Winston Hubert McIntosh — Peter Tosh, the Stepping Razor — was murdered in Kingston on 11 September 1987, aged 42, UPI reported. Nearly four decades later his music, his politics and his image remain fixed in reggae’s DNA. The New York Times called him “one of reggae’s most influential figures”; David Katz, in the Guardian, notes that Tosh has been “unjustly neglected in his homeland” since his murder.
The catalogue
With Bob Marley and Bunny Wailer he co-founded the Wailers and co-wrote “Get Up, Stand Up.” After leaving the group in 1974 he cut Legalize It, Equal Rights, Bush Doctor, Mama Africa and No Nuclear War — the last winning the Grammy for Best Reggae Recording in 1988, per the Recording Academy. The New York Times obituary singled out “Legalize It” and “Equal Rights” as the albums that “established him as a major reggae figure.”
The persona
Tosh rode a unicycle on stage, preached Rastafari from every platform and turned a 1978 marijuana arrest into a cause célèbre. The nickname “Stepping Razor” — from the song on Equal Rights — captured the danger and the precision of his art. Nicholas Campbell’s documentary Stepping Razor: Red X (1993) investigated his murder; the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inducted the Wailers in 1994. In 2012 Jamaica conferred the Order of Merit on him posthumously.
Why it matters
Marley became reggae’s global ambassador; Tosh became its conscience. Marijuana legalisation, which he demanded on record and in court, has moved from fringe to policy in much of the world. Equal rights and justice — the title of his finest album — remain the work. The Stepping Razor’s revolution is unfinished; his music ensures it is not forgotten.
Listen and dig deeper
- Play Legalize It, Equal Rights, Bush Doctor, Mama Africa and No Nuclear War in the Listen library. Browse Peter Tosh and Andrew Tosh.
- The timeline from the start: Wailers formation (1963) → Departure (1974) → Legalize It (1976) → Equal Rights (1977) → Bush Doctor (1978) → Mama Africa (1983) → No Nuclear War (1987) → Murder (1987) → Order of Merit (2012).
Sources: The Guardian — “At last, Peter Tosh gets a museum of his own” (David Katz, Nov 7, 2016); The New York Times — “Peter Tosh, 42, Reggae’s Star” (Jon Pareles, Sep 13, 1987); UPI — “Peter Tosh killed during robbery” (Sep 12, 1987); Recording Academy — 30th Annual Grammy Awards; Rock & Roll Hall of Fame — The Wailers; AllMusic — Peter Tosh biography.
Editor’s note: This entry is part of the JamaicansMusic online museum — a career timeline assembled from the archive. It is dated to the era it documents; every claim is drawn from the linked sources.