Toots Hibbert, a Father of Reggae, Is Dead
Source: New York Times
Ben Sisario
By Ben Sisario
Sept. 12, 2020
Updated 9:07 a.m. ET
Toots Hibbert, one of the fathers of reggae music, whose vocals imbued the genres sound with an exhortatory power drawn from American soul, died on Friday night in Kingston, Jamaica. He was believed to be 77.
His death, in a hospital, was announced on the social media accounts of his band, Toots and the Maytals. No cause was specified, but he was recently reported to have been hospitalized with Covid-like symptoms.
Mr. Hibbert holds a firm spot in Jamaicas musical pantheon as the first artist to use the word reggae on a record, on the rollicking 1968 single Do the Reggay by his group, which was originally billed simply as the Maytals. By some accounts, it was an accidental coinage Mr. Hibbert has said he was thinking of streggae, local slang for a raggedy woman but it stuck, branding the new sound that would become Jamaicas greatest cultural export.
Although Mr. Hibbert never attained the same level of global fame as Bob Marley, he was immensely popular in Jamaica and was adored by critics and fellow musicians for a body of work that helped establish some of reggaes fundamentals.
On classics like Pressure Drop, Monkey Man and Sweet and Dandy, Mr. Hibbert sang in a raw but sweet tone that had echoes of Ray Charles, and he was often compared to other giants of soul music.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/12/arts/music/toots-hibbert-dead.html
oasis
(49,382 posts)him to share.
You've done well Toots. Rest in Peace.
A true loss.
a la izquierda
(11,794 posts)Nitram
(22,800 posts)rhythm master.
Initech
(100,069 posts)Hell my brother and I even met him after a show one time. So yeah this one really hits close to home. RIP.
Withywindle
(9,988 posts)He was a great singer and performer and he had a great sense of humor too. Here's his Jamaicafied version of "Country Roads"
DinahMoeHum
(21,786 posts)Rest In Peace and Love, Toots Hibbert
pecosbob
(7,538 posts)What a bam bam.