Born October 19, 1951 in Jamaica
Cousin of
Rita Marley
Born Constantine Anthony Walker, Jr. on October 19, 1951 in Jamaica, "Dream" or "Vision" as he is known, began singing at a very early age and was a founding member of
Soulettes, The, with his cousin Rita Anderson (Marley) and
Marlene Gifford in the early 1960s. At the tender age of 13 years old, a friend introduced Vision and Vision Walker the Soulettes to
Clement "Coxsone" Dodd, who owned the legendary
Studio One record label, and he wanted the group right away. During this same period, Vision came under the guidance of
Wailers, The, consisting of
Bob Marley,
Bunny Wailer, and
Peter Tosh, and in 1966, Vision filled in for Bob Marley, while Bob was away in America. This period of The Wailers' music is often forgotten by many, but easily produced some of the greatest songs The Wailers ever recorded, including "Let Him Go," "Don't Look Back," "The Toughest," "Rock Sweet Rock," "Sunday Morning," "Dancing Shoes," and many others. From this same period, Vision can also be heard singing harmony vocals on some of the most legendary tracks to come out of Jamaica, including
Bob Andy's "I've Got To Go Back Home" and
Ken Boothe's "The Train Is Coming." Vision continued with The Wailers upon Bob's return, and is featured on songs like "Selassie Is The Chapel" from around 1968.
Vision eventually moved to America and was featured in several U.S. based reggae bands, including The Rastafarians from California, playing on their landmark album "Orthodox." Another U.S. based band that Vision performed in was Jah Malla based out of New York, which also featured
Noel Alphonso, son of the legendary Skatalites' saxophonist
Roland Alphonso.
During the 1982-83
Peter Tosh world tour, Vision played percussion and can even be seen in the Peter Tosh "Captured Live" video and heard on its companion album. Vision reunited with
Bunny Wailer,
Peter Tosh and
Junior Braithwaite in the 1980s to record "The Never Ending Wailers," a monument in reunion albums for any band. He not only sang together with his fellow Wailers, but also played all of the guitar work on the album. Vision also played guitar and vocals on several
Ziggy Marley And The Melody Makers' albums and toured with the group.
He died Feb. 14, 2003 - Ashkenaz - Berkeley, CA