| Name | Toots and the Maytals |
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| Background | group_or_band |
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| Origin | Jamaica |
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| Genre | ReggaeSkaRocksteady |
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| Years active | 1963 to early 1980searly 1990s to present |
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| Label | Beverley'sTrojanV2Mango |
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| Url | http://www.tootsandthemaytals.com/ http://www.myspace.com/tatm |
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| Current members | Frederick "Toots" HibbertPaul DouglasCarl HarveyJackie JacksonMichelle EugeneLeba ThomasMarie "Twiggi" GittenNorris WebbCharles FarquarsonRadcliffe "Dougie" BryanAndy Bassford |
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| Past members | Hux BrownHarold ButlerHenry "Raleigh" Gordon (deceased)Winston Wright (deceased)Nathaniel "Jerry" Matthias or McCarthyWinston Grennan (deceased) |
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Toots and the Maytals, originally called simply The Maytals, are a Jamaican musical group and one of the best known ska and reggae vocal groups. According to Sandra Brennan at Allmusic, "The Maytals were key figures in reggae music. Formed in the early 1960s when ska was hot, the Maytals had a reputation for having strong, well-blended voices and a seldom-rivaled passion for their music. Frontman Hibbert's soulful style led him to be compared to Otis Redding".
Career
Frederick "Toots" Hibbert, the
frontman of the group, was born in
May Pen,
Clarendon,
Jamaica in 1945, the youngest of seven children. He grew up singing
gospel music in a church choir, and moved to
Kingston in 1958 at the age of thirteen.
In Kingston, Hibbert met Henry "Raleigh" Gordon and Nathaniel "Jerry" Mathias, forming in 1961 a group whose early recordings were incorrectly attributed to 'The Flames' and 'The Vikings' in the UK by Island Records. The Maytals first had chart success recording for producer Clement "Coxsone" Dodd at Studio One. With musical backing from Dodd's house band, The Skatalites, the Maytals' close-harmony gospel singing ensured success, overshadowing Dodd's other up-and-coming vocal group, The Wailers. After staying at Studio One for about two years, the group moved on to do sessions for Prince Buster before recording with Byron Lee in 1966. However, the group's musical career was interrupted in late 1966 when Hibbert was arrested and imprisoned for 18 months. He also stated that he made up the number 54-46 when writing "54-46 That's My Number" about his time in jail.
Following Hibbert's release from jail towards the end of 1967, the Maytals began working with the Chinese Jamaican producer Leslie Kong, a collaboration which yielded a string of hits throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s. "Pressure Drop"; "54-46 That's My Number" the 1969 Jamaica festival's popular song winner; "Sweet and Dandy"; and "Monkey Man", the group's first international hit in 1970. The tour went poorly and Toots & the Maytals never went on to the success of Bob Marley or Peter Tosh in the U.S.
Toots and the Maytals' compositions would be given a second airing in 1978-80 during the reggae punk and ska revival period in the UK, when The Specials included "Monkey Man" on their 1979 debut album and The Clash covered "Pressure Drop". They were also included in the lyrics to Bob Marley & The Wailers song, "Punky Reggae Party" - "The Wailers will be there, The Damned, The Jam, The Clash, The Maytals will be there, Dr. Feelgood too". In 1982, Toots & the Maytals' "Beautiful Woman", reached number one in New Zealand, but the group had already broken up. However, Winehouse was forced to cancel, leaving the Maytals to play at the more intimate Bush Hall, round the corner from the Empire, to a sell-out crowd.
In the summer of 2009, Toots and the Maytals performed at the Mountain Jam festival at Hunter Mountain, New York.
In August 2011, Toots and the Maytals are due to appear at a small number of outdoor events, including Rhythm Festival
Discography
Studio albums
Never Grow Old -- 1963 Coxsone Dodd production (N.D. Records/Coxsone 1963 JA. LP JBL1113) (Heartbeat 1997 US. CD HB143)
Life could be a dream -- 1962-4 Coxsone Dodd production (Studio One 1992 JA.)
The Original Golden Oldies Vol.3 -- 1964 Prince Buster production (Prince Buster Record Shack 1974. LP PB11)
The Sensational Maytals -- 1964-5 Byron Lee & Ronnie Nasralla production (Dynamic 1965. DBL1003) a.k.a. Sensational Ska Explosion (Hol. Jamaican Gold 1993. JMC 200.112)
Do The Reggae -- 1966-70 Leslie Kong production (Attack 1988 U.K. ATLP103)
Sweet and Dandy -- 1968 Leslie Kong production (Beverley's 1969 JA. LP005)
From The Roots -- 1970 Leslie Kong & Warrick Lyn production (Trojan 1973 UK. TRLS65) (Sanctuary/Trojan 2003 UK. CD TJCCD091)
Monkey Man -- 1970 Leslie Kong production (Beverley's/Trojan 1970 JA./UK. TBL107) (House Of 1997)
The Maytals Greatest Hits -- 1970 Leslie Kong production (Beverley's 1971 JA. BLP021)
Slatyam Stoot -- 1972 Warrick Lyn production (Dynamic Sounds 1972 US. DY3331)
Funky Kingston -- 1972-3 Warrick Lyn, Chris Blackwell & Dave Bloxham production (Dragon 1973 UK. DRLS5002) (Mango 1973 JA. MLPS9330) (Island/Trojan 1975 US.)
Roots Reggae -- 1974 Warrick Lyn production (Dynamic Sounds 1974 JA. DY3343)
In the Dark -- 1974 Warrick Lyn production (Dragon 1974 UK. DRLS5004) (Trojan UK. CDTRL 202)
Reggae Got Soul -- 1975-6 Warrick Lyn, Chris Blackwell & Joe Boyd production (Mango 1976. MLPS9374) (Island 1976 US. ILPS9374)
Toots Presents The Maytals -- 1977 Warrick Lyn production (Chin Randy's 1977. CRRLP004) (State Records 1978. ETAT16)
Pass the Pipe -- Karl Pitterson & Warrick Lyn production (Island 1979. ILPS9534) (Mango 1979)
Just Like That -- Chris Blackwell, Karl Pitterson & Dicky Jobson production (Island 1980. ILPS9590) (Mango 1980)
Knock Out! -- Chris Blackwell & Toots Hibbert production (Island 1981. ILPS9670) (Mango 1981. MLPS9670)
Reggae Greats (Island 1984. IMCD38) (Mango 1985. MLPS9781) (Island 2001. CD remastered)
Toots In Memphis (Mango 1988 US. 539818, CID9906, L38958)
Recoup (Alla Son 1997. ASM CD01)
Ska Father (Alla Son 1998)
World Is Turning(D&F; Music 2003) (XIII Bis 2005)
True Love (V2 2004)
Light Your Light 2005 Toots Hibbert production (D&F; Music 2007)
Stinga 1 (D&F; Music 2009)
Flip and Twist (D&F; Music 2010)
Live albums
Live (recorded 29 September 1980) (Island 1980, ILPS9647)
Live at Reggae Sunsplash (recorded 4 August 1982) (Sunsplash Records 1983, VSLP8901, RS8901) (Mobile Fidelity 19??, MFCD753)
An Hour Live "Straight from the Yard" Dedicated to Robert Nesta Marley (recorded 4 August 1982) (Sus 1990, SUS8924) (Genes 1997, GNS8924)
Live in London (recorded 8 June 1998) (Trojan 1999, CDTRD420)
Compilation albums
Roots Reggae (The Classic Jamaican Albums ) (Trojan 2005) - six CD album boxset: Sensational Maytals, Sweet And Dandy, Monkey Man, Greatest Hits, Slatyam Stoot, Roots Reggae.
The Best Of Toots And The Maytals (1979)
Reggae Greats (1985)
Do the Reggae 1966-70 (1988)
Bla. Bla. Bla. (1993)
Time Tough: The Anthology (1996)
Recoup (1997)
The Very Best of Toots & The Maytals (2000)
54-46 Was My Number: Anthology 1964-2000 (2002)
Other Contributions
(Vanguard, 2007), performing Domino's "Let The Four Winds Blow"
Contemporary usage
Covers
The Clash, The Specials, Gov't Mule, Izzy Stradlin & the Ju Ju Hounds, Jack Johnson, Josh Heinrichs, Robert Palmer (on the album of the same name), and The Oppressed, have all covered "Pressure Drop".
The Specials, Peste & Sida, The Aggrolites, Reel Big Fish, Los Pericos, Big D and the Kids Table, Amy Winehouse, Melt Banana, No Doubt, Adam Ant (on the scrapped Save The Gorilla EP) and Ore Ska Band have all covered "Monkey Man".
The Australian musician Xavier Rudd covered "Famine".
"54-46 That's My Number" was covered by Sublime, Ernest Ranglin and Fermín Muguruza, plus the chorus is often played live by The Trews, in an extended version of their own song, "Tired of Waiting".
311 covered "Reggae Got Soul" on the soundtrack to the animated film, Surf's Up.
"Bam Bam" has been covered by several artists, including Chaka Demus.
"Chaty chaty" was covered by the Basque band Kortatu in their song "Sarri Sarri"
Samples
The Manchester based band Sonic Boom Six sampled "Funky Kingston", for their song "Monkey See, Monkey Do", on the 2005 Champion Edition of their album, Sounds to Consume.
Soundtrack appearances
The songs "Pressure Drop" and "Sweet and Dandy" were featured in the seminal Reggae soundtrack to the Jamaican film The Harder They Come, (1972).
"Bam Bam" was featured in the soundtrack to the film
Countryman.
"Reggae Got Soul" was featured in the soundtrack to the film Surf's Up.
"Funky Kingston" and "Pressure Drop" were featured on the reggae radio station, in the video game, Grand Theft Auto San Andreas (2004). "Funky Kingston" was also featured in the video game, ; in the film, Notes on a Scandal; and in 2004's Broken Lizard production , Club Dread(which also had "Broadway Jungle"). In addition TLC's television series, Miami Ink, used the song as its theme music.
Shane Meadows' 2007 film, This Is England, featured the songs Louie Louie, "Pressure Drop" and "54-46 Was My Number".
"Celia" was featured on .
"Time Tough" was featured in the soundtrack of Tony Hawk's Project 8.
"54-46 Was My Number" was featured in the soundtrack to the film Repo Men (2009) and the game on the reggae radio station RamJam FM (2009).
"It Must Be True Love" was heard in Skins (TV Series) Series 5, Episode 3 (Mini) (2011).
See also
List of reggae musicians
List of roots reggae artists
List of ska musicians
List of Caribbean music groups
References
External links
Official Toots Hibbert website
Toots Hibbert MySpace
Comprehensive discography at X-Ray Music
Maytals.net - fan site and lyrics
Toots interview by Daiana Feuer, L.A. Record
Category:Jamaican ska groups
Category:First-wave ska groups
Category:Grammy Award winners
Category:Jamaican reggae musical groups
Category:Charly Records artists
Category:1960s music groups
Category:1970s music groups
Category:1990s music groups
Category:2000s music groups
