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 That's My Number
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 Toots and The Maytals' song "54 46 That's My Number" is a powerful reggae number with lyrics that advocate for resistance and resilience against oppressive institutions such as the police and government authority. The song's opening lyrics speak to the artist's assertiveness as he informs the listener that they need to hear what he has to say, and then follows that up with a demand for listeners to understand his message. The lines "Stick it up mister, hear what I say sir, get your hands in the air, sir, and you will get no hurt mister" captures the essence of resistance and the importance of commanding compliance without resorting to violence.
The second verse discusses the artist's experience with injustice at the hands of the police as he refuses to give them his identity, even when repeatedly asked. The lyrics "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'" speaks to the theme of defiance that permeates the song. The artist refuses to bow down to oppressive forces, choosing instead to exercise his right to remain silent and be treated with respect and fairness.
Finally, the last verse of the song serves as an assertion of the artist's innocence, as he describes a hypothetical scenario where he would not compromise his integrity, even in the face of injustice. The lines "Give it to me one time, give it to me two times, give it to me three times, give it to me four times, 54 46 was my number, right now, someone else has that number" highlights the idea that while the artist may have moved on from that particular experience, the struggle for justice continues.
Line by Line Meaning
I said yeah, listen what I say
I'm speaking, pay attention
I said hear me now, listen what I say
Listen to me now
I said stick it up mister
Put your hands up
Hear what I say sir
Listen to me
Get your hands in the air, sir
Put your hands up
And you will get no hurt mister
You won't get hurt if you comply
Do what I say sir
Follow my instructions
Just what I mean sir
You need to do what I told you to do in the way I want it done
Second thing they say I must join the office
They want me to work for them
Third thing they say, son - give me your number
They want me to provide my personal contact information
He'd say "What's your number?"
He asked for my phone number
I don't answer
I refuse to respond
He'd say "What's your number, man?"
He repeats his question
He'd say "What's your number now?"
He's becoming increasingly insistent
I said "5446, that's my number..."
I finally answered with my number
First verses again
Returning to the opening lines
5446 was my number
My phone number was 5446
Stick it up, mister!
Put your hands up!
Hear what I say, sir, yeah...
Listen to me, sir
Get your hands in the air, sir!
Put your hands up
And you will get no hurt, mister, no no no
You won't be harmed if you comply
I said yeah
Again, I'm speaking
What did I say?
Do you remember what I just said?
Don't you hear? I said yeah
I'm trying to get your attention
Do you believe I would take something with me
Do you really think I would steal something?
And give it to the police man?
And hand it over to the authorities?
I wouldn't do that) And if I do that, I would say "sir, put the charge on me"
I didn't steal anything, but if I had, I would take responsibility for it
I wouldn't do that
I wouldn't steal
No, I wouldn't do that
I'm innocent
I'm not a fool to hurt myself
I'm not foolish enough to incriminate myself
So I was innocent of what they done to me
I was wrongly accused
They was wrong
They were mistaken
Listen to me, they were wrong
Hear me out, they made a mistake
Give it to me one time
Repeat what you just did once
Give it to me two time
Repeat what you just did twice
Give it to me three time
Repeat what you just did three times
Give it to me four time
Repeat what you just did four times
54 46 was my number
My phone number was 5446
Right now, someone else has that number
Nowadays, someone else has that phone number
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: FREDERICK HIBBERT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind