Robbie Shakespeare, one half of duo Sly and Robbie, has passed away aged 68.
Born in 1953 in Kingston Jamaica, Shakespeare got together with Sly Dunbar in the mid-1970s. They went on to have an immeasurable impact on reggae and dancehall music.
Life-long collaborators, Sly and Robbie together played with the likes of Grace Jones, Bob Dylan, Mick Jagger, Paul McCartney, Talking Heads and Joan Armatrading.
As writers, producers and musicians, they were widely regarded as Jamaica’s go-to tastemakers with extraordinary, and evident, influence.
Describing the advantages of working alongside Sly to M Magazine in 2012, Robbie said: ‘You have two sets of ears, you can hear more. Sometimes you hear things you question yourself; I wonder if... you might just say, ‘Go with it.’ But when you work together, you can say, ‘What do you think about this?’ You have someone you can rely on. We just make good music each time, then we make the instruments do the talking.’
Shakespeare, one of reggae's most prolific bass players, had been nominated for 13 Grammys in his career and won twice — once in 1984 for best reggae recording for Anthem and then in 1998 for best reggae album for Friends.
In 2020, he was placed at 17 on Rolling Stone’s greatest bassists of all-time list.
Sending his condolences, Jamaican prime minister Andrew Holness said: ‘The legendary bassist Robbie Shakespeare played a significant role in recording and producing albums for various Reggae artists including Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer, U Roy, Culture, Burning Spear among other big names.
‘When it comes to Reggae bass playing, no one comes close to having the influence of Robbie Shakespeare. He will be remembered for his sterling contribution to the music industry and Jamaica’s culture. May his soul Rest In Peace.’
According to the Jamaica Gleaner, Shakespeare had been ill for some time and had undergone kidney surgery in Florida.
