by Howard Campbell
Kingston, Jamaica – Bunny Lee, the street-smart music producer who amassed one of the largest catalogs in reggae, died on October 6 at age 79.
No cause of death has been given but Lee had health challenges in recent years.
A former auto parts salesman, Edward O’Sullivan Lee hailed from the seafaring community of Greenwich Farm in Kingston where he launched his production career in the late 1960s.
Many of Lee’s hit songs were done by artists associated with Greenwich Farm including John Holt (Stick by Me), Max Romeo (Let The Power Fall on I) Johnny Clarke (None Shall Escape The Judgement) and Cornel Campbell who did The Gorgon.
Lee related his life and times in the music business in Reggae Going International 1967-1976: The Bunny ‘Striker’ Lee Story, a book/compact disc released in 2015.
At the time, he told the Jamaica Observer that the inaccuracies documented by “imposters” inspired him to tell reggae’s true story.
“The people demand dis yuh nuh ’cause dem don’t know enough an’ my ting authentic. Dem whole heap a story wey yuh hear people a tell yuh ’bout reggae dis an’ dat, dem don’t know nuthin,” he said.
Lee owned several labels, the best known being Striker, his nickname. It contains countless songs and albums by elite reggae artists; his music has been distributed throughout the world, mainly by British companies like Trojan Records.
