Bunny Wailer

Photo from "Marketplace" (1985)

BIOGRAPHY

194x

  • Neville O'Riley Livingston was born 1947, April 10, in Kingston, Jamaica.
  • Neville lived with his father (Thaddius Livingston) in Nine Mile, Jamaica. He attended the Stepney School. It was there that Neville and Robert Nesta Marley became friends.

195x

  • Neville and his father moved to Kingston, Jamaica in 1952. Neville's father and Robert's mother were both single parents. In Kingston they lived together and had a daughter (Claudette "Pearl" Livingston).

196x

  • Robert Nesta "Bob" Marley, Winston Hubert "Peter" McIntosh, Neville O'Riley "Bunny" Livingston and Franklin Delano Alexander "Junior" Braithwaite learned breath control, harmony techniques, music theory and songwriting from Jamaican singer / arranger / composer Joe Higgs. Higgs gave free music lessons at his yard on Third Street in Trench Town, Jamaica. He was a devout rasta.
  • Bob, Peter, Bunny, Junior, Beverly Kelso and Cherry Green joined to start "The Teenagers" vocal group in 1963. The group was renamed "The Wailing Rudeboys", "The Wailing Wailers" and last "The Wailers".
  • Bunny left The Wailers temporary in 1967. He was arrested and sentenced to 14 months in prison for marijuana possession.
  • Bunny rejoined The Wailers in 1968, September.

197x

  • The Wailers signed a deal with Chris Blackwell's Island Records and recorded the album "Catch A Fire" in 1972. "Catch A Fire" was the first international Reggae album.
Classic Albums: Catch A Fire
  • Bunny left The Wailers in 1973. He refused to tour outside of Jamaica.
  • Bunny started his solo career.
  • Bunny started the "Solomonic" label in 1973.
  • Bunny and Peter recorded the songs "Bide Up" and "Fighting Against Conviction" for Bunny's "Blackheart Man" album.
  • Bunny, Peter and Bob recorded a new version of The Wailers' song "Dreamland" for Bunny's "Blackheart Man" album.
Bunny Wailer
Bunny Wailer
Photo from "Protest" (1977)

198x

  • Peter, Bunny, Junior and Vision recorded songs for The Wailers' "The Never Ending Wailers" album in 1986.
  • Bunny toured outside of Jamaica for the first time (since 1973) in 1986.
  • Bunny, Junior and Vision performed the song "Together Again" at the Madison Square Garden in 1986.

199x

  • Bunny performed at the Reggae Sunsplash Festival for the first time in 1990.
  • Bunny's "Time Will Tell: A Tribute To Bob Marley" album won the 1990 Grammy for Best Reggae Album in 1991.
  • Bunny's "Crucial! Roots Classics" album won the 1994 Grammy for Best Reggae Album in 1995.
  • Bunny's "Hall Of Fame: A Tribute To Bob Marley's 50th Anniversary" album won the 1996 Grammy for Best Reggae Album in 1997.

DISCOGRAPHY

Blackheart Man
1976
  1. Blackheart Man
  2. Fighting Against Conviction
  3. The Oppressed Song
  4. Fig Tree
  5. Dreamland
  6. Rastaman
  7. Reincarnated Souls
  8. Amagideon (Armageddon)
  9. Bide Up
  10. This Train
Protest
1977
  1. Moses Children
  2. Get Up, Stand Up
  3. Scheme Of Things
  4. Quit Trying
  5. Follow Fashion Monkey
  6. Wanted Children
  7. Who Feels It
  8. Johnny Too Bad
Roots Radics
Rockers Reggae *
1979
  1. Roots, Radics, Rockers, Reggae
  2. Cease Fire
  3. Let Him Go
  4. The Conqueror
  5. Rockers
  6. Wirly Girly
  7. Rockin' Time
  8. Love Fire

* Also released as In I Father's House

Rootsman Skanking *
1981
  1. Ballroom Floor
  2. Collyman
  3. Dance Rock
  4. Gamblings
  5. Rootsman Skanking
  6. Cool Runnings
  7. Cry To Me
  8. Rock 'N' Groove
  9. Another Dance
  10. Jammins

* Also released as Rock 'N' Groove

Sings The Wailers
1981
  1. Dancing Shoes
  2. Mellow Mood
  3. Dreamland
  4. Keep On Moving
  5. Hypocrite
  6. I'm The Toughest
  7. Rule This Land
  8. Burial
  9. I Stand Predominate
  10. Walk The Proud Land
DUBD'SCO Volumes 1 & 2
1981
  1. Roots Radics Dub
  2. Battering Down Dub
  3. Armageddon Dub
  4. Dub Tree
  5. Burning Dub
  6. Rasta Dub
  7. Dream Dub
  8. Burial Dub
  9. Predominately Dub
  10. Dub The Proud Land
  11. Rule This Dub
  12. The Toughest Dub
  13. Dancing Dub
  14. Mellow Dub
  15. Keep On Dubbing
  16. Hypocritical Dub
  17. Worly Girly Dubby
Time Will Tell *
1981
  1. Soul Rebel
  2. I Shot The Sheriff
  3. Time Will Tell
  4. Bellyfull
  5. Redemption Song
  6. No Woman No Cry
  7. Slave Driver
  8. War
  9. Crazy Bald Head
  10. Rebel Music

* Also released as Tribute

Marketplace
1985
  1. Stay With The Reggae
  2. Jump, Jump
  3. Dance Hall Music
  4. Cool And Deadly
  5. Ally Worker
  6. Dance The Night Away
  7. Electric City
  8. Tears In Your Eyes
  9. Home Sweet Home
  10. Together
Liberation
1988
  1. Rise And Shine
  2. Liberation
  3. Botha The Mosquito
  4. Want To Come Home
  5. Ready When You Ready
  6. Didn't You Know
  7. Dash Wey The Vial
  8. Bald Head Jesus
  9. Food
  10. Serious Thing
Rule Dance Hall
1988
  1. Rule Dance Hall
  2. Jolly Session
  3. Saturday Night
  4. Trash Ina We Bes
  5. Put It On
  6. Reggae In The U.S.A.
  7. Haughty Tempo
  8. Camouflage
  9. Hot Foot Head
  10. Stir It Up
  11. Old Time Sinting
  12. Reasons
Gumption
1990
  1. Sounds Clash
  2. Pieakka 'Bus Dem Shut'
  3. Dog War
  4. See And Blind
  5. Warrior
  6. Never Grow Old
  7. Gumption
  8. Wheel Yo Belly
  9. Don Man
  10. Reggae Burden
Dance Massive
1992
  1. Ram Dance
  2. Conscious Lyrics
  3. Girls
  4. Dance Massive
  5. Don Dadda
  6. Dance Ha Ti Gwan
  7. Raggamuffin
  8. Veteran
  9. The Specialists
  10. Still The King
Just Be Nice
1993
  1. Electric Boogie
  2. Electro Rap
  3. Riding
  4. Hook Line And Sinker
  5. Soul Rocking Party
  6. Bad Dub
  7. Sitting In The Park
  8. Family Affair
  9. Hit Back The Crack
  10. Back To School
  11. Just Be Nice
  12. Ballroom Floor
Crucial! Roots Classics
1994
Recorded:
1977-1985
  1. Boderation
  2. Baldheaded Woman
  3. Old Dragon
  4. Crucial
  5. Innocent Blood
  6. Trouble On The Road Again
  7. Peace Talks
  8. Unity
  9. Togawar Game
  10. Struggle
  11. Free Jah Jah Children
  12. Power Strugglers
  13. Bright Soul
  14. Here In Jamaica
Hall Of Fame [Disc 1]
1995
  1. Profile
  2. Roots
  3. Chant Down Babylon
  4. Forever Loving Jah
  5. Three Little Birds
  6. Trench Town
  7. Rastaman Vibration
  8. Roots Rock Reggae
  9. Johnny Was A Good Man
  10. Want More
  11. No More Trouble
  12. Africa Unite
  13. One Drop
  14. Ambush
  15. Wake Up And Live
  16. Can't Stop Them Now
  17. Bad Card
  18. Mi And Dem
  19. Work
  20. Rasta Dread
  21. Bend Down Low
  22. Talking Blues
  23. Blackman Redemption
  24. Sun Is Shining
  25. Man To Man
Hall Of Fame [Disc 2]
1995
  1. Stiff Neck Fool
  2. Pimpers Paradise
  3. Jump Nyabinghi
  4. Mix Up
  5. Give Thanks And Praise
  6. Trouble In The World
  7. Zion Train
  8. Rastaman Rides Again
  9. Judge Not
  10. Fancy Curls
  11. Zimbabwe
  12. Winepress
  13. Rat Race
  14. Revolution
  15. Top Rankin'
  16. Rainbow Country
  17. Simmer Down
  18. Running Away
  19. Guiltiness
  20. Craven Choke Puppy
  21. Natural Mystic
  22. So Much Things To Say
  23. Survivors
  24. One Love
  25. Lively Up Yourself
  26. Small Axe
  27. Final Statement
Communication
2000
  1. Standing Ovation
  2. Legends
  3. Rockstone
  4. Against All Odds
  5. Genetic Order
  6. The Peoples Cup
  7. Almighty Is A Rappa
  8. Help Us Jah
  9. Bear The Cross
  10. Ethiopia
  11. Reggae Converts
  12. Fiya Red
  13. Disarmament Speech
  14. Trigger Happy Kid
  15. Teeni Wappaz
  16. Stand In Love
  17. Millenium Rock
The Definitive Discography
By Roger Steffens & Leroy Jodie Pierson

LYRICS

Amagideon [Armageddon] Another Dance Bald Head Jesus Ballroom Floor Ballroom Floor [1993] Bide Up Blackheart Man Botha The Mosquito Bright Soul Cool Runnings Dance Rock Dash Wey The Vial Dreamland Fig Tree Fighting Against Conviction Follow Fashion Monkey Food Here In Jamaica Hypocrite Innocent Blood Johnny Too Bad Liberation Moses Children Quit Trying Rastaman Ready When You Ready Redemption Song Reincarnated Souls Rise And Shine Roots, Radics, Rockers, Reggae Scheme Of Things Serious Thing Stay With The Reggae Struggle Tears In Your Eyes Walk The Proud Land [Rude Boy] Want To Come Home Wanted Children Who Feels It / Who Feels It Knows It