Bunny Lee

by Jason AnkenyOne of the most influential and prolific producers in reggae history, Bunny Striker Lee pioneered the art of the dub — expanding the parameters of studio technology like no Jamaican producer before him, he and his engineeer, the equally-legendary King Tubby, maximized the creative possibilities of each and every rhythm to generate a seemingly endless series of mixes spread across literally thousands of recordings. Edward OSullivan Lee was born in Jamaica on August 23, 1941; he entered the music industry in 1962 via his brother-in-law, the great reggae singer Derrick Morgan, landing a job as a record plugger for Duke Reids famed Treasure Isle label. By the mid-1960s, Lee was working with Ken Lacks Caltone imprint, producing his first record, Lloyd Jackson and the Groovers Listen to the Beat, in 1967. His first significiant hit, Roy Shirleys Music Field, followed later that year on WIRL, and upon founding his own Lees label, he reeled off a series of well-received sides including Morgans Hold You Jack, Slim Smiths My Conversation and Pat Kellys Little Boy Blue.As the decade drew to its close, Lee was among the most successful producers in reggae, and by 1971 he was working side-by-side with engineer King Tubby, who almost singlehandedly invented dub by taking existing master tapes and — after cutting out vocals, bringing up the bass lines and adding and subtracting other instruments — creating new rhythm tracks for sound system DJs to voice over. Later adding delays, fades and phasing to his sonic arsenal, Tubby was already renowned throughout the Jamaican music industry by the time he began collaborating with Lee, but together, the duo produced the finest music of their respective careers — unlike most of his producer peers, Lee recorded his celebrated studio band the Aggrovators with Tubbys remixing skills firmly in mind, crafting deep, dense rhythms strong enough to survive even the most strenuous studio reworking, and together they unleashed some of the most enduring dub versions ever cut. At the peak of his career — essentially the period from 1969 to 1977 — Lee produced thousands of records, forging a labyrinthine discography of vocal sides, DJ records and dub versions, each disc seemingly spun off from another. Among Lees most influential projects was a 1974 collaboration with singer Johnny Clarke which yielded a series of roots-reggae classics including None Shall Escape the Judgement and Move Out of Babylon; that same year, he also helmed Owen Greys smash Bongo Natty, while the 1975 Cornell Campbell hit The Gorgon launched a number of like-minded Gorgon rock records. At one time or another, Lee also worked with everyone from Jackie Edwards to Alton Ellis to Ken Boothe, and for all of his experimental instincts, he also possessed a commercial flair equal to any of his contemporaries. By the early 1980s, however, Tubby was running his own studio and producing his own records, and although they continued to collaborate on occasion, both the quality and quantity of Lees recordings began to slide; he later purchased producer Joe Gibbs former Kingston-area studio, making a few half-hearted attempts at working with digital technology but otherwise easing into retirement as the years passed, his place in reggae history assured.