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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.
Know Me Good
The Maytals Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Know me, know me, know me, know me good
This is my time, my time, my time, yeah
This is my time and I am feeling fine, yeah
This is my six, my six, my six, six, yeah
So you can see how I am feeling fine, yeah
Know me, know me, know me, know me good
Come dance with me while you are so free, yeah
You will see how happy we will be, yeah
This is my six, my six, and my nine, sixty nine
So you can see how I am feeling fine, yeah
Know me, know me, know me, know me good
He's my papa, he's my papa, he's my papa
He's my papa, he's my papa, mama
The Maytals' song "Know Me Good" expresses a sense of confidence in oneself and a desire to be recognized and understood by others. The repetition of the phrase "know me good" emphasizes the singer's desire for genuine understanding rather than superficial recognition. The chorus highlights the singer's strong sense of self and their belief that others recognize them for who they truly are. The lines "This is my time, my time, my time, yeah / This is my time and I am feeling fine, yeah" serve as an affirmation of the singer's positive outlook on life.
The second verse invites the listener to join the singer in celebrating life through dance. The lines "Come dance with me while you are so free, yeah / You will see how happy we will be, yeah" convey a sense of joy and camaraderie. The mention of "six" and "sixty nine" in the verse can be interpreted as sexual innuendos, adding a playful and flirtatious tone to the song.
The final line of the song, "He's my papa, he's my papa, he's my papa / He's my papa, he's my papa, mama," may seem nonsensical at first, but it could be a reference to the spiritual roots of reggae music. In Rastafarianism, "Papa" is a term of respect for God, while "Mama" refers to the earth and nature.
Overall, "Know Me Good" is a song that celebrates individuality, self-confidence, and the joy of life.
Line by Line Meaning
You sure do know me
You have a good understanding of who I am
Know me, know me, know me, know me good
Emphasizing the point that the listener knows the singer well
This is my time, my time, my time, yeah
The singer is currently in a good place in their life
This is my time and I am feeling fine, yeah
The artist is happy with their current situation
This is my six, my six, my six, six, yeah
The artist is referring to their car and indicating that they are doing well financially
So you can see how I am feeling fine, yeah
The singer is making it clear that they are doing well overall
Come dance with me while you are so free, yeah
The singer is inviting the listener to enjoy life with them
You will see how happy we will be, yeah
The artist is confident that they will have a good time together
This is my six, my six, and my nine, sixty nine
The artist is once again referring to their car, but also using a sexual reference
He's my papa, he's my papa, he's my papa
Referring to a male figure in the artist's life whom they respect and admire
He's my papa, he's my papa, mama
The singer is expressing love and admiration for both their father and mother
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: FREDERICK HIBBERT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Malachy Smith
Top tune
Jeffrey LaMere
yeah man