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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.
Daddy
The Maytals Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You're my angel
You're the girl of my dreams
And I'd like to thank you
For waiting patiently
Daddy's home, your Daddy's home, to stay
How I've waited for this moment
Your best friend wrote and told me
You had tear drops in you eyes
Daddy's home, your Daddy's home, to stay
It wasn't on a Sunday
(Monday and Tuesday went by)
It wasn't on a Tuesday afternoon
(All I could do was cry)
But I made a promise
That you treasure
And I made it back home to you
How I've waited for this moment
To be by your side
Your best friend wrote and told me
You had tear drops in your eyes
Daddy's home, your Daddy's home, to stay
Daddy's home, to stay
I'm not a thousand miles away.
Daddy's home, to stay
And I'm gonna be here come with me
Daddy's home, to stay (Come with me)
I'm not a thousand miles away.
Daddy's home, to stay
And I'm gonna be here come with me
The lyrics of The Maytals' song "Daddy" express a profound sense of love and gratitude towards someone special, who is referred to as "my love," "my angel," and "the girl of my dreams." The singer acknowledges their patience and waits to be reunited with them. The phrase "Daddy's home, your Daddy's home, to stay" conveys the joy of finally being together and establishing a permanent presence in their lives.
The first verse reveals that the singer has been longing for this moment to be by their loved one's side, indicating that they have been away for some time. The mention of a letter from the loved one's best friend, describing tear drops in their eyes, suggests that the separation has been emotionally challenging for both parties. However, the promise made by the singer to treasure their relationship has brought them back home.
The chorus repeats the phrase "Daddy's home, your Daddy's home, to stay," emphasizing the permanence of their return. The line "I'm not a thousand miles away" reinforces their physical proximity and desire to be present in their loved one's life. The repetition of the invitation to "come with me" in the final lines signifies the singer's longing for their loved one to share their life with them.
Overall, "Daddy" is a heartfelt song that expresses deep love, gratitude, and the desire for an enduring presence in the life of a significant other.
Line by Line Meaning
You're my love
You are the person I deeply love and care for
You're my angel
You are a precious and perfect being in my life
You're the girl of my dreams
You are the person I have always desired and imagined
And I'd like to thank you
And I want to express my gratitude towards you
For waiting patiently
For being patient and understanding during my absence
Daddy's home, your Daddy's home, to stay
I have returned and I am here to stay as your loving father
How I've waited for this moment
I have eagerly anticipated this specific moment
To be by your side
To be with you and support you
Your best friend wrote and told me
Your closest friend informed me
You had tear drops in your eyes
You were crying and feeling emotional
It wasn't on a Sunday
It didn't happen on a particular Sunday
(Monday and Tuesday went by)
(Monday and Tuesday passed)
It wasn't on a Tuesday afternoon
It didn't happen on a specific Tuesday afternoon
(All I could do was cry)
(All I could do was cry)
But I made a promise
However, I made a commitment
That you treasure
That you value and hold dear
And I made it back home to you
And I successfully returned to be with you
Daddy's home, your Daddy's home, to stay
I have returned and I am here to stay as your loving father
I'm not a thousand miles away.
I am not far away from you anymore
And I'm gonna be here come with me
And I will be here, so please come and join me
Daddy's home, to stay (Come with me)
I have returned and I will be here permanently (Come with me)
I'm not a thousand miles away.
I am not far away from you anymore
And I'm gonna be here come with me
And I will be here, so please come and join me
Lyrics © MUSIC SALES CORPORATION, BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: JAMES SHEPPARD, WILLIAM HENRY MILLER, Karen Gooch
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@markkarg4375
RIP brother Toots Hibbert. Your music comes from the same time as Desmond Decker, Max Romeo, John Holt, Jimmy Cliff, Ken Lazarus, Byron Lee,
Keith Lyn , Dennis Alcapone, The Slickers and many others. Thank you for the great music you gave us. REST IN PEACE 🙏🙏🙏 Jah bless.
@bluevelvet4372
♥️🎶🎵😎♥️
@mystic7579
I can’t find words... no adjective can aptly describe this song... the soul, the raw vocals, the harmonies, the words..... only tears!!
@joepineapples9332
Legend ...smiling right now listening to your voice,thank you brother for some of the best live shows I've ever been too...rocksteady my friend..
@TheLouv32
Rest in Power Toots! You will be forever missed. We did not know, but 77 was your number 😢
@brittj4081
❤️❤️❤️
@paulinethompson3769
Thank u toots we are proud of u are a legend your music lives on rip bro🙏❤️😭
@cher385
Another musical soldier, gone home to Glory! Thank you for your contribution to our better selves!🙏🏽🙏🏽🌹🌹
@buttacudawey
I lost my Daddy today I'm so broken..this was one of our favorite group..an yesterday Toots died..I would love to think hes singing to my Dad right now...
RIP to these 2 great men..😪😪😪💔💔💔🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🖤🖤🖤🇯🇲🇯🇲🇯🇲🇯🇲🇯🇲✊🏾✊🏾✊🏾✊🏾🖤🖤🖤🎶🎶
@frankengrant
Spent all night dancing to the 1975 Winterland Maytals set, then Jimmy Cliff’s beautiful words about his friend Toots brought me here. RIP Toots. You’re vibrating in us all!