Biography of Sly & Robbie

Drummer Sly Dunbar and bassist Robbie Shakespeare have been arguably reggae's pre-imminent production team since the early '70s. Besides appearing on countless sessions, they patented the "Taxi" sound; a clean, less choppy style with Shakespeare's bass lines augmented by Dunbar's use of syndrums, which added a different sound to the reggae mix. This helped bring more electronic and production effects (detractors viewed them as gimmicks) into reggae and created changes in style, tone and emphasis that have continued non-stop ever since. The duo's produced sessions by Gregory Isaacs, Black Uhuru, Grace Jones, Joan Armatrading, Bob Dylan, Ian Dury, the Mighty Diamonds and many, many others. They've also issued many compilations and sessions featuring their productions as the highlight, and Dunbar's cut solo dates for Front Line and Mango. ~ Ron Wynn