Not Fade Away

ROBBIE SHAKESPEARE

Riddim twin (1953-2021)

DROPPING into Kingston’s Tit For Tat reggae club one night in 1973 on the recommendation of Inner Circle’s Bernard ‘Touter’ Harvey, bassist Robbie Shakespeare was instantly taken with the seemingly effortless groove of drummer Sly Dunbar. The next day, Shakespeare approached producer Bunny Lee and suggested Dunbar join their in-house band, The Aggrovators. “The first thing we played, everyone started jumping up and down in the studio,” Shakespeare told United Reggae in 2012. “Sly & Robbie started right there and were well tight.”

Their creative partnership spanned five decades, during which time they established themselves as reggae’s premier rhythm section, transcending the genre by incorporating elements of funk, R&B and electronica. They pioneered the harder-edged, syncopated ‘rockers’ beat, founded their own Taxi label and production company, and recorded with hordes of diverse artists, from Peter Tosh to Serge Gainsbourg, Mighty Diamonds to Madonna, Grace Jones to Bob Dylan.

Raised in a musical family in East Kingston, Shakespeare had initially been inspired to play bass