In 1976, Bob Marley was the most famous person in Jamaica. He was also a marked man. The star had agreed to play a free concert dubbed “Smile Jamaica.” He’d even written a theme song for the event. Though the show was conceived as a way to quell the rising …
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The visceral melodic pulse heard in the bass playing of Aston “Family Man” Barrett, who died on February 3, is most closely associated with anchoring the messages and providing the sonic heartbeat within Bob Marley’s music. In 1970, Family Man and his brother, drummer Carlton “Carly” Barrett, began playing with …
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Aston Barrett, the Jamaican bassist known as “Family Man” who served as the rhythmic architect for reggae legends like Bob Marley and the Wailers, Burning Spear, and Augustus Pablo, has died at the age of 77. Barrett’s death was announced on social media Saturday by his son Aston Barrett Jr. …
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