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Aston ‘Family Man’ Barrett, Bassist and Rhythmic Backbone of Bob Marley & The Wailers, Dead at 77

Aston "Family Man" Barrett, the Jamaican bassist who served as the rhythmic architect for Bob Marley and the Wailers, has died at the age of 77.

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. One of Jamaica’s most renowned, prolific and influential studio musicians, the Kingston-born Barrett, along with his younger brother and drummer Carlton, worked as the rhythm section for the near-entirety of Marley’s tenure as frontman of the Wailers, playing bass on a string of classic albums spanning from 1970’s Soul Rebels to the group’s 1983 posthumous LP Confrontation. Barrett — who would later give “Family Man” a double meaning by siring at least 50 children — sued Island Records in 2006, asking for £60 million in unpaid royalties from his work with the Wailers.

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