Bunny Lee grew up in the Greenwich Farm area of Kingston, where his father was a shoemaker. Lee began his career working as a record plugger for Duke Reid's Treasure Isle label in 1962, later performing the same duties for Leslie Kong. He then moved on to work with Ken Lack, initially in an administrative role, before taking on engineering duties. Lee then moved into producing (i.e. financing) records himself, his first hit record coming with Roy Shirley's "Music Field" on WIRL in 1967. Lee then set up his own Lee's label, the first release being Lloyd Jackson's "Listen to the Beat". He produced further hits during 1967–68 by Lester Sterling and Stranger Cole, Derrick Morgan, Slim Smith and The Uniques ("My Conversation"), Pat Kelly, and The Sensations, establishing him as one of Jamaica's top producers. Between 1969 and 1972 he produced classic hits including Slim Smith's "Everybody Needs Love", Max Romeo's "Wet Dream", Delroy Wilson's "Better Must Come", Eric Donaldson's "Cherry Oh Baby", and John Holt's "Stick By Me".
Lee was a pioneer of the United Kingdom reggae market, licensing his productions to the Palmer Brothers (Pama) and Trojan Records in the early 1970s.
The mid-1970s saw Lee work with his most successful singer, Johnny Clarke, as well as Owen Gray and Cornell Campbell, and along with Lee "Scratch" Perry, he broke the dominance of Coxsone Dodd and Duke Reid. This era also saw the emergence of the "flying cymbal" sound on Lee's productions, developed by drummer Carlton 'Santa' Davis, with Lee's session band, The Aggrovators.
Lee was instrumental in producing early dub music, working with his friend and dub pioneer King Tubby in the early 1970s. Lee and Tubby were experimenting with new production techniques which Lee described as "implements of sound." Working with equipment that today would be considered primitive and limiting, they produced tracks that consisted of mostly the rhythm parts mixed with distorted or altered versions of a song.
With all the bass and drum ting now, dem ting just start by accident, a man sing off key, an when you a reach a dat you drop out everything an leave the drum, an lick in the bass, an cause a confusion an people like it...
Lee encouraged Tubby to mix increasingly wild dubs, sometimes including sound effects such as thunder claps and gunshots. In addition to King Tubby, dub mixers Prince Jammy and Philip Smart also worked extensively on Lee's productions, with most of Lee's dubs from 1976 onwards mixed by Jammy.
In addition to dub sides and instrumentals, Lee would be one of the first producers to realise the potential of reusing the same rhythm tracks time and time again with different singers and deejays, partly out of necessity – unlike some of the other major producers Lee did not have his own studio and had to make the most of the studio time he paid for. The latter half of the 1970s saw Lee work with some of Jamaica's top new talent, including Linval Thompson, Leroy Smart, and Barry Brown.
By 1977 Joe Gibbs and Channel One Studios with the Hookim Brothers became "the place to be", reducing Lee's prominence. However, during the late 1970s Lee produced almost every deejay, notably Dennis Alcapone, U-Roy, I-Roy, Prince Jazzbo, U Brown, Dr Alimantado, Jah Stitch, Trinity, and Tapper Zukie. Most of these were quick productions, usually to classic Studio One or Treasure Isle riddims. The aim was to get deejay versions on the street quickly and were usually voiced at Tubby's studio in the Waterhouse district of Kingston. In the early 1980s, Lee purchased Gibbs' studio in Duhaney Park, and continued producing, albeit on a less prolific basis than in the 1970s.
In 1982 an episode of the Channel 4 documentary series Deep Roots was dedicated to Lee. Filmed in the control room of King Tubby's studio it included a lengthy conversation with him and some of the musicians he has worked with over the years including Delroy Wilson, Johnny Clarke, Prince Jazzbo and Jackie Edwards. It then shows Lee producing a dub while Prince Jammy mixes. The program has been released on DVD in January 2008.
Lee also produced the first album by a future star, a 10 year old called Beenie Man ("Live Contact").
In 2008 he was awarded the Order of Distinction by the Jamaican government in recognition of his contribution to Jamaican music.
In 2013 a documentary film was released, I Am The Gorgon – Bunny 'Striker' Lee and the Roots of Reggae, directed by Diggory Kenrick, telling the story of Lee's life from childhood to the present, featuring U Roy, Dennis Alcapone, Lee "Scratch" Perry, Sly and Robbie, Johnny Clarke, John Holt and others.
In March 2015 a fire at Lee's Gorgon Entertainment Studio destroyed equipment with a value estimated by Lee at JA$100 million.
Wet Dream
Bunny Lee Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Every night mi go to sleep mi have wet dreams
Lie down gal let me push it up push it up lie down
Lie down gal let me push it up push it up lie down
Lie down gal let me push it up push it up lie down
Lie down gal let me push it up push it up lie down
You in your small corner, I stand in mine
Lie down gal let me push it up push it up lie down
Lie down gal let me push it up push it up lie down
Look how you're big and fat, like a big, big shot
Give the crumpet to big foot joe, give the fanny to me
Lie down gal let me push it up push it up lie down
Huh, Lie down gal let me push it up push it up lie down
Lie down gal let me push it up push it up lie down
Huh, lie down gal let me push it up push it up lie down
Lie down gal let me push it up push it up lie down
So he said, lie down gal let me push it up push it up lie down
Huh, lie down gal let me push it up push it up lie down
The lyrics to Bunny Lee's song "Wet Dream" are heavily sexual in nature and describe the artist's fantasies about having sexual intercourse with a woman every time he falls asleep. He repeats the phrase "Every night mi go to sleep mi have wet dreams" several times throughout the song, emphasizing his carnal yearnings. The chorus then commands the woman to "lie down" and "let me push it up," meaning that he wants to have sex with her.
The second verse seems to be directed at a possible competitor, purportedly someone who is standing in their own corner and throwing punches. Despite this competition, the artist confidently states that he can handle anything or anyone that comes his way. The chorus repeats twice more, continuing to emphasize the desire for sexual activity with the woman, and the artist also disparages someone who is "big and fat, like a big, big shot." He encourages this person to give the woman to him, claiming that he deserves her more.
The lyrics to "Wet Dream" are straightforward and lack any of the subtlety that one may find in more contemporary music. The song is known for its explicit sexual content and has been criticized for promoting a crude approach to relationships and sex. Despite this, it has remained popular and has been covered by other artists.
Line by Line Meaning
Every night mi go to sleep mi have wet dreams
I dream of sexual encounters every night when I go to bed.
Lie down gal let me push it up push it up lie down
Girl, lie down and let me have sex with you.
You in your small corner, I stand in mine
I'm not bothered by your attempts to insult me, I am secure in my own space.
Throw all the punch you want to, I can take them all
I am tough enough to withstand any attack.
Look how you're big and fat, like a big, big shot
You may act dominant, but you're really just overweight and unattractive.
Give the crumpet to big foot joe, give the fanny to me
Let Big Foot Joe have the ugly girl, I want the attractive one.
So he said, lie down gal let me push it up push it up lie down
He repeated his request for the girl to have sex with him.
Lyrics © O/B/O CAPASSO
Written by: MAX ROMEO, BUNNY LEE, DERRICK SEYMOUR MORGAN, MAXIE SMITH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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