Toots Hibbert 1

Toots Hibbert, born Frederick Nathaniel Hibbert is a Jamaican songwriter and singer . He was lead singer of the group called The Maytals. He was born on December 8, 1942 in May Pen, Clarendon.

In 1961, he formed and became the lead vocalist of the vocal group, Toots & The Maytals, which was originally called The Maytals. They were one of the most popular  Ska groups during the Ska era and are among the pioneers of Rocksteady and Reggae.

The Maytals 

The Maytals

In 1966 The Maytals became the first winners of the Jamaican Independence Popular Festival Song Competition with the song “Bam Bam”. The song was later covered during the Rub-A-Dub era by Sister Nancy in 1981 and Yellowman in 1982

In 1967 the group formed a partnership with producer Leslie Kong which yielded great success from 1968 to 1971. They made several hits with songs such as  “54-46 That’s My Number”, “Pressure Drop”, “Sweet and Dandy”, “Monkey Man” and “Do the Reggae”.  Recorded in 1968, “Do The Reggae” is one of the pioneer songs which signaled the birth of Reggae music. It is  as a result of this recording that Toots is believed to be the first singer to use the word “Reggae” in a song. They won their second Festival Song Competition with “Sweet And Dandy” in 1969 and in 1970 “Monkey Man” became their first international hit.

Toots & The Maytals 

Toots & The Maytals

After the death of their sound engineer Warrick Lyn in 1971, the group rejoined producer Byron Lee who changed their name to Toots & The Maytals.

In 1972 Toots made his acting debut when he appeared in the Jamaican film “The Harder They Come”, starring Reggae icon Jimmy Cliff. The film’s soundtrack also featured the 1969 Maytals hit song “Pressure Drop”. They also one their third Jamaica Festival Song Competition that same year with “Pomps and Pride”

In 2004, 43 years after the formation of his band, Toots and the Maytals won the Grammy Awards for best reggae album.

Toots continues to record great music and to tour the world. As recently as 2012  he made a live album called ‘Unpluged On Strawberry Hill”, which gained him his 5fth Grammy Award Nomination for best reggae album.

Here is a compilation of Jablespañol’s top 10 favourite songs from Toots and The Maytals.

1. Pressure Drop (1969)

2. 54-46 That’s My Number (1967)

3. Funky Kingston (1972)

4. Do The Reggae (1968)

5. Sweet And Dandy (1969)

6. Bam Bam (1966)

7. Monkey Man (1970)

8. Never Grow Old (1963)

9 Sixth and 7th Book (1963)

10 Dog War (1964)