Written by Kareem LaTouche
Toots was one of the few pure artiste in the world. Not only did he write most of his material, he also played over five instruments proficiently. The first time I met him, I had so many questions to ask. We were at a studio at Arthur Wint Drive and there were several instruments laying around, so I randomly pointed to one and asked him to play it. He took it up, started playing a rhythm and asked me, ‘what did you want to hear?’ Then he moved on to another instrument, and started to explain the process of music creation with live instruments to kareemsquest.com. With a catalogue that dated as far back as Mento-infused folk songs, like One Eye Enos, to the glory days of festival songs, like his mega hit Bam Bam, my mind was racing with questions to ask him. The first thing I wanted to gain clarity on was some of the lyrics of his 1968 hit single Sweet and Dandy, which chronicled a couple going through anxiety issues on their wedding day.
After this, we spoke about multiple things. He revealed to kareemsquest.com that the name Maytals, from his group Toots and the Maytals, stood for, “Justice and equality… good vibes with everybody.”
No stranger to systematic oppression, especially in the 1960s, when the Rastafarian culture was constantly met with the long arm of the law, Toots was imprisoned for marijuana possession. He stayed in a low-security prison for eight months and when he came out, he penned another hit song 54-46. The title represented his prison number, even though it was not the actual number he was given while in detention.
From an early age, Toots was always multi talented and filled with ambition. He came to Kingston as a barber and later tried Jockeying and Boxing, before being discovered as a singer in a barber shop in Trench Town. He had an infectious wailing sound in his voice that felt like it was linked to our ancestry in West Africa. Just listen to his soulful notes on his single, Pressure Drop.
For many, Toots and the Maytals were the first ones to put the ‘R’ in reggae, with their track Do the Reggay, which was used to represent a dance. According to Toots, it was derived from the term ‘Streggay.’
Toots and The Maytals have long been a part of pop culture, with their single Funky Kingston used in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and a cover of their hit song Monkey Man, done by the late British crooner Amy Winehouse.
Fredrick ‘Toots’ Hibbert was born December 8, 1942 and died on September 11, 2020 at age 77, in Kingston Jamaica.
Rest in peace to a musical legend.
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