Reggae legend Sly Dunbar, who played with everyone from Bob Marley to The Rolling Stones, has died at the age of 73.

One of the genre's most revered drummers, he played on tracks such as Bob Marley's Punky Reggae Party and Dave and Ansell Collins' classic, Double Barrel.

However, he was better known as half of the production team Sly & Robbie - who produced groundbreaking hits for everyone from Peter Tosh and Black Uhuru, to non-reggae acts like Bob Dylan, Grace Jones and Ian Dury.

Dunbar's death was first reported by his wife, Thelma, who told the Jamaican newspaper The Gleaner she had found him unresponsive on Monday morning. The musician's agent and publicist confirmed the news to the BBC.

Born Lowell Fillmore Dunbar in Kingston, Jamaica, he started out playing on tin cans, after watching Lloyd Knibbs and the Skatalites on television.

I saw [Knibbs] playing and I thought, 'I want to be a drummer' because he's the hardest worker in the band, he said in a 1997 interview.

In his teens, Dunbar met bassist Robbie Shakespeare and formed the rhythm section of the Revolutionaries, who became regular session musicians at the famed Channel One recording studio.

Their sound differed from the melody-rich music of Bob Marley, with a heavier emphasis on the beat - including the pioneering rockers rhythm, which introduced more syncopation and energy to the music.

They spent the 1970s working with major reggae acts like Gregory Isaacs, Dennis Brown and Barrington Levy, while touring the US with Peter Tosh.

Taxi Records was founded in 1980, and nurtured a new generation of Jamaican artists such as Shaggy, Shabba Ranks, Skip Marley, Beenie Man and Red Dragon.

Later on, they developed a bright and melodic take on dancehall with the duo Chaka Demus & Pliers, scoring hits with songs such as Tease Me and Murder She Wrote.

According to legend, Shakespeare estimated that he and Dunbar had taken part in more than 200,000 recordings, either their own or as backup musicians or producers for other artists.

Dunbar's wife said she had found him unresponsive in bed at around 07:00 on Monday, 26 January. An exact cause of death was not given, though Dunbar had reportedly been ill for some time.

Among those paying tribute was British DJ David Rodigan, who described Dunbar as a true icon and one of the greatest drummers of all time.