Aston Barrett

Aston Barrett
Background information
Birth name Aston Francis Barrett
Also known as Family Man
Born (1946-11-22) 22 November 1946
Kingston, Jamaica
Genres Reggae
Occupation(s) Songwriter, musician, arranger, record producer
Instruments Bass guitar, guitar, keyboards, percussions
Years active 1962–present
Associated acts Bob Marley & The Wailers Burning Spear Lee "Scratch" Perry King Tubby Augustus Pablo Peter Tosh

Aston Francis Barrett (born 22 November 1946), often called "Family Man" or "Fams" for short, is a Jamaican musician and Rastafarian.

Biography

Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Aston "Family Man" Barrett was one of the Barrett brothers (the other being the younger brother on drums Carlton "Carly" Barrett) who played with Bob Marley and The Wailers, The Hippy Boys, and Lee Perry's The Upsetters.[1] He was the bandleader of Marley's backing band, as well as co-producer of the albums, and the man in charge of the overall song arrangements.[2]


Aston continues to tour with and lead The Wailers Band. He has great support from Marley's fan base to this day, despite his legal wrangling with the Marley family.

Aston was the mentor and teacher of Robbie Shakespeare of the duo Sly & Robbie.[3]

In 2012 he received a Lifetime Achievement award from Bass Player magazine.[4]

Equipment

Barrett plays a Fender Jazz Bass guitar, Acoustic 370 bass amplifier. David Eden Tour 800.

Legal battle

In 2006 Barrett filed a lawsuit against Island Records, the Wailers' label, seeking £60 million in unpaid royalties allegedly due him and his now deceased brother. The lawsuit was dismissed.[5]

Nickname

Barrett’s "Family Man" nickname came about before he had any children of his own. Aston foresaw his role as a band leader and started to call himself ”Family Man”. He has fathered 41 children since.[6]

Quotes


Robbie Shakespeare (Sly & Robbie, who is estimated to have played bass on 200,000 recordings):

"Well…what can I say? He is the man (laughter). Just the way the man plays the bass, you know. There are gun fighters and there are gun fighters, seen? I can’t tell you nothing more. He is a master for me. I have had help and influences from other people, but I have to give it mostly to Family Man."[7]


Ali Campbell (UB40 frontman):

”There was bluebeat, rocksteady and ska. That all happened before reggae, which kind of happened in about ’69, you know, when reggae as we know it was invented by the Barrett brothers, I’d say.”[8]


Keith Richards (The Rolling Stones):

"The first time the Wailers went to England, soon after this, I caught them by chance up in Tottenham Court Road. I thought they were pretty feeble compared to what I’d been hearing in Steer Town. But they certainly got their act together real quick. Family Man joined in on the bass, and Bob obviously had all of the stuff required."[9]


Ziggy Marley (Bob Marley's oldest son):

"I think the drum and bass they are a very important part in Bob music. It was, you know, Family Man and Carlton. Two brothers. They have their own style."[10]


John Lennon (The Beatles, discussing his plans for a comeback album in early 1980 while listening to Burnin'):

"In fact, if they really wanted the right sound, they should go to Jamaica! Go to the same studio that Bob Marley used! Get down with the Rasta men and smoke ganja in big spliffs or hash in chillums. Then they could get that deep-down, super funky, bass-box sound that comes from Trenchtown. You couldn't get that sound in New York. No way!"[11]


Discography

Compilations

Productions

Albums engineered by Aston Barrett

Mixing engineer

Recording engineer

Engineer

As a musician he appears on

Bass

Rhythm guitar

Keyboards

Organ

Lead guitar

Guitar

Synthesiser

Percussions

Piano

Syndrums

Melinoco

Bass drum

Clavinet

References

  1. ↑ Campbell, Howard (2012) "Aston ‘Familyman’ Barrett: Rockstone Wailer", Jamaica Observer, 20 April 2012, retrieved 2012-04-29
  2. ↑ , CaribbeanBeat, June, 2006.
  3. ↑ "Interview: Robbie Shakespeare", Reggae Magazine | United Reggae, 26 June 2012.
  4. ↑ Campbell-Livingston, Cecelia (2012) "Bass Player honour for 'Family Man'", Jamaica Observer, 26 October 2012, retrieved 27 October 2012
  5. ↑ ”Marley bassist loses royalty bid", BBC News, 15 May 2006.
  6. ↑ , BBC News Entertanimnet & Arts, September 25, 2013.
  7. ↑ "FCJ interviews Sly and Robbie", 19 July 2009.
  8. ↑ ”UB40 frontman Ali Campbell joined reggae producer Dennis Bovell on the BBC Breakfast sofa to talk about Reggae Britannia”, BBC Four at 9pm, 11 February 2011.
  9. ↑ Life, " memoir by Keith Richards (chapter 9, page 126) Audiobook of the Year and Best Biography/Memoir 2010. Additionally, the audiobook Life was voted Amazon's No. 1 Audiobook of the Year for 2010. Life received the 2011 Norman Mailer Prize for biography., First published in Great Britain in 2010 by Weidenfeld & Nicolson.
  10. ↑ "Marley a 2012 documentary-biographical film directed by Kevin Macdonald", 20 April 2012.
  11. ↑ "The Lives of John Lennon" (page 644) a biography by American author Albert Goldman", Published 1988 by Bantam Press.
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