Sly & Robbie

Sly and Robbie were a prolific Jamaican rhythm section and production duo, associated primarily with the reggae and dub genres. Drummer Sly Dunbar and bassist Robbie Shakespeare teamed up in the mid-1970s after establishing themselves separately in Jamaica as professional musicians. They recorded several albums under the Sly and Robbie name, and made hundreds of appearances on records by other performers.

Shakespeare died in December 2021 following kidney surgery, and Dunbar on 26 January 2026.

Career

1970s: Beginnings in reggae

Sly Dunbar, then drumming for Skin Flesh and Bones, and Robbie Shakespeare, playing bass and guitar with the Aggrovators, discovered they had the same ideas about music in general (both were fans of Motown, Stax Records, the Philly Sound, and country music, in addition to Jamaican record labels Studio One and Treasure Isle), and reggae production in particular. Speaking on his influences, Sly explained “My mentor was the drummer for The Skatalites, Lloyd Knibb. And I used to listen a lot to the drummer for Booker T. & the M.G.'s, Al Jackson Jr., and a lot of Philadelphia. And there are other drummers in Jamaica, like Santa and Carly from The Wailers...

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