Bunny Lee
Born Edward O'Sullivan Lee, he was present for the accident that started it all: at Treasure Isle in 1968, engineer Byron Smith left the vocals off a dub plate of the Paragons' "On The Beach," and the dancehall crowd went wild for it anyway. The next morning Lee told King Tubby, "Them people love it. We need more of these." That instinct made him one of the most prolific producers of the decade. He worked constantly with Tubby through the 1970s, feeding him rhythms to mix at the Waterhouse studio and releasing the results on albums including Dub from the Roots. He also helped Tubby acquire the four-track machines and MCI console that would define the Waterhouse sound. Lee died in 2020.
At a glance
- Active
- 1967–2020
- From
- Kingston, Jamaica
- Listening guide track
- “Dubbing in the Front Yard”
Listen
In the 70s Dub Reggae listening guide: “Dubbing in the Front Yard”
In the issues
- 70s Dub ReggaeSupporting cast · 1968-1980
70s Dub Reggae is a genre from Kingston, Jamaica, 1968–1980. Its principal artists include King Tubby, Lee 'Scratch' Perry and Augustus Pablo. This issue covers 10 essential albums and 12 dated events.
Places
- Randy's Studio 17Kingston · 1968-1982 · 70s Dub Reggae
Located at 17 North Parade, this studio produced countless reggae and dub classics and was where many producers including Bunny Lee created their most influential recordings.
Voices
Quotations from the issues, each matched word for word against the source it links to.
“Yeah... it was really VERSION those days – it wasn't dub yet beca' it was jus' the riddim. One day an incident: Ruddy's (sound system operator Ruddy Redwood) was cutting dub, an when it start, Smithy (recording engineer Byron Smith) look like 'im start bring on the voice and Ruddy's say: no, mek it run and 'im take the whole backing track off it.”
Terms
- Dubplate
- A one-off acetate disc cut for testing or exclusive play, used by sound systems to preview songs or gain material no rival could offer.