Bunny Wailer
He was the last original Wailer, a spiritual reggae architect who carved a profound solo path after the group's superstardom.
1947–2021 (age 74)·Jamaican musician·Birthday: April 10·Baby Boomers
Biography
Born Neville Livingston in Kingston, Bunny Wailer grew up in the rural village of Nine Mile, sharing a childhood and a musical destiny with Bob Marley. As a founding pillar of The Wailers, his high, soulful harmonies and Rastafarian devotion provided the group's spiritual bedrock. He walked away from the international tours just as fame beckoned, a decision rooted in principle and a refusal to compromise. His subsequent solo career became a deep, roots-focused exploration, earning him Grammy accolades and cementing his status as a keeper of reggae's authentic flame. Wailer lived a life of musical and agricultural dedication on his Jamaican farm, his voice remaining a resonant thread connecting reggae's origins to its future.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Bunny was born in 1947, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Bunny Was Born
The biggest hits of 1947
#1 Movie
The Egg and I
Best Picture
Gentleman's Agreement
Bunny's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1947Born
India gains independence; the Dead Sea Scrolls found
Gas: $0.23/galHome: $6,600Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Near You" — Francis CraigBest Picture: Gentleman's Agreement
1952Started school
Queen Elizabeth II ascends the throne
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $8,350Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Blue Tango" — Leroy AndersonBest Picture: The Greatest Show on Earth
1960Became a teenager
Kennedy-Nixon debates become first televised presidential debates
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,900Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Theme from A Summer Place" — Percy FaithBest Picture: The Apartment
1963Could drive
JFK assassinated in Dallas; Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,100Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Sugar Shack" — Jimmy Gilmer & The FireballsBest Picture: Tom Jones
1965Could vote
US sends combat troops to Vietnam
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,600Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" — The Rolling StonesBest Picture: The Sound of Music
1968Turned 21
Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy assassinated
Gas: $0.34/galHome: $14,950Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Hey Jude" — The BeatlesBest Picture: Oliver!
1977Turned 30
Star Wars premieres; Elvis dies
Gas: $0.62/galHome: $31,800Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Tonight's the Night" — Rod StewartBest Picture: Annie Hall
1987Turned 40
Black Monday stock market crash
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $72,400Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Walk Like an Egyptian" — The BanglesBest Picture: The Last Emperor
1997Turned 50
Princess Diana dies in Paris car crash; Harry Potter published
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $104,100Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Candle in the Wind 1997" — Elton JohnBest Picture: Titanic
2007Turned 60
iPhone released; Great Recession begins
Gas: $2.80/galHome: $172,600Min wage: $5.85/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Irreplaceable" — BeyonceBest Picture: No Country for Old Men
2017Turned 70
#MeToo movement; solar eclipse crosses the US
Gas: $2.42/galHome: $195,000Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Shape of You" — Ed SheeranBest Picture: The Shape of Water
2021Died at 74
January 6 Capitol breach; COVID vaccines roll out globally
Gas: $3.01/galHome: $298,900Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Joe Biden"Levitating" — Dua LipaBest Picture: CODA
Key Achievements
- Won the inaugural Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album in 1991 for 'Time Will Tell: A Tribute to Bob Marley'.
- Co-founded the seminal reggae group The Wailers alongside Bob Marley and Peter Tosh, shaping the genre's foundational sound.
- Released the critically acclaimed 'Blackheart Man' album in 1976, a landmark roots reggae record.
- Is one of only a handful of artists to win Grammy Awards in the Best Reggae Album category three times.
Did You Know?
He and Bob Marley were childhood friends and were taught to play guitar by the same man, Joe Higgs.
He was the only member of the original Wailers to have been born in the same rural parish, St. Ann, as Bob Marley.
He refused to tour internationally with The Wailers after 1973 due to a dislike of flying and discomfort with the commercial music industry.
He was a practicing Rastafarian and operated a successful juice and natural food business in Jamaica.
“Reggae music is a healing music, a music that brings people together.”
