October 9, 1944 – September 11, 1987


Mr. Brown: Said to have been written by Lee Perry and keyboard player Glen Adams, a tale of a ghost haunting Jamaica in 1970 is one of the most singular things The Wailers ever did. (It is also said to be about something else too)



The Wailers perform You Can't Blame The Youth during rehearsals at Capitol Studios on 10/24/73


Bush Doctor The day was 19/06/1977.


A rendition of a traditional spiritual called sinnerman. Sinner Man" has also been recorded as a reggae song several times by the Wailers, featuring Peter Tosh's singing. This version entitled "Downpressor Man" recorded by Peter Tosh & The Wailers was released in 1971, "downpressor" meaning "oppressor" in Rastafarian vocabulary. Songwriting credit for this version is sometimes given to Tosh.
( how watah walk go a punkin belly )




In the early 1960s Peter Tosh met Bob Marley and Bunny Wailer. In 1962, he was the driving force behind the formation of The Wailing Wailers with Junior Braithwaite and backup singers Beverley Kelso and Cherry Smith. The Wailing Wailers had a huge ska hit with their first single, "Simmer Down," in early 1967 they became the wailers. Tosh would later explain that they chose the name Wailers because to "wail" means to mourn or to, as he put it, "...express ones feelings vocally".

Tosh began recording under the name Peter Tosh, and released his solo debut, Legalize It, in 1976. The title track soon became an anthem for supporters of marijuana legalization.

In 1987, Tosh appeared to be on the way to a career revival. He was awarded a Grammy for Best Reggae Performance in 1987 for No Nuclear War. However on September 11, 1987, just after Tosh had returned to his home in Jamaica, a three-man gang came to his house demanding money. Tosh replied that he did not have any with him but the gang did not believe him. They stayed at his residence for several hours in an attempt to extort money from Peter. During this time many of Tosh's friends came to his house to greet him following his return to Jamaica. As people began to arrive, the gunmen became more and more frustrated. Especially the leader of the gang, Dennis 'Leppo' Lobban, a man whom Peter had befriended and tried to help find work after a long jail sentence. Peter must have been disgusted by this turn of events and made it very clear that he would never give them what they came for. Upon realizing that they would not get anything from the robbery, the gangs leader put a gun to Peter's head and fired twice killing him instantly. The other gunmen began shooting, wounding several others and killing disc jockey Jeff "Free I" Dixon. Leppo turned himself over to the authorities, and was tried and convicted in the shortest jury deliberation in Jamaican history: eleven minutes. He was sentenced to death, but his sentence was commuted in 1995 and he remains in prison. Neither of his two alleged accomplices were found, though it is said that both were gunned down in the streets. Rumours persist that his murder was political.

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☼ Nos non pluris sumus quam bullae ☼