Award-winning Jamaican bassist and producer Robbie Shakespeare, co-founder of Sly & Robbie passed way in Florida, USA on December 8, 2021. Robbie Shakespeare was a highly influential musician who collaborated with reggae’s biggest stars.
Robert Warren Dale Shakespeare was born in Kingston, Jamaica in 1953. In the mid-1970s, he teamed up with drummer Sly Dunbar to form the famous group Sly & Robbie. The rhythm section and production duo duo played an essential roe in the development of reggae and dub.
Reggae label VP Records issued a press release:
“Music has lost one of its greatest bass players – Robbie Shakespeare. VP Records extends its deepest sympathies to Robbie’s family, friends and fans. Robbie’s indelible contribution to Reggae, and his influence on musicians was global, his presence can never be filled. Robbie was one half of Sly & Robbie also known as the Rhythm Twins.
“Together, Sly & Robbie contributed to the careers of countless artists. Robbie’s bass can be heard on classic tracks by Black Uhuru, Grace Jones, Peter Tosh and many others.”
“Robbie played bass in a magnetic way” said VP Records CEO Chris Chin. “He was truly one of the best – he has left a great catalog for us to enjoy.”
Sly & Robbie participated in the Mista Savona presents Havana Meets Kingston, a world music project where Jamaican artists collaborated with Cuban musicians.
(headline photo: Robbie Shakespeare at a concert with Sly Dunbar and Nils Petter Molvær at TFF Rudolstadt in Germany, 2015. Photo by Schorle – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=41505280)
Author: World Music Central News Room
World music news from the editors at World Music Central