Braithwaite, along with Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer, formed the Wailers, the group that backed Bob Marley to success as reggae's biggest star. The group's first recording was "Simmer Down" in 1963. They also recorded what's considered to be one of the first rocksteady songs, "Put It On." According to a report on Niceup.com, Studio One's Coxson Dodd said, "Braithwaite had the best voice in the group when they first came to me." He was considering the lead vocalist of the group.
Braithwaite left the band in the mid-1960's to pursue a career in medicine in the United States. Though it didn't pan out, he spent quite a bit of time in Chicago and southern Wisconsin before returning to Jamaica 20 years later to work with Bunny Wailer on a Wailers' reunion project.
There is even less coverage, thus far, of Braithwaite's death than Augustus Pablo's. In fact, there was nothing from any national or international newspaper, nor the Jamaica Gleaner. So, here a few links that will help us keep Braithwaite in our memories:
- http://www.reggae.com/regtour/tosh.htm - Reggae.com's Peter Tosh page
- http://membrane.com/rombox/reggae/studio... - Studio One and the Making of Bob Marley
- http://www.torget.se/users/w/wookiee/wai... - The Wailers' Vault
- http://home.earthlink.net/~danieln/ithur... - Lyrics to "It Hurts to Be Alone" (a Braithwaite solo effort)
- http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Dis... - a little more information on "It Hurts to Be Alone"
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