The Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Olivia ‘Babsy’ Grange, has said that with the death of Tyrone Downie, Jamaica has lost another of its great sons of music.
Minister Grange was paying tribute to Mr Downie who caught the eye of Jamaica and the world when he joined Bob Marley and the Wailers as the group’s keyboard player.
The famous keyboardist, who was also an arranger and producer in his own right, died on Saturday, November 5, at age 66.
Miss Grange said, “I was so very sad to hear that Tyrone had passed. He was an even greater person than musician; a great human being.”
She further stated that, Tyrone was one of the musical stars that helped make the music around Bob Marley exceptional, and that he will be remembered as one of the significant contributors to Reggae music.
Tyrone Downie has also played with The Abyssinians, Black Uhuru, Burning Spear, Steel Pulse, Alpha Blondie, Sly and Robbie, Buju Banton, Peter Tosh, Junior Reid, and Beenie Man among others.