Jamaican ska vocal group The Maytals became a reggae band in 1971, renamed … Read Full Bio ↴Jamaican ska vocal group The Maytals became a reggae band in 1971, renamed Toots and The Maytals with Toots Hibbert (Frederick Nathaniel Hibbert) as front figure. The band won a 2005 Grammy award for the album True Love. Funky Kingston in early 70s is on Rolling Stone's list The Greatest Albums of All Time. The bass line in "54-46" is one of the most covered in pop music. Songs such as "Monkey Man", "Pressure Drop", "Bam Bam", among others, made them favorites for the early skinhead movement of white working-class youth in UK.

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.

B FOR BUTTER
Toots and The Maytals Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Do, do, do, do, do, oh, oh, oh

Fret not for tomorrow
'Cuz I know there will be no sorrow
Don't matter what the crisis
I will be your rescue

No, I'm not going to take no for that

'Cuz I know just where it's at
B for butter and T for tat

When it comes to loving someone, girl, you know
I'm in love with you

When it comes to holding and kissing
Girl, you know I'd do anything for you

Overall Meaning

In the song B FOR BUTTER by Toots and The Maytals, the singer reassures his love interest not to worry about the future. He promises to be her protector and rescue her in any crisis. He uses a play on words to emphasize his determination by referencing the phrase 'B for butter' which sounds like the common phrase 'Tit for tat'. 'B for butter' and 'T for tat' suggest that he is not going to let anything get in their way and is going to fight for their relationship to work. The lyrics reflect the singer's willingness to do whatever it takes to make his love interest happy and comfortable in their relationship.

The lyrics convey a message of love and commitment, as the singer promises to stand by his lover through thick and thin. The song is a classic reggae tune that combines upbeat rhythms and soulful vocals. It was released in 1971 and has been sampled numerous times by other musicians.

Line by Line Meaning

Fret not for tomorrow
Do not worry about the future

'Cuz I know there will be no sorrow
Because I am confident that there will be no sadness

Don't matter what the crisis
No matter what happens

I will be your rescue
I will be there to help you

No, I'm not going to take no for that
I will not accept a negative answer

'Cuz I know just where it's at
Because I know exactly what I want

B for butter and T for tat
There are no tricks or hidden meanings (slang for 'without ambiguity')

When it comes to loving someone, girl, you know
When it concerns loving someone

I'm in love with you
I love you

When it comes to holding and kissing
When it concerns holding and kissing

Girl, you know I'd do anything for you
You know I would do anything for you