In Kingston, he met Henry "Raleigh" Gordon and Nathaniel "Jerry" McCarthy, forming a group whose early recordings were attributed to "The Flames" and, possibly, "The Vikings". Having renamed the group the Maytals, the vocal trio recorded their first album, "Never Grow Old - presenting the Maytals", for producer Clement "Coxsone" Dodd at Studio One in 1962-63. With musical backing from Dodd's house band, the legendary Skatalites, the Maytals' close-harmony gospel singing ensured instant success for the 1964 release, overshadowing Dodd's other up-and-coming gospel trio, The Wailers. The original album augmented by studio out-takes from the Studio One sessions was re-released by Heartbeat/Rounder Records in 1997, and is essential listening for Maytals and Skatalites fans.
After staying at Studio One for about two years, the group moved on to do sessions for Prince Buster (released in 1974) before recording their second album produced by Byron Lee in 1965. However, the band's musical career was rudely interrupted in late 1966 when Hibbert was arrested and imprisoned on drugs possession charges.
Following Hibbert's release from jail towards the end of 1967, the band officially changed their name to Toots and the Maytals and began working with Chinese-Jamaican producer Leslie Kong, a collaboration which produced three classic albums and 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 was my number" and "Monkey Man", the group's first international hit in 1970. The group was featured in one of reggae's greatest breakthrough events - The Harder They Come, the 1972 film and soundtrack starring Jimmy Cliff.
Following Kong's death in 1971, the group continued to record with Kong's former sound engineer, Warwick Lyn; produced by Lyn and Chris Blackwell of Island Records, the group released three best-selling albums, and enjoyed international hits with "Funky Kingston" in 1973 and "Reggae Got Soul" in 1976.
The compositions of Toots & the Maytals (also known as Toots and the Maytals) 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", with other Maytals' covers being recorded by Sublime. 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.
The band recently won the 2005 Grammy award for reggae for the 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.
They also contributed to the album 'Radiodread' (a tribute to Radiohead's OK Computer).
She's My Scorcher
Toots & The Maytals Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
No one ever should have let she be
I said, turn her back, turn her back and don't let her go
No one ever should have let she be
No one could believe that a girl like that
She looks so real yet she makes me grieve
But she's my scorcher, yeah, yeah, yeah
She's got a burner, burner, burner, burner, burner, burner
Got balls of fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire
She's got a burner, she's, she's, she's, she's, she's, she's, she's
She's got got balls of fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire
I said turn her back, turn her back and don't let her go, yeah
No one ever should have let she be, yeah, yeah
Turn her back, turn her back and don't let her go
No one ever should have let she be
No one could believe that a girl like that
Who looks so real yet she makes me grieve
But she's my scorcher, I love love her
I love love her, I love love her
Yes she's my scorcher, yeah, yeah, yeah
She's got a burner, yeah, yeah, yeah
The lyrics of Toots & The Maytals's She's My Scorcher seem to express the singer’s admiration towards a girl who has set his world on fire. Despite his initial shock and disbelief that someone like her even exists, the singer seems to imply that nobody should have ever let her go. Throughout the song, the singer refers to her as “my scorcher” and attributes qualities of fire to her, such as having a “burner” and “balls of fire”. It seems like she sets him ablaze in more ways than one and he can’t resist her allure.
The repeated phrase of “turn her back, turn her back and don’t let her go” suggests that the singer knows how captivating and dangerous this woman can be. He’s warning others to resist her charm or else they’ll get burned just like him. Despite this warning, the singer cannot help but love her and wants to keep her by his side.
Overall, the lyrics seem to convey a sense of passion, danger, and desire. The woman in question is portrayed as someone who can light up a room with her energy and sexuality. The singer is unable to resist the powerful attraction he feels towards her, even though he knows it could lead to his destruction.
Line by Line Meaning
I said, turn her back, turn her back and don't let her go
The singer urges someone to keep the girl close and not let her leave.
No one ever should have let she be
The singer believes that no one should have allowed the girl to be left alone.
No one could believe that a girl like that
The girl is so impressive that people find it hard to believe.
She looks so real yet she makes me grieve
Despite her appearance, the girl brings the artist sadness.
But she's my scorcher, yeah, yeah, yeah
The girl is the artist's lover.
Yes she's my scorcher, yeah, yeah, yeah
The girl is the singer's lover.
She's got a burner, burner, burner, burner, burner, burner
The girl is full of passion and energy.
Got balls of fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire
The girl is fiercely independent and unafraid.
She's got a burner, she's, she's, she's, she's, she's, she's, she's
The girl has a powerful and intense personality.
She's got got balls of fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire
The girl is fiercely independent and unafraid.
I said turn her back, turn her back and don't let her go, yeah
The singer reiterates the importance of keeping the girl close.
No one ever should have let she be, yeah, yeah
The artist believes that no one should have allowed the girl to be left alone.
I love love her
The singer loves the girl deeply.
I love love her
The singer loves the girl deeply.
Yes she's my scorcher, yeah, yeah, yeah
The girl is the singer's lover.
She's got a burner, yeah, yeah, yeah
The girl is full of passion and energy.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: FREDERICK HIBBERT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind