Reggae musician, ASTON BARRETT died on Saturday 3rd February. He was 77. Announcing the death, his family said Barrett had been through a “long medical battle” but gave no details.
Nicknamed “Family Man” and born in Kingston, Jamaica, Barrett was a seminal figure in the growth of reggae. An accomplished bassist, he played on nearly all the Wailers albums as well as for Burning Spear, Peter Tosh and many other acts. His first success was with the Upsetters; then, in 1974, he joined Marley’s Wailers, playing on some of their best known recordings.
In 2006 he filed a lawsuit against Island Records claiming over £60M in back royalties. He lost the case after it was revealed that he’d accepted several hundred thousand dollars as a one off payment for his part in creating the music. As a result he faced a bill of about £2M in legal costs.
Barrett’s “Family Man” nickname came about before he had any children of his own. He saw himself as the father/leader of the band! He subsequently fathered 41 children!
Actor and (occasional) singer, CARL WEATHERS died on Thursday, 1st February. He was 76 and his family said he died “peacefully in his sleep, at home”.
Weathers’ first acting jobs were as an extra while he was an NFL player. In 1981 he was cast as Apollo Creed in the first ‘Rocky’ movie. He went on to appear in the three sequels. His most recent movie part was as a voice actor in ‘Toy Story 4’. He also appeared in several TV series including ‘Starsky and Hutch’ , ‘The Six Million Dollar Man’ and more recently ‘The Mandalorian’.
He cut just one record – a single in 1981 on Mirage that paired ‘You Ought To be With Me’ and ‘That’s Love Calling’. The record’s listed on Discogs @ £6.
