The Mighty Toots
Frederick “Toots” Hibbert, who died on September 11 at age 77, was the everyman of reggae. A singer with the revivalist spirit of rural Jamaica and the Memphis soul of Otis redding, his was a boundless talent.
Toots died at the University Hospital of the West Indies in Kingston from complications of COVID-19.
His songs, including
Bam Bam, Monkey Man, Pressure Drop and Funky Kingston, won him fans around the world. They ranged from diehards who attended his shows in Europe, North America and Australia, to wellheeled admirers like Mick Jagger.
“He was a great singer with a really powerful voice who influenced everyone in the early days of reggae. He was a great stage performer. So full of energy and vitality, always giving a top-class performance that I was lucky enough to witness,” Jagger told rolling Stone Magazine.
At the time of the COVID-19 lockdown in March, Toots and his band The Maytals, were the best touring reggae act, a title they held for many years.
Though Jagger and other rock stars like Eric Clapton were long-time fans, Toots did not get the acclaim he deserved until the 1990s when he began collaborating with a diverse group of acts such as blues singer Bonnie Raitt, country singer Willie Nelson and blues/reggae singer Ben Harper.
In August, Trojan Jamaica/bmg released
Got to be Tough, which proved to be Toots’s swan song. It is widely expected to win the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album in January.
Deservingly, Toots is buried at National Heroes’ Park in Kingston.