Toots and the Maytals

Toots and the Maytals

Toots and the Maytals are a Jamaican group from Kingston, active from 1963 to the present. Their sound spans Jamaican ska, reggae, reggae-pop, rocksteady and roots reggae, and the group is closely associated with the development and popularisation of reggae.

Origins and early line-up

The group begins as the Maytals, a vocal trio formed in Kingston by Frederick Nathaniel Hibbert, Henry “Raleigh” Gordon and Nathaniel “Jerry” Mathias. Hibbert, known as Toots, grows up singing gospel in a church choir in May Pen, Clarendon, before moving to Kingston in 1961. Early recordings are issued under names including The Flames and possibly The Vikings, before the group settles on the Maytals name.

Their first album, Never Grow Old - presenting the Maytals, is recorded for producer Clement “Coxsone” Dodd at Studio One in 1962–63. Backed by the Skatalites, the album becomes an early success and helps establish the group’s close-harmony gospel-influenced style.

Name change and Studio One years

After about two years at Studio One, the group works on sessions for Prince Buster and records a second album produced by Byron Lee in 1965. In 1971, producer Byron Lee renames the band Toots and the Maytals, with Hibbert as the front figure. The group becomes a reggae band in the early 1970s.

Their career is interrupted in late 1966 when Hibbert is arrested and imprisoned on drug possession charges. After his release towards the end of 1967, the band begins working with the Chinese-Jamaican producer Leslie Kong. That partnership produces three classic albums and a run of major singles in the late 1960s and early 1970s, including “Do the Reggay”, “Pressure Drop”, “54-46” and “Monkey Man”. “Do the Reggay” is widely credited with coining the word reggae.

Key recordings and recognition

54-46 becomes especially well known for its bass line, which is one of the most covered in popular music. Funky Kingston, released in the early 1970s, appears on Rolling Stone’s list of The Greatest Albums of All Time. The group’s songs “Monkey Man”, “Pressure Drop” and “Bam Bam” also make them favourites among members of the early UK skinhead movement.

The band features in the film and soundtrack The Harder They Come in 1972, a landmark moment in reggae’s international reach. After Leslie Kong’s death in 1971, they continue recording with Kong’s former sound engineer Warwick Lyn. Produced by Lyn and Chris Blackwell of Island Records, they release three best-selling albums, including the international successes Funky Kingston in 1973 and Reggae Got Soul in 1976.

Later years, collaborations and awards

Toots and the Maytals tour widely for many years, then disband in the early 1980s before reforming in the early 1990s to continue touring and recording. Their music is revisited during the 1978–80 reggae-punk and ska revival, when the Specials cover “Monkey Man” and the Clash record “Pressure Drop”; Sublime also records versions of Maytals songs.

In 2005, the group wins a Grammy Award for True Love, an album of re-recorded versions of their songs with guest appearances by Bonnie Raitt, Willie Nelson, Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, No Doubt, Ben Harper, The Roots and Shaggy. They also contribute to Easy Star All-Stars’ dub tribute Radiodread, based on Radiohead’s OK Computer.

Live work and later members

The band continues to perform internationally over the years, including a return to the stage in 2016 after a break, performances at Coachella in 2017, and a 50th anniversary tour in 2018 with dates in North America and the UK. A live debut of the song “Marley” also takes place in 2018, alongside performances of “Funky Kingston” and “Monkey Man” with Taj Mahal guesting on the latter at Lockn’ Festival.

The listed members include Harold Butler, Paul Douglas, Henry “Raleigh” Gordon, Toots Hibbert, Jackie Jackson and Nathaniel “Jerry” Mathias. Frontman Toots Hibbert dies in 2020.