Earl Wilberforce "Wire" Lindo (7 January 1953 – 4 September 2017), sometimes referred to as Wya, was a Jamaican

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

musician. He was a member of

Bob Marley and the Wailers Bob Marley and the Wailers (previously known as The Wailers, and prior to that The Wailing Rudeboys, The Wailing Wailers and The Teenagers) were a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae band. The founding members, in 1963, were Bob Marley (Robert ...

and collaborated with numerous reggae artists including

Burning Spear Winston Rodney OD (born 1 March 1945), better known by the stage name Burning Spear, is a Jamaican roots reggae singer-songwriter, vocalist and musician. Burning Spear is a Rastafarian and one of the most influential and long-standing roots ...

Biography

While attending Excelsior High School in Jamaica, he played with

Barry Biggs Barry Biggs (born 1946 St. Andrew, Jamaica) is a Jamaican reggae singer, best known in the UK for his cover of the Blue Magic song, "Sideshow", which got to number 3 in the UK Singles Chart in 1977. Career Biggs worked as a recording engine ...

, Mikey "Boo" Richards, and Ernest Wilson in the Astronauts, and later played organ in the band Now Generation, and with

Tommy McCook Tommy McCook (3 March 1927 – 5 May 1998) was a Jamaican saxophonist. A founding member of The Skatalites, he also directed The Supersonics for Duke Reid, and backed many sessions for Bunny Lee or with The Revolutionaries at Channel One ...

and the Supersonics, and the Meters.Remembering 'Wya'
, ''

Jamaica Observer ''Jamaica Observer'' is a daily newspaper published in Kingston, Jamaica. The publication is owned by Butch Stewart, who chartered the paper in January 1993 as a competitor to Jamaica's oldest daily paper, ''The Gleaner''. Its founding editor i ...

'', 13 September 2017. Retrieved 15 September 2017Earl Lindo Biography
,

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

. Retrieved 15 September 2017 Aston "Familyman" Barrett heard Lindo and recommended him to play for a Saturday afternoon television program ''Where It's At'' on JBC. Lindo also spent his early days working at

Coxsone Dodd Clement Seymour "Coxsone" Dodd (26 January 1932 – 4 May 2004) was a Jamaican record producer who was influential in the development of ska and reggae in the 1950s, 1960s and beyond. He was nicknamed "Coxsone" at school due to his talent a ...

's Studio One, where he played on innumerable recordings. In 1973, he was invited to join

The Wailers ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

on a US tour, going on to play on '' Burnin'''.Unterberger, Richie (2017) ''Bob Marley and the Wailers: The Ultimate Illustrated History'', Voyageur Press, , p. 85, 154 He left the Wailers in 1974 to join

Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal (; ) is an Islamic ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1631 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his favourite wife, Mu ...

's band. Lindo can be heard on an album credited to the Impact All-Stars. Released in 1975, the album is a collection of dub tracks recorded at Randy's Studio 17. On his return to Jamaica he played on recordings by Big Youth,

Culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tyl ...

I Roy Roy Samuel Reid (28 June 1942 – 27 November 1999), better known as I-Roy, was a Jamaican deejay who had a very prolific career during the 1970s. Biography Born in 1944 in Saint Thomas Parish, Jamaica, Reid graduated from Dinthill Technical C ...

, and Al Brown, and had some success with solo singles "No Soul Today" and "Who Done It". In 1978 he rejoined the Wailers, playing on ''

Babylon by Bus ''Babylon by Bus'' is a live album released by Bob Marley and the Wailers in 1978. The tracks on this album are considered, with two exceptions, to be from the Pavillon de Paris concerts over 3 nights, 25–27 June 1978, during the Kaya Tour, ...

'', ''

Survival Survival, or the act of surviving, is the propensity of something to continue existing, particularly when this is done despite conditions that might kill or destroy it. The concept can be applied to humans and other living things (or, hypotheti ...

'', and ''

Uprising Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...

''. After Marley's death, Lindo was a member of

The Wailers Band The Wailers Band are a reggae band formed by Aston Barrett in 1989, one of several spinoffs from Bob Marley and the Wailers. History After the death of Bob Marley in 1981, the Wailers continued, led by Aston Barrett and Junior Marvin. The ba ...

. Lindo died in a London hospital on 4 September 2017, aged 64, shortly after being admitted with abdominal pain. Among the tributes paid,

Olivia Grange Olivia "Babsy" Grange , DSE (born 27 April 1946) is a Jamaican politician. She has served as Member of Parliament for Saint Catherine Central since 1997 and as Jamaica's Minister of Sports, Youth and Culture for the duration of the Jamaica Lab ...

, Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, described him as "an exceptionally gifted musician who played a pivotal role alongside Bob Marley and the Wailers in the global success of Jamaica's reggae music."Davis, Garwin (2017)
Culture Minister Pays Tribute to the Late Earl 'Wya' Lindo
, Jamaica Information Service, 8 September 2017. Retrieved 15 September 2017

Family

Lindo and his wife Marie had two daughters, and lived in London. He also has a son who resides in the United States.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lindo, Earl 1953 births 2017 deaths Musicians from Kingston, Jamaica Jamaican reggae musicians The Wailers members Deaths in England