Toots and The Maytals are from Kingston, Jamaica. It was the producer Byron Lee who 1971 renamed them Toots & the Maytals. Frederick "Toots" Hibbert, the leader of the group and the lead singer, was born in May Pen in the Parish of Clarendon, Jamaica. He was the youngest of seven children. He grew up singing gospel music in a church choir, but moved to Kingston in 1961 at the age of sixteen.
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 drug possession charges.
Following Hibbert's release from jail towards the end of 1967, the band 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" 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.
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", 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.
In 2005, the band won a Grammy award for best reggae album for True Love, consisting of re-recorded versions of their classics alongside legendary musicians such as Bonnie Raitt, Willie Nelson, Eric Clapton, and Keith Richards, as well as popular artists such as No Doubt, Ben Harper, The Roots, and Shaggy.
They also contributed to the Easy Star All-Stars album 'Radiodread' (a dub tribute to Radiohead's OK Computer).
In 2016 Toots and the Maytals announced a return to the stage with their first tour in 3 years,[35] and on June 15 at The Observatory North Park in San Diego the group returned to the stage for the first time since 2013.
In 2017 Toots and the Maytals played Coachella Fest April 16 and 23 at 4:20 pm. They became the second reggae-based group to perform at the Coachella festival, after Chronixx in 2016.
In 2018, Toots and the Maytals launched a 50th anniversary tour with concert appearances in North America from April to August, moving to dates in the UK starting in October.
On July 25, 2018 Toots and the Maytals debuted an original song entitled "Marley" live on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and also played the classic "Funky Kingston".
On August 24, 2018 Toots and the Maytals performed at Lockn’ Festival in Arrington, Virginia, where guest Taj Mahal accompanied them on the song “Monkey Man”.
Frontman "Toots" Hibbert died on 12 September 2020.
54-46 Was My Number Feat. Jeff Beck
Toots and The Maytals Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I said hear me now, listen what I say
I said stick it up mister
Hear what I say sir
Get your hands in the air, sir
And you will get no hurt mister
Do what I say sir
Get your hands in the air, sir
And you will get no hurt mister
Second thing they say I must join the office
Third thing they say, son - give me your number
He'd say "What's your number?"
I don't answer
He'd say "What's your number, man?"
He'd say "What's your number now?"
I said "5446, that's my number..."
First verses again
5446 was my number
Stick it up, mister!
Hear what I say, sir, yeah...
Get your hands in the air, sir!
And you will get no hurt, mister, no no no
I said yeah
What did I say?
Don't you hear? I said yeah
Listen to what I say
Do you believe I would take something with me
And give it to the police man?
I wouldn't do that) And if I do that, I would
say "sir, put the charge on me"
I wouldn't do that
No, I wouldn't do that
I'm not a fool to hurt myself
So I was innocent of what they done to me
They was wrong
Listen to me, they were wrong
Give it to me one time
Give it to me two time
Give it to me three time
Give it to me four time
54 46 was my number
Right now, someone else has that number
The lyrics to Toots and The Maytals's song 54-46 Was My Number Feat. Jeff Beck tell the story of a man who is wrongly imprisoned and harassed by the police. The song starts with the man commanding the police to put their hands up and saying that they will get no hurt if they do as he says. The next verse talks about how he was forced to join an office and give his number, but he refuses to give his number to the police. He eventually gives in and tells them his number, which is 54-46. The chorus repeats this number, which was his prison identification number, and emphasizes how it has become a part of his identity.
The song then transitions to the man declaring his innocence and saying that he would never give anything to the police. He claims that he was a victim of the injustice they inflicted on him. The song ends with him repeating the number once again, but now someone else has taken it. The lyrics are powerful because they tell a story of resistance against authority and a fight for justice. The repetition of the number emphasizes how it has become a part of this man's identity, and how he has been affected by the injustice he faced.
Line by Line Meaning
I said yeah, listen what I say
I am urging you to pay attention to what I am about to say
I said hear me now, listen what I say
I want you to focus on my words and understand them
I said stick it up mister
I demand that you obey me
Hear what I say sir
Listen to what I am saying, sir
Get your hands in the air, sir
Put your hands up as a sign of compliance
And you will get no hurt mister
If you follow my instructions, you won't experience any physical harm
Do what I say sir
Follow my orders, sir
Just what I mean sir
I mean exactly what I say, sir
Second thing they say I must join the office
They told me I have to work in the office
Third thing they say, son - give me your number
Thirdly, they asked for my phone number
He'd say "What's your number?"
He asked me what my phone number was
I don't answer
I refuse to respond to his question
He'd say "What's your number, man?"
He repeated his question, asking for my phone number
He'd say "What's your number now?"
He asked for my phone number again
I said "5446, that's my number..."
I responded with my phone number, 5446
Stick it up mister!
I demand that you comply with my orders
Hear what I say, sir, yeah...
Listen to me, sir
Get your hands in the air, sir!
Put your hands up, sir
And you will get no hurt, mister, no no no
If you follow my instructions, I won't harm you in any way
I said yeah
I am affirming my previous statement
What did I say?
I am asking you to recall what I previously said
Don't you hear? I said yeah
You should've heard me, I said yeah
Do you believe I would take something with me
And give it to the police man?
Do you think I would carry something and hand it over to the police?
I wouldn't do that) And if I do that, I would
say "sir, put the charge on me"
I wouldn't do such a thing, but if I did, I would confess and accept responsibility
I wouldn't do that
I am denying that I would take and hand something over to the police
No, I wouldn't do that
I am reiterating that I would never do such a thing
I'm not a fool to hurt myself
I am not foolish enough to put myself at risk
So I was innocent of what they done to me
I did not do what they accused me of
They was wrong
They were mistaken
Listen to me, they were wrong
Believe me, they were mistaken
Give it to me one time
Repeat what you just said once
Give it to me two times
Repeat what you just said twice
Give it to me three times
Repeat what you just said thrice
Give it to me four time
Repeat what you just said four times
54 46 was my number
My phone number was 5446
Right now, someone else has that number
Currently, someone else has been assigned my old phone number
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: FREDERICK HIBBERT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind