Reggae and Ska pioneer Frederick Nathaniel ‘Toots’ Hibbert dies

24th September 2020   ·   0 Comments

By Geraldine Wyckoff
Contributing Writer

Frederick Hibbert, heralded around the world as a hugely talented reggae pioneer, vocalist, guitarist, composer and leader of the Maytals, has, since infancy, been recognized by his nickname, “Toots.”“My elder brother told me that when I was a baby he held me in his arms and said, ‘Come little toots.’” The sweet nickname was well suited for the always joyous and energized Toots Hibbert who died in Jamaica on September 11, 2020 at the age of 77.

Hibbert was born in May Pen, Jamaica on December 8, 1942, and grew up singing in a small church in his hometown. At age 11, following the death of his parents, Toots moved to the Trenchtown neighborhood of Kingston to live with his brother. In 1961, he formed the Maytals, which he said meant “do the right thing.” “I create the name Maytal,” Toots explained in his rich Jamaican patois, “but people started calling it Maytals – they put on the ‘s.’”

Like many Jamaicans and especially those eyeing a career in music, Toots was tuned into the radio airwaves emanating from the United States and was highly influenced by New Orleans music, soul and rhythm and blues. “Yes, for sure,” the affable Toots once said. “When I was young I listened to Fats Domino, Ray Charles, Otis Redding, Sam Cooke, Elvis Presley and Mahalia Jackson.” These genres plus the gospel of his youth continued to be strong elements in Toots’ distinctive sound. He incorporated some tunes directly into his repertoire and as a reggae, ska and rock steady aficionado melded them with his roots music. The purist example of Hibbert’s mastery of the genres is heard on his brilliant 1988 album “Toots in Memphis.”

In 1963, Toots and the Maytals entered producer Coxsone Dodd’s infamous Studio One to record the trio’s debut, “Never Grow Old.” They were backed by ska kings, the Skatalites, an instrumental, jazz-oriented group of talented musicians.

Toots is credited for introducing the term “reggae” after the release of his 1968 hit “Do the Reggay.” “I invented the word for the music,” he explained. “In those days, reggae was playing but no one did really know what to call it. It got all kinds of different names. I just came up with the name by mistake – yeah, I think so. I just said, ‘Let’s do the reggay.’ It did catch on but at first I didn’t realize how much – it just started being used.” Hibbert was quoted in the insightful book, “Reggae Bloodlines,” as saying:” “Reggae just mean coming from the people.”

Reggae star Jimmy Cliff enlisted Toots to appear in the 1988 movie and soundtrack of “The Harder They Come” that greatly broadened the international awareness of reggae music and its purveyors. Toots and the Maytals played the happy “Sweet and Dandy” in the film and on the album are heard doing the stunning “Pressure Drop,” one of the greatest hits penned by Hibbert. “I create my own music,” Toots declared adding that he also plays keyboards and bass. His compositions include other favorites like two from 1968, “Monkey Man” and “54-46 Was My Number,” which references his identification number from his time in jail on a marijuana charge.

Through Toots’ remarkable six-decade long career, he and the Maytals performed at the Jazz and Heritage Festival five times. In 1983, the band played both the early and late nighttime shows aboard the Riverboat President and moved out to the Fair Grounds for their 1987, 1990 and 2005 shows Sadly, it came to pass that the year 2018 marked the legendary group’s last performance at the Fest. Taking the Congo Square Stage, the perfect venue for reggae music, they got right into it with crowd pleasers like “Pressure Drop” and “Times Tough,” the themes of which remain relevant today. Toots strapped on his guitar for a look back to his beginnings on the classic 1963 “I’ll Never Grow Old.”

“I love New Orleans,” Toots declared in an interview previous to his 2007 appearance at Voodoo Festival. “Both New Orleans and Jamaica have lots of soul and great music.”

Frederick “Toots” Hibbert, who won a Grammy in 2004 for his album “True Love,” never did move away from his beloved island home of Jamaica yet he was able to spread his music, joy and spirit throughout the world. As his 1976 Island Record declared and Toots proved at every appearance, “Reggae Got Soul.”

This article originally published in the September 21, 2020 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.