- - -
Frederick "Toots" Hibbert, the leader of the group, was born in May Pen, Clarendon, Jamaica. He was the youngest of seven children. He grew up singing gospel music in a church choir, but moved to Kingston in 1958 at the age of thirteen. In Kingston, Hibbert met Henry "Raleigh" Gordon and Nathaniel "Jerry" McCarthy, forming in 1962 a group whose early recordings were incorrectly attributed to "The Flames" and "The Vikings" by Island records in the UK.
The Maytals first had chart success recording for producer Clement "Coxsone" Dodd at Studio One. With musical backing from Dodd's house band, the legendary 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 1965. With Lee, the Maytals won their first Festival Popular Song Competition with "Bam Bam". However, the group's musical career was interrupted in late 1966 when Hibbert was arrested and imprisoned. Toots states that he was not arrested for ganja but while bailing a friend. He also states 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 Chinese-Jamaican producer Leslie Kong, a collaboration a string of hits throughout the late sixties and early seventies - "Do the Reggay", a 1968 single widely credited with coining the word reggae, "Pressure Drop", "54-46" the 1969 Jamaica festival's popular song winner, "Sweet & Dandy" and "Monkey Man", the group's first international hit in 1970 . In 1972 they won their third Jamaica festival popular song with "Pomps & Pride". The group was also featured in one of reggae's greatest breakthrough events - The Harder They Come, the 1972 film and soundtrack starring Jimmy Cliff, named as one of Vanity Fair's Top 10 Best Soundtracks of all time.
Following Kong's death in 1971, the group continued to record with Kong's former sound engineer, Warwick Lyn; the group released three best-selling albums produced by Lyn and Chris Blackwell of Island Records, and enjoyed international hits with Funky Kingston in 1973 and Reggae Got Soul in 1975. Following the release of "Reggae Got Soul", Toots & The Maytals were invited to tour as the warm-up act for The Who during their North American Tour. The tour went poorly and Toots & The Maytals never went on the success of Bob Marley or Peter Tosh in the US.
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 produced their version of "Pressure Drop". They were also included in the Bob Marley and 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".
Having toured throughout the world for many years, Toots and the Maytals disbanded in the early 1980s, but reformed in the early 90s to continue touring and recording successfully. Sublime recorded cover versions of some Maytals songs in the 1990s as well.
The group recently won the 2005 Grammy award for best reggae album True Love, an album consisting of re-recorded versions of their classics alongside popular and legendary musicians such as Bonnie Raitt, Willie Nelson, Eric Clapton, and Keith Richards, as well as popular artists today such as No Doubt, Ben Harper, The Roots, and Shaggy.
In 2006, they recorded a reggae/ska version of Radiohead's Let Down for the tribute album, Radiodread, by the Easy Star All-Stars. The album is a complete song for song makeover of the English rock band's album OK Computer into reggae, dub and ska. Let Down has been frequently cited by reviewers as one of the successes of the album.
A follow up to 2004's Love was being recorded in 2005 and released in 2007, and featured re-workings of classics such as "Johnny Cool Man" as well as new material. Light Your Light was nominated for the Grammy in the category Best Reggae Album.
Frederick Nathaniel 'Toots' Hibbert passed away September 11, 2020 at age 77.
Alidina
The Maytals Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Alright alright
Alidina, go on, go do the work
Alright alright
Alidina, lazy lazy
Alidina, crazy crazy
Alright alright
Alidina, lazy lazy
Alidina, crazy crazy
Alidina, go on, go do the work
Alright
Just the week before last week
I saw you
Standing out at the mother's
Corner looking inside
And you Alidina, go on, go do the work
Alright alright
Alidina, lazy lazy
Alidina, crazy crazy
Alidina, go on, go do the work
Alright alright
Alidina, lazy lazy
Alidina, crazy crazy
Alidina, go on, go do the work
Alright
Alright, Alidina, go on, go do the work
Alright alright
Alidina, lazy lazy
Alidina, crazy crazy
Alidina, go on, go do the work
Alright
Just the day before yesterday
I saw you
Walking on the long train line
Doing nothing
And you Alidina, go on, go do the work
Alright alright
Alidina, lazy lazy
Alidina, crazy crazy
Alidina, go on, go do the work
Alright
Oh, do you want look sweet girl
We lost the world, alright
If you want to look nice girl
And we lost the world
Alright alright, Alidina, go on, go do the work
Alright alright
Alidina, lazy lazy
Alidina, crazy crazy
Alidina, lazy lazy
Alidina, crazy crazy
Alidina, go on, go do the work
The Maytals's song Alidina seems to be a call to action for a certain individual named Alidina. The lyrics are repetitive in nature, with several instances of the phrase "Alidina, go on, go do the work" being repeated multiple times throughout the song. The overall message is clear - Alidina is being called out for being lazy and crazy and needs to get to work. The repetition of the phrase "alright, alright" seems to be a way for the singer to encourage Alidina and perhaps point out that the work needs to be done.
It's possible that the song is speaking to a larger societal issue of idleness and frivolity. The two instances where Alidina is seen doing nothing - standing on a corner and walking on a train line - seem to emphasize the singer's frustration with the lack of productivity or drive. The song may be calling for people to get up and work towards their goals instead of wasting time.
Interestingly, the lyrics also include a line about losing the world if someone wants to look nice. This can be interpreted in a few different ways. It could be a critique of societal expectations that value physical appearance over hard work and effort, or it could be a warning that if people prioritize their appearance over working towards a better future, they may lose everything. Overall, Alidina is a song that addresses themes of productivity, hard work, and the dangers of idleness.
Line by Line Meaning
Alright, Alidina, go on, go do the work
Encouraging Alidina to work and be productive
Alright alright
Emphasizing encouragement
Alidina, lazy lazy
Describing Alidina as a lazy person
Alidina, crazy crazy
Describing Alidina as a crazy person
Alidina, go on, go do the work
Reemphasizing the importance of working
Alright alright
Reemphasizing encouragement
Alidina, lazy lazy
Again describing Alidina as a lazy person
Alidina, crazy crazy
Again describing Alidina as a crazy person
Alidina, go on, go do the work
Repeating the call to work
Alright
Final reemphasis of encouragement
Just the week before last week
Narrating a recent event
I saw you
Confirming personal observation
Standing out at the mother's Corner looking inside
Describing Alidina's action at a specific location
And you Alidina, go on, go do the work
Using previous observation to motivate Alidina to work
Alright alright
Reemphasizing encouragement
Alidina, lazy lazy
Repeating Alidina's lazy behavior
Alidina, crazy crazy
Repeating the previous descriptor of Alidina
Alidina, go on, go do the work
Repeating the call to work
Alright alright
Again emphasizing encouragement
Alidina, lazy lazy
Repeating Alidina's laziness
Alidina, crazy crazy
Repeating the previous descriptor of Alidina's behavior
Alidina, go on, go do the work
Final call to action
Alright
Final emphasis on encouragement
Just the day before yesterday
Narrating another recent event
I saw you
Confirming personal observation
Walking on the long train line
Describing Alidina's specific action
Doing nothing
Confirming Alidina's lack of productivity
And you Alidina, go on, go do the work
Using past observation to motivate Alidina to work
Alright alright
Repeating encouragement
Alidina, lazy lazy
Repeating Alidina's laziness
Alidina, crazy crazy
Repeating previous descriptor of Alidina's behavior
Alidina, go on, go do the work
Final call to work
Oh, do you want look sweet girl
Addressing someone directly
We lost the world
Stating that something important was lost
Alright
Confirming the previous statement
If you want to look nice girl
Offering advice to someone
And we lost the world
Implying that the advice is important
Alright alright
Final emphasis on encouragement
Alidina, lazy lazy
Final statement about Alidina's behavior
Alidina, crazy crazy
Final descriptor of Alidina's behavior
Alidina, lazy lazy
Repeat of previous descriptor
Alidina, crazy crazy
Repeat of previous descriptor
Alidina, go on, go do the work
Final call to work
Contributed by Charlie I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@theoriginalladyska
R. I. P. TOOTS thank you for the music and the good times.
@AtZero138
To Be Remembered is to Live Forever... Stay Rude, Stay Roots and keep your Boots Stomping...
@digdaver1
Just the day before yesterday I saw you walking on the long train line doing nothing.
Class song from the greatest
@normanosborne7367
YEARS I HAVEN'T HEARD ""ALIDINA"" A VERY CRUCIAL CUTTER FROM A LEGENDARY BAND.....TOOTS HIBBERT VOCALS SO POWERFUL HIS VOICE NEVER UNDER ANY STRAIN. A TUNE YA A BOOM.
@bbbroham7534
The way the bass line and the organ flawlessly blend together in the recording just makes me rock fucking hard
@chocamon4617
R.I.P Legend :((
@rtarbinar
this video's been up for 6 months, and it still only has a thousand views and a handful of ratings! (5 stars, of course) toots certainly has a strong following, but many people don't seem to know about some of his old CLASSICS, like this!!! thanks for posting this!!!
@52rupert
Time to crack open a can or two of Red Stripe and start leaping about to the joyous sound of the Maytals in full flow.
Cheers to one and all
@racketman2u
classic Maytals; cheerful and energetic!
@Tatwampstajag
I love the part where he calls Alidina out like '2 weeks ago I saw you walking on the railroad tracks, not doin' shit! Go out and do some work, Alidina.'