The Wailers (Not "The Wailing Wailers"): Formed 1963 by Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer

The group was never called "The Wailing Wailers." The correct name: The Wailers (also The Teenagers, The Wailing Rudeboys early on).

Formation

1963, Trench Town, Kingston, Jamaica. Founding members:

• Robert Nesta Marley (vocals, guitar)
• Peter Tosh (vocals, guitar, keyboards)
• Neville "Bunny" Livingston (Bunny Wailer) (vocals, percussion)
• Junior Braithwaite, Beverly Kelso, Cherry Smith (early vocalists, left by 1966)

Evolution

• 1963–66: Ska/rocksteady (Studio One, Coxsone Dodd) — "Simmer Down," "Rude Boy"
• 1966–71: Marley in Delaware; Tosh/Wailer continue; Marley returns, reggae emerges
• 1971–74: Core trio + Aston "Family Man" Barrett (bass), Carlton Barrett (drums) — Catch a Fire, Burnin'
• 1974: Tosh & Wailer leave; Marley continues as "Bob Marley & The Wailers" with I-Threes (Rita Marley, Marcia Griffiths, Judy Mowatt)

Legacy

Globalized reggae. Rastafari voice. Pan-African consciousness. Inducted Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (1994). Marley, Tosh, Wailer each have Order of Merit (Jamaica).

No "Wailing Wailers." Just The Wailers—who changed world music.