Jamaican Toots and the Maytals was until 1971 a vocal group called simply T… Read Full Bio ↴Jamaican Toots and the Maytals was until 1971 a vocal group called simply The Maytals. They are one of the best known and highest professionally rated (Rolling Stone, AllMusic, etc) ska, rocksteady and reggae groups. They were icons for the early skinhead movement of white working-class youth in UK. Their sound was unique, highly influenced by gospel, soul, and funk. Maytals (Hebrew = "dewdrops") was formed in Kingston, Jamaica 1961 by Frederick "Toots" Hibbert, Henry "Raleigh" Gordon & Nathaniel "Jerry" Mathias. Well known songs are '54-46 Was My Number', 'Funky Kingston', 'Pressure Drop', 'Monkey Man', 'Never You Change' 'Bam Bam'. The group had 2 songs in Jimmy Cliff's 1972 film The Harder They Come, and started to enjoy international hits 1973 on Island Records.
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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.

Oh Yeah
The Maytals Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Everybody, give it to me, huh
Hey, hey, hey
I want you to believe every word I say
I want you to believe every thing I do

I said, "Music is what I've got to give
And I've got to find some way to make it
Music is what I've got, baby

I want you to come on and shake it"

Shake it, shake it, baby
Oh yeah, hey
Na na na
Oh yeah, na na na

Funky, funky, funky
Funky Kingston is what I've got for you, oh yeah
Funky Kingston, yeah, is what I've got for you
Funky Kingston, oh yeah

Lemme hear your funky guitar
Yo reggae
Hear the piano, stick it to me

Watch me now, you watch me now
Playing from east to west, yeah
I just play from north to south, yeah
I love black America

People keep on asking me for
Funky Kingston

But I ain't got none
Somebody take it away from me

Overall Meaning

The Maytals' song "Oh Yeah" is a funky, energetic declaration of their love for music and desire to share it with everyone. From the very beginning, the lyrics encourage the listener to fully believe in the message being conveyed, as Toots Hibbert sings, "I want you to believe every word I say, I want you to believe every thing I do." There is a clear sense of urgency in the lyrics, as though the Maytals are determined to make their listeners feel the same passion for music that they do.

Immediately following this call to believe, Toots declares that "Music is what I've got to give," and that he will find a way to share it with as many people as possible. The chorus then kicks in, with the infectious command to "shake it, shake it, baby." The repeated "oh yeah, na na na" creates a sense of joyous abandon, a celebration of music as a force that can bring people together and make everyone feel good.

As the song progresses, Toots name-checks his home of Kingston, Jamaica, declaring it to be "funky" and imbued with his particular style of reggae. The song takes a brief detour to showcase the talents of the band members, as Toots urges his guitarist to let loose with some funky riffs and his pianist to "stick it" to him with some impressive keyboard work. By the song's end, Toots acknowledges that "people keep asking me for funky Kingston," but declares that he doesn't have any left to give - a fitting end to a song that feels like the band has given their all in their celebration of music.

Line by Line Meaning

Everybody, give it to me, huh
Addressing the audience and asking them to participate in the song

Hey, hey, hey
An exclamation to enhance the energetic vibe of the song

I want you to believe every word I say
Asking the listeners to trust his words and the intentions behind them

I want you to believe every thing I do
Asking the listeners to understand and accept his actions

I said, "Music is what I've got to give
Stating that his primary talent and contribution to the world is music

And I've got to find some way to make it
Asserting that he will do whatever it takes to spread his music and make it successful

Music is what I've got, baby
Repeating and emphasizing on the importance of music to him

I want you to come on and shake it"
Inviting the listeners to dance along with the music

Shake it, shake it, baby
Encouraging the listeners to dance and move to the music

Oh yeah, hey
Expressing excitement and joy through an exclamation

Na na na
A simple, playful vocalization to enhance the rhythm of the song

Oh yeah, na na na
Repeating the previous lines in a slightly different way to increase the energy of the song

Funky, funky, funky
Describing the style of music he is playing as funk, which is characterized by upbeat rhythms and strong basslines

Funky Kingston is what I've got for you, oh yeah
Announcing that the song he is playing right now is called Funky Kingston and that he is dedicating it to the audience

Funky Kingston, yeah, is what I've got for you
Repeating and emphasizing on the previous line

Funky Kingston, oh yeah
Repeating the title of the song in a slightly different way to increase its catchiness and memorability

Lemme hear your funky guitar
Asking the guitarist to play a funky riff to complement the rhythm of the song

Yo reggae
Introducing another genre of music, reggae, that he will incorporate into the performance

Hear the piano, stick it to me
Asking the pianist to play an energetic and dynamic solo and to impress the audience

Watch me now, you watch me now
Asking the audience to pay attention to his performance and to witness his musical abilities

Playing from east to west, yeah
Emphasizing that his music is enjoyed and appreciated by people all around the world, from east to west

I just play from north to south, yeah
Repeating the previous line in a slightly different way to further emphasize on his wide reach

I love black America
Expressing his appreciation and admiration for African American culture and music

People keep on asking me for
Stating that he is frequently asked for

Funky Kingston
Referring to the specific song that he is performing

But I ain't got none
Saying that he doesn't have any more of that specific song to play

Somebody take it away from me
Asking someone else to play the song or to take over the performance to lighten his load

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: MAURICE SIMMONDS, SHAMA JOSEPH, THERON THOMAS, TIMOTHY THOMAS, JEVON HILL

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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