2 months ago
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An earthday binghi, the opening of the Don Dada exhibition at Trench Town Culture Yard and the Rootsman Skankin’ concert are among the events being held today to celebrate what would have been the 78th birthday of iconic reggae singer, Neville ‘Bunny Wailer’ Livingston.
A three-time Grammy Award-winner, and a founding member of the Wailers with Bob Marley and Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer passed away on March 2, 2021. He was 73 years old.
Bunny Wailer’s son, Abijah, told The Gleaner that the binghi (often spelled Nyabinghi) – which is a Rastafari spiritual gathering with drums, chanting and singing –starts at sunrise at Trench Town Culture Yard in Kingston.
“My father passed away early one Tuesday morning ... and it was significant to us that [his transition] was at sunrise. The celebration continues until noon, after which there will be the official opening of the exhibition at Culture Yard, which is a place that holds special significance for my father,” Abijah said, referring to the roots of the singer affectionately called Jah B.
Trench Town was that musical paradise where Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer and his step-brother, Bob Marley, all have their roots.
Earl ‘Chinna’ Smith and Binghistra will fill Culture Yard with Rasta colours and the kind of drumming that the Blackheart Man loved.
The free concert this evening, which will be held at Fyah Gardens on Greenvale Avenue, off Molynes Road, will feature Bunny Wailer’s original backing band, the Solomonic Reggaestra, performing in tribute to him, alongside Leroy Sibbles, Andrew Tosh, Bushman, Imeru Tafari, Naki Wailer, Davianah, Abatau, Iyansa, Haile Celestial and others with music by Caveman Braveman Sound.
The Rootsman Skankin’ concert was started in 2017 with Bunny Wailer and it was only natural that his family would continue to host the event.
SYMPOSIUM
On Wednesday, the inaugural Bunny Wailer Symposium took place at The University of the West Indies, under the theme ‘From Blackheart Man to Rock and Groove’. The panellists –Earl ‘Chinna’ Smith, Dr Kadamawe Knife, Professor Donna Hope, and Clyde McKenzie – explored the duality of Bunny Wailer.
“My father was the spiritual mystic on a Rastaman journey and he released the culturally significant Blackheart Man album. But he was also the same singer who did the Rock ‘N’ Groove album with songs such as Ballroom Floor and Cool Runnings. He is the same man who wrote Electric Boogie,” said Abijah, who is himself an artiste known as Naki Wailer.
He continued, “As his son, I know that at times he was like ancient Greece, and then at another time he was so approachable, he was like yuh bredren in the street ... like two different persons.”
Intimately intertwined with any mention of Bunny Wailer, is Jean ‘Sister Jean’ Watt, Bunny Wailer’s beloved and devoted partner for more that half a century. She went missing from their home in St Andrew on May 23, 2020. Despite an ongoing islandwide search, a documentary and the offering of a million-dollar reward for her safe return, Sister Jean has not been found.
“We are still agitating for Sis Jean. We continue to have hope ... because that [is] all we have right now, so we cannot let go of that,” Abijah said solemnly.
He believes that it was her disappearance that triggered his father’s second stroke.
“Before Sister Jean’s disappearance my father was coming back [to good health]. She was his wife of 55 years ... his life ... my father was protective of Sister Jean. If my father wasn’t ill at the time, he woulda find Sister Jean ... as a matter of fact she couldn’t have gone missing in the first place. There are so many questions still,” said Abijah, who has become a sort of advocate for missing persons, especially the elderly and those, who like Sister Jean, have challenges such as memory loss.
Last year, Solomonic Productions re-released Rock ‘N’ Groove, Bunny Wailer’s critically acclaimed 1981 album. It was the company’s first release in a decade.
“We released it on September 23, which is Sister Jean’s birthday and also the date on which my father incorporated his company. Yes ... he and Sister Jean were that close. So it was also a celebration of her 75th birthday,” Abijah explained.
A singer whose legacy can never be erased, Bunny Wailer embarked upon a solo career in 1973, releasing albums such as Blackheart Man (1976) and Rock ‘N’ Groove. He won the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album in 1991, 1995 and 1997. In August 2012, Bunny Wailer received the Order of Jamaica from the government and in 2017, he was awarded the Order of Merit.
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