RIP Robbie Shakespeare
I was shocked and saddened to hear about the death of legendary Jamaican bassist Robbie Shakespeare last night.
Robbie was a musical titan, gone too soon at only 68.
I heard the news when my friend Wayne Marshall shared it on Twitter, then spent the next hour or so listening to and compiling my favourite Robbie Shakespeare creations.
Shakespeare was not just an extraordinary musician and the propeller of basslines you will have heard many times if you have even the most passing interest in reggae. With drummer Sly Dunbar, he formed the prodigious duo Sly & Robbie aka the Riddim Twins.
They were the rhythm section for countless live bands and recording sessions. They produced records themselves and formed their own label, Taxi, with over 1000 releases to its name.
I know Robbie Shakespeare was primarily known as a reggae bassist, but I'm a dancehall fan so this is the lens through which I see him.
Listening to all my Sly & Robbie dancehall tunes last night, it struck me that their importance in and influence on dancehall is hugely underrated and understated.
Bam Bam is obviously the big one. What would dancehall be without this riddim?!
Funnily enough, given Robbie was a bass player, this doesn't have a bassline. But it slaps anyway.
This was the first dancehall album I ever bought, and one of the first albums full stop, back in 1993. Produced by Sly & Robbie.
I love their take on dancehall: cleaner, sparser, more musical than most of their contemporaries.
There are so many great tunes on there, and several UK top 20 hits, but this one always caught me. I love this lyric:
“Mi take a bus, mi take a car, mi take a van, take a train, mi take a diesel”
I remember watching Top of the Pops and trying to work out which one was Chaka Demus and which one was Pliers. For some reason I thought ‘Pliers’ seemed a more appropriate name for the big guy with the deep voice, but I was wrong.
This seriously underrated album by General Pecus has that same clean, sparse musicality. Shout out Henry for introducing me to this about 20 years ago.
Junjo Lawes is credited as producer but he’s generally more of an executive producer figure; Sly & Robbie are featured musicians and it sounds like their production in the musical sense.
I actually discovered last night that the guitar player who features on both of these albums, Lloyd ‘Gitsy’ Willis, also sadly died recently. I love the way his crisp and light style complements Sly & Robbie.
I love all the dancehall instrumentals that Sly & Robbie made. Notice I didn’t say ‘riddims’. These were not made for vocalists.
I grew up hearing my dad's jazz band playing this (after Sonny Rollins) so it's always been a favourite.
This one’s a banger.
There's an amazing one called Moringa Seed which I couldn’t find anywhere online but I have the mp3 so have uploaded it here:
It's got the horns from Rock Fort Rock by The Skatalites, silky Latin piano and that characteristic Sly & Robbie dancehall groove.
Here’s a faster version with the same horns and similar piano, based on a Rubén González tune. Maybe that’s where the Rockfort Rock riff came from?
Unusually, there was actually a vocal on that instrumental: Elephant Man being a whole lot of fun as always.
Sly & Robbie’s Taxi Riddim is undoubtedly one of the most recognisable and significant basslines in dancehall.
There are so many classic tunes on this riddim. Shout out to Buju Banton, Tiger, Foxy Brown, Tony Rebel, and Bitty McLean, to name a handful.
This is probably my favourite tune from the General Pecus album I mentioned earlier, featuring a huge bassline and a delightfully uplifting message.
“Smile crowd a people mek mi see yuh dimple, nuh bodda worry and fret and get nuh wrinkle”
Listening to Robbie Shakespeare for nearly 30 years has brought me so much joy, so that's a fitting way to end.