hypersongs

Toots and the Maytals

The Jamaican vocal group led by Toots Hibbert, whose "Pressure Drop" reached the world through The Harder They Come.

From Studio One to Island

Frederick Nathaniel Toots Hibbert was born on December 8, 1942 in May Pen, Clarendon, Jamaica, sang gospel in a church his parents led, and moved to Kingston in the late 1950s. There he formed a vocal trio with Henry Raleigh Gordon and Nathaniel Jerry Mathias; sources date the formation 1961, 1962 or 1963. They recorded for Clement Coxsone Dodd at Studio One with the Skatalites behind them, and the album Never Grow Old appeared in 1964. They were known as the Maytals until 1972, when the name became Toots and the Maytals.

In 1966 "Bam Bam" won Jamaica's Independence Festival Popular Song Competition, and from 1967 they worked with the producer Leslie Kong at Beverley's. "Do the Reggay" (1968) is widely credited with popularizing the word reggae, and "54-46 That's My Number" was one of the first international reggae hits. "Sweet and Dandy" won the Festival contest in 1969 and "Pomp and Pride" in 1972. Kong died in 1971 after helping get the group signed to Island, and two Maytals songs, "Sweet and Dandy" and "Pressure Drop", were on the soundtrack of The Harder They Come in 1972. Funky Kingston came out in 1973 on Island's Dragon imprint, and a live broadcast from the Roxy in Los Angeles on October 1, 1975 was later released as Sailin' On. Toots Live (1980) was recorded on September 29, 1980 and pressed within twenty-four hours.

The group dissolved around 1981 and reformed in 1990. True Love (2004) won the Grammy for best reggae album, with guests that included Willie Nelson, Jeff Beck and Keith Richards, and in 2012 Hibbert received the Order of Jamaica. After three years without live shows, they played San Diego on June 15, 2016, then Coachella, Glastonbury and WOMAD in 2017. Hibbert died on September 11, 2020, aged 77; Got to Be Tough, released the month before, won the 2021 Grammy for best reggae album. In 2024 the Specials' and Clash's favorite "Pressure Drop" was certified silver in the UK, and "54-46 (Was My Number)" gold. NPR described his voice as an amalgam of gospel, soul, R&B and country fused with Jamaican rhythms.

Songs

  • Pressure Drop 1970

    Hibbert's song, produced by Leslie Kong and carried abroad by The Harder They Come.

Sources

  1. Toots and the Maytals, Wikipedia
  2. The Harder They Come (soundtrack), Wikipedia
  3. Toots Hibbert obituary, NME (2020-09)
  4. Toots Hibbert, reggae ambassador, dies at 77, NPR (2020-09-12)