Jackie Jackson had to pay respects to Sly Dunbar

March 7 saw Jackie Jackson breaking a personal custom and attending a funeral, that of fellow musician Sly Dunbar.

"I don't attend funerals, they are so sad and depressing [that] it takes me forever to get back to normal. But Sly is in my top 10 favourite persons. His funeral was a given," said the veteran bass guitarist.

Dunbar, globally-famous for his work with bassist Robbie Shakespeare, died on January 26 at age 74. His thanksgiving service took place at the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Kingston and was attended by many artistes and musicians. Describing Dunbar as "the drummer's drummer", Jackson said they were friends for many years, but finally did a recording session together in 1993. They backed Jackson's wife Karen Smith on True True True, a song originally done by Ken Parker.

"It was an honour and a privilege to do a session with Sly. He produced a number of songs for Karen, and when he asked me if I'd like to record True True True, all hell broke loose on that recording session," Jackson recalled.

Prior to forming Sly and Robbie in the late 1970s, Dunbar made his name as a member of The Revolutionaries, the house band at Channel One studio. There, he played on numerous hit songs by acts such as The Mighty Diamonds, Leroy Smart and The Wailing Souls.