Tributes pour in for Robbie Shakespeare

TRIBUTES HAVE been paid for legendary reggae bass player Robbie Shakespeare, who has died, aged 68.

According to the Jamaica Gleaner he died in Florida where he had been in hospital for kidney surgery.

Shakespeare was renowned as one half of the powerhouse rhythm duo of Sly and Robbie with Sly Dunbar. The prolific bassist and music producer has been credited with revolutionising the sound of reggae and dancehall music. Shakespeare, alongside Sly Dunbar, worked with reggae icons such as Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and Gregory Isaacs.

The duo also produced or played with a long list of rock and pop superstars including Mick Jagger, Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan, Talking Heads, Madonna, and Britney Spears.

Last year, Rolling Stone magazine placed Shakespeare at Number 17 on its ’50 Greatest Bassists of All Time’ list. He was nominated for 13 Grammys during his career and won two.

Paying tribute Jamaica’s Culture Minister Olivia Grange said Shakespeare was one of the country’s great musicians.

“[Sly and Robbie] took bass playing and drumming to the highest level as they made music for themselves as a group, and for many other artistes locally and internationally,” she said in a statement.

The country’s prime minister, Andrew Holness, tweeted that “when it comes to reggae bass playing, no one comes close to having the influence of Robbie Shakespeare”.

BBC Radio 1Xtra reggae music presenter David Rodigan also paid tribute saying that Shakespeare “played his bass guitar like nobody else”.

He wrote on Twitter: “The bass is everything in Reggae music and Robbie Shakespeare played his bass guitar like nobody else; he made the beat drop, speaker boxes shook and we rocked.His passing is a tragic loss; his contribution to the genre is immeasurable. RIP Robbie Shakespeare.”

Born in Kingston, Jamaica in 1953, Shakespeare learned to play the bass guitar under the guidance Wailers legend Aston ‘Family Man’ Barrett.

He teamed up with drummer Sly Dunbar in the mid-1970s. The duo became friends sharing an interest in a wide range of music as well as reggae production. They played under several names before settling on Sly and Robbie, and went on to become one of the most important rhythm and production duos in reggae history.

Their breakout work was on Mighty Diamonds’ 1976 album Right Time.They also produced music for movie soundtracks, including Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Poetic Justice.