggae groupRoots Radics on the albumThe Final Battle: Roots Radics vs. Sy & Robbie, produced by Hernan "Don Camel" Sforzini. The album was nominated for a Grammy.[14]
Sly and Robbie appeared in the 2011 documentaryReggae Got Soul: The Story ofToots and the Maytals which was featured onBBC and described as "The untold story of one of the most influential artists ever to come out of Jamaica".[15][16]
Mighty Diamonds Right Time.
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