Winston McIntosh

Tosh was originally named Winston Hubert McIntosh and was born in the westernmost parish of Jamaica, Westmoreland. His parents abandoned him, and he was forced to move around among relatives. When Tosh was 15, his aunt passed away, and he relocated to Trenchtown in Kingston, Jamaica. There, he first discovered his love for playing the guitar after watching a man in the countryside play a captivating song. He observed the man play the same music for hours, memorising and copying his every movement. The man was surprised when Tosh played the same song and asked him who taught him to play. Tosh replied that he had taught himself.

In the early 1960s, Tosh went to vocal teacher Joe Higgs for free music lessons. Through his lessons with Higgs, Tosh met Robert Nesta Marley (Bob Marley) and Neville O’Reilly Livingston (Bunny Wailer). The trio started singing together in 1962, and Tosh changed his name to Peter Tosh.