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\n\tSly Dunbar, the legendary Jamaican drummer<\/a> who helped steer reggae<\/a>\u2018s modern evolution while providing the backbeat to countless recordings, has died. He was 73.<\/p>\n \n\tDunbar\u2019s wife, Thelma, confirmed his death to Jamaican newspaper The Gleaner<\/a><\/em>. \u201cAbout seven o\u2019clock this morning I went to wake him up and he wasn\u2019t responding, I called the doctor and that was the news,\u201d she said. An exact cause of death was not given, though Dunbar had reportedly been ill for some time.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cYesterday was such a good day for him,\u201d Thelma said. \u201cHe had friends come over to visit him and we all had such a good time. He ate well yesterday \u2026 sometimes he\u2019s not into food. I knew he was sick \u2026 but I didn\u2019t know that he was this sick.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tDunbar was just 15 when he joined his first band and recorded his initial song. It marked the start of a prolific and deeply influential career, with Dunbar earning worldwide acclaim for his work alongside bassist Robbie Shakespeare (who died in 2021<\/a>). It\u2019s been estimated that, over the decades, Sly and Robbie<\/a> played on more than 200,000 recordings, including the original tracks, remixes, and the numerous songs that have sampled their work.<\/p>\n \n\tAs the rhythm section (and production duo) Sly and Robbie, the pair played on reggae classics by Black Uhuru, Jimmy Cliff, and Peter Tosh, developing a reputation that would garner them work with the likes of Bob Dylan, Grace Jones, and the Rolling Stones. Sly and Robbie also released numerous albums of their own, and played a crucial role in pushing reggae into the future with their adoption of electronic instruments and more syncopated rhythms.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tLowell Fillmore Dunbar was born May 10, 1952 in Kingston, Jamaica. Dunbar, in a 2021 interview<\/a>, credited his sisters with filling his childhood home with Otis Redding, Booker T. & the MGs, and Sly and the Family Stone (it was his love for the latter than led to him being nicknamed \u201cSly\u201d). But Dunbar was inspired to become a drummer after hearing Lloyd Knibb play with the Skatalites. Before he had a kit of his own, he played on his desk at school, as well as cans. At the age of 13, he successfully convinced his mother to let him abandon school to pursue music.\u00a0<\/p>\n