January 27, 2026
Reggae Legend Sly Dunbar Dead At 73
He was found unresponsive by his wife at their home
Popular reggae producer and drummer Sly Dunbar, who was one-half of the Sly & Robbie production team, has died at 73.
According to The Jamaican Gleaner, the musician was discovered unresponsive by his wife, Thelma, who confirmed his death to the media outlet. She stated that he had been sick recently and had been seeing doctors at home and overseas.
“About 7 o’clock this morning, I went to wake him up, and he wasn’t responding. I called the doctor, and that was the news,” Thelma said. “Yesterday was such a good day for him. He had friends come over to visit him, and we all had such a good time. He ate well yesterday … sometimes he’s not into food. I knew he was sick … but I didn’t know that he was this sick.”
The news comes several years after his producing partner, bassist Robbie Shakespeare, died in Miami on Dec. 8, 2021, at 69.
Rolling Stone reported that Sly, who was born Lowell Fillmore Dunbar in Kingston, Jamaica, on May 10, 1952, took an interest in music after hearing Lloyd Knibb play with the Skatalites. As a teenager, he convinced his mother to allow him to pursue music while abandoning a traditional education.
After meeting Shakespeare in 1973 at a nightclub, the two started working together and throughout the years, played with and on songs featuring artists like Gregory Isaacs, Dennis Brown, Barrington Levy, Peter Tosh, Bob Marley, Shaggy, Shabba Ranks, No Doubt, Sinéad O’Connor, Simply Red, Cutty Ranks, Beenie Man, and many others during his career.
The pair earned two Grammys; the first one for work done on Black Uhuru’s “Anthem,” which won the inaugural Grammy for Best Reggae Album in 1985. The second one was won in 1999, when Sly and Robbie won for Best Reggae Album, “Friends.“
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