One of the legend of reggae

::Peter Tosh::

Peter Tosh was born Winston Hubert McIntosh on October 9, 1944 in Grange Hill, Jamaica. Raised by his aunt, he left home in his early teens and headed for the slums of Kingston, Jamaica, known as Trenchtown. Like many of his fellow young aspiring musicians, he found his way to Joe Higgs, a local musician who offered free music lessons to youth. It was through Joe Higgs that Peter Tosh met his future fellow bandmates, Bob Marley and Bunny Wailer.

Early Success With The Wailers:
Under the mentorship of Joe Higgs, the Wailing Wailers, as the three boys were known, began performing publicly and eventually headed into the studio. Their first track, "Simmer Down" (listen/download) became an island-wide ska hit.

Rasta and Rocksteady:
After creating several more ska hits, the Wailing Wailers reassembled as simply "The Wailers," and began recording music with a slower rocksteady beat and lyrics which were inspired by their newfound Rastafarian faith. Soon thereafter, the trio began working with producer Lee "Scratch" Perry, and that collaboration saw the birth of reggae music.

Peter Tosh's Major Contributions to the Wailers:
Though Bob Marley's name later became synonymous with the Wailers, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer were definitely equals with Marley in the band. As a songwriter, Tosh contributed many of the band's hits, including "400 Years," "Get Up, Stand Up," "No Sympathy," and "Stop That Train." His skillful guitar playing and vocal skills were also central to the band's sound.

Peter Tosh's Final Years:
Peter Tosh continued to record international hit records for the rest of the 1970s and early 1980s, and never relaxed his intense message of revolution. After a live concert release in 1984, Peter Tosh took a few years off, and his 1987 comeback record No Nuclear War was nominated for a Grammy Award.

An Untimely Death:
On September 11, 1987, an acquaintance of Peter Tosh's, Dennis Lobban, entered Tosh's home with a small gang of friends and attempted to rob him. Claiming that he had no money on him at the time, Tosh stalled the gang, who stayed at his house for several hours as various friends dropped in. Eventually, they lost patience and shot Tosh and his houseguests in the head. Tosh died instantly, as did two of his friends, though three others somehow survived. Lobban was sentenced to death for his crime, though his sentence was later commuted and he remains in prison in Jamaica to this day.