Bunny Lee obit

Reggae Producer Bunny Striker Lee Dead At Age 79

 He was not on the list.

Legendary reggae producer Edward ‘Bunny Striker’ Lee Sr. passed away yesterday between 1 and 2 p.m. after suffering “heart failure” at an undisclosed hospital in the Corporate Area. He was 79 at the time of his passing.

The family was shaken up by the veteran’s sudden death even though he had been ailing for some time.

Annette Wong-Lee, mother of four of Striker Lee’s children, confirmed his passing.

“The doctors said it was a respiratory failure, like a heart failure. He had gone to change his catheter at the hospital, he had a full time nurse with him, his son, Edward Junior had gone to buy food.When Edward Jr. called the nurse to check on him, she was crying, he asked her what happened, she said ‘personal problem’ and then the doctor called him to say he should ‘come now’, so immediately he knew something was wrong,” she explained to DancehallMag.

Eventually, Mrs. Wong-Lee joined Edward Jr. and Kirk, another son she shares with Lee, and they were given the sad news. Her other daughters, Toni Ann and Bonnie Lee were equally devastated by their father’s passing.

“It’s rough. Striker (Edward Jr.) not taking it so well, that’s why I am talking on his phone now. They were very very close, he is not talking to anyone, he can’t hold a conversation without breaking down,” she said.

Bunny Striker Lee was diabetic and had a number of ailments. He had been hospitalised for six weeks, then was discharged for four days, and then the family had to rush him back to the hospital.

Lee was one of the most seminal figures in reggae music. In addition to dub sides and instrumentals, Lee would be one of the first producers to realise the potential of reusing the same rhythm tracks time and time again with different singers and deejays partly out of necessity. The latter half of the 1970s saw Lee work with some of Jamaica’s top new talent, including Linval Thompson, Leroy Smart, and Barry Brown

Lee began his career working as a record plugger for Duke Reid’s Treasure Isle label in 1962. Later, he would produce hits with names like Lester Sterling and Stranger Cole, Derrick Morgan, Slim Smith and The Uniques (“My Conversation”), Pat Kelly, and The Sensations.

He is known for the classic hits such as Slim Smith’s Everybody Needs Love, Max Romeo’s Wet Dream, Delroy Wilson’s Better Must Come, Eric Donaldson’s Cherry Oh Baby, and John Holt’s Stick By Me.

Lee was a pioneer of the United Kingdom reggae market, licensing his productions to the Palmer Brothers (Pama) and Trojan Records in the early 1970s. In 1983, Lee produced the first album by future star Beenie Man, titled The Invincible Beany Man (The 10 Year Old D.J. Wonder).

In 2008 he was awarded the Order of Distinction by the Jamaican government in recognition of his contribution to Jamaican music.

In March 2015, a fire at Lee’s Gorgon Entertainment Studio destroyed equipment with a value estimated by Lee at JA$100 million.