{"id":12002,"date":"2026-01-26T18:59:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-26T18:59:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sandbox.reggaenorthca.com\/?p=12002"},"modified":"2026-02-02T01:48:02","modified_gmt":"2026-02-02T01:48:02","slug":"iconic-reggae-drummer-sly-dunbar-dies-at-73","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sandbox.reggaenorthca.com\/?p=12002","title":{"rendered":"Iconic Reggae Drummer Sly Dunbar Dies at 73"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Grammy-winning producer and drummer Sly Dunbar \u2014 one half of the Jamaican duo Sly and Robbie \u2014 has died at aged 73. Born Lowell Fillmore Dunbar on May 10, 1952, Sly left us on January 26, 2026.<\/p>\n<p>Leroy Brown, singer\/songwriter, producer, veteran recording artist and a close friend of Sly Dunbar confirmed Dunbar\u2019s passing on Monday morning.<\/p>\n<p>He had been ailing for more than a decade, suffering from chronic problems with his legs and complications stemming from a slipped disc.<\/p>\n<p>Alongside bassist Robbie Shakespeare,\u00a0who died in 2021, Dunbar formed the most influential rhythm section in Jamaican music history, helping to define the sound of reggae, dub, and dancehall across five decades.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12003 alignleft lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/sandbox.reggaenorthca.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Screenshot_20260126_122705_Chrome-249x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"187\" height=\"225\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/sandbox.reggaenorthca.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Screenshot_20260126_122705_Chrome-249x300.jpg 249w, https:\/\/sandbox.reggaenorthca.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Screenshot_20260126_122705_Chrome-851x1024.jpg 851w, https:\/\/sandbox.reggaenorthca.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Screenshot_20260126_122705_Chrome-768x924.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sandbox.reggaenorthca.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Screenshot_20260126_122705_Chrome.jpg 1276w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 187px) 100vw, 187px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 187px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 187\/225;\" \/>Sly Dunbar was not only one of the greatest drummers in reggae history, but one of the most influential drummers of all time. His unmistakable groove powered thousands upon thousands of recordings, shaping reggae, dub, dancehall, and beyond. Loved deeply by musicians and fans alike, his passing is a profound loss for music worldwide.<\/p>\n<p>Together with bassist Robbie Shakespeare, Sly formed the most legendary rhythm section in reggae history. From their early days as session musicians at Jamaica\u2019s Channel One Studio, Sly &amp; Robbie became the backbone of reggae and dub for over five decades. Their sound defined eras and crossed genres, collaborating with artists such as Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, Grace Jones, and many, many more.<\/p>\n<p>Robbie Shakespeare\u2019s passing in 2021 marked the fading of an era, and with Sly Dunbar\u2019s death, a historic chapter in global music comes to its final note.<\/p>\n<p>Sly Dunbar is survived by his wife and daughter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Grammy-winning producer and drummer Sly Dunbar \u2014 one half of the Jamaican duo Sly and Robbie \u2014 has died at aged 73. Born Lowell Fillmore Dunbar on May 10, 1952, Sly left us on January 26, 2026. Leroy Brown, singer\/songwriter, producer, veteran recording artist and a close friend of Sly Dunbar confirmed Dunbar\u2019s passing on [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12001,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[260],"class_list":["post-12002","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-breakingnews"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sandbox.reggaenorthca.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12002","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sandbox.reggaenorthca.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sandbox.reggaenorthca.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandbox.reggaenorthca.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandbox.reggaenorthca.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12002"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sandbox.reggaenorthca.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12002\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12004,"href":"https:\/\/sandbox.reggaenorthca.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12002\/revisions\/12004"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandbox.reggaenorthca.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12001"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sandbox.reggaenorthca.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12002"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandbox.reggaenorthca.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12002"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandbox.reggaenorthca.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12002"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}