Roots Archives Forum

I thought I read somewhere that there was an original singer of the wailers before Bob Marley in the very very earlie days of the group but had to leave the group to work and make money for his family. And Bob Marley was the second choice for the group. Just wondering if anyone read this somewhere or knows a similar story?

i'm pretty sure bob was there from the begining, but seeing as i wasnt there at the time i cant say i'm 100%!

here is something I found. Not what I orignally read but seems like bob wasn't the only lead singer in the
begining.


Junior Braithwaite

Franklin Delano Alexander Braithwaite, better known as Junior Braithwaite, (April 4, 1949 - June 2, 1999) was a reggae musician from Kingston, Jamaica, the youngest member of the vocal group The Wailing Wailers. The Wailing Wailers was a vocalist group as Bob Marley and Neville Livingston, aka. Bunny Livingston had started 1963 together with Braithwaite, when ska music had become extremely popular in Jamaica. Soon also Beverly Kelso (born 1948) and Cherry Smith joined the group as backing vocalists.

Braithwaite was with The Wailers for eight months and sung lead on such songs as, "Habits", "Straight and Narrow Way", "Don't Ever Leave Me", and "It Hurts To Be Alone". He had the best voice in The Wailers, according to Studio One's Coxsone Dodd, who discovered the band's talent. Bob Marley later commented that, "Junior used to sing high. It's just nowadays that I'm beginning to realize that he sounded like one of the Jackson Five. When he left we had to look for a sound that Bunny, Peter and me could manage".

Junior Bratithwaite left the band in 1964 and moved to the United States with hopes of pursuing a medical career. He lived primarily in Chicago and southern Wisconsin for the next 20 years, and returned to Jamaica in 1984 to work with Bunny Wailer on a Wailers' reunion project. With the assassination of Peter Tosh in September 1987, plans for world tours with a reunited-Wailers never materialized.


They were called variously The Teenagers, The Wailing Rudeboys, The Wailing Wailers, and finally The Wailers. By 1966, Braithwaite, Kelso, and Smith had left the band, leaving the trio of Livingston, Marley and Tosh.

there was vision walker too.

one love
jah bill

Nice call Jah bill!

i guess vision walker was a member of the soulettes but he has done also a lot of work with the wailers.

jb welda wrote:there was vision walker too.

one love
jah bill

Don't forget that Natty Wailer dude...

Funky Punk wrote:
Don't forget that Natty Wailer dude...

Did he sing or just play keybaords? He only tourred with Bob and the wailers for around 9 years and then left the waliers in 2000. I read he influenced waliers music but not sure if he was a front man singer for them.

robtheselector wrote:Did he sing or just play keybaords? He only tourred with Bob and the wailers for around 9 years and then left the waliers in 2000. I read he influenced waliers music but not sure if he was a front man singer for them.

Nah, that was I!

robtheselector wrote:Funky Punk wrote :

Don't forget that Natty Wailer dude...

Did he sing or just play keybaords? He only tourred with Bob and the wailers for around 9 years and then left the waliers in 2000. I read he influenced waliers music but not sure if he was a front man singer for them.

I thought that Natty Wailer taught Bob everything he knew? Back in the day, Bob was so impressed with NW's musical skillz that he named the band in his honour...