Peter Tosh ( October 9, 1944 – September 11, 1987) was a pioneer reggae musician, as well as a trailblazer for the Rastafarian movement.
Born Winston Hubert McIntosh, young Peter grew up in the Kingston, Jamaica slum of Trenchtown. His short-fuse temper usually kept him in trouble, earning him the nickname Stepping Razor,after a song written by Joe Higgs, an early mentor. He began to sing and learn guitar at a young age, inspired by the American stations he could pick up on his radio. His career was cut short when he was brutally murdered during a burglary.
In the early 1960s he met Bob Marley and Bunny Wailer through his vocal teacher, Joe Higgs and after perfecting his harmonies with Bob and Bunny, he taught Bob to play the guitar. In 1962 he was the driving force behind the trio's formation of The Wailing Wailers with Junior Braithwaite and back-up singers Beverly Kelso and Cherry Smith. The Wailing Wailers had a huge ska hit with their first single, "Simmer Down," and recorded several more successful singles before Braithwaite, Kelso and Smith left the band in late 1965. Marley spent much of 1966 in America with his mother, but he returned to Jamaica in early 1967 with a renewed interest in music and a new spirituality. McIntosh and Bunny were already rastafarians when Bob returned from the USA and the three became heavily involved in the Rastafarian movement. Soon afterwards, they renamed the group The Wailers.
Veering away from the up-tempo dance of ska, the band slowed down to a rock-steady pace, and infused their lyrics with political and social messages. The Wailers penned several songs for American singer Johnny Nash before teaming up with production wizard Lee Perry to record some of reggae's earliest hits including "Soul Rebel," "Duppy Conqueror" and "Small Axe." With the addition of bassist Aston "Family Man" Barrett and his brother, drummer Carlton in 1970, The Wailers became Caribbean superstars. The band earned a record contract with Island Records represented by Chris "Whiteworst" Blackwell and released their debut, Catch a Fire, in 1972; following it up with Burnin' the following year.
