The Wailers at the Oregon Zoo

2007-06-27 19:00:00 - 2007-06-27 00:00:00

The Wailers

Wednesday, June 27

Bob Marley's legendary backing band and first family of reggae

While the original Wailers were a vocal trio made up of Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer, the music section they added in the late 1960s quickly adopted the name, and kept it when Tosh and Wailer split for solo careers. And despite Marley's death in 1981, the Wailers have continued touring as the best-known reggae group in the world. And for good reason. Bandleader and bass player Aston "Family Man" Barrett is one of the world's seminal reggae musicians, commonly regarded as one of the defining forces in reggae and the man who helped bring bass to the forefront of the genre. Barrett is generally referred to as Marley's musical director, helping to arrange the band's songs in the studio and onstage, and his musical prowess has been called upon by numerous other musical heavyweights. Besides the Wailers, Barrett has played with the Skatalites, Lee "Scratch" Perry, Burning Spear and John Denver.