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.

Doctor Lester
Toots and The Maytals Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

You can stay in the dark, brother
You can stay in the dark
You can stay in the dark, sister
You can stay in the dark

I called for the African doctor
Just to play a part for me
He told me that's an easy thing to do

He told me, we don't need no relation

We don't want no relation
We don't need no relation
We don't want no relation

Doctor Lester
(Doctor)
He's a real good doctor
(Doctor)

Doctor Lester
(Doctor)
He's a medical doctor
(Doctor)

Doctor Lester
(Doctor)

He's the African doctor
(Doctor)

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Toots and The Maytals' song "Doctor Lester" may seem straightforward at first glance, but upon closer examination, they reveal a deeper meaning. The repeated phrase "You can stay in the dark" is a call to those who are not willing to see the truth, whether it be about their own lives or society at large. The African doctor in the song represents someone who can provide healing and knowledge that transcends race and social status. The lyrics suggest that there is no need for a personal relationship with the doctor, as the healing offered is universal.

The song also suggests a rejection of colonialism and a celebration of African culture and its contributions to medicine. The use of the phrase "We don't need no relation" reinforces the idea that one does not need to be related by blood to appreciate and benefit from African knowledge and culture. The repetition of the phrase "Doctor Lester" emphasizes the importance and reverence for this particular doctor and his African heritage, placing him in the context of an ongoing legacy of African healing practices.

Line by Line Meaning

You can stay in the dark, brother
It's your choice to remain uninformed, brother

You can stay in the dark
You have the option to stay ignorant

You can stay in the dark, sister
It's your choice to remain uninformed, sister

I called for the African doctor
I reached out to a medical professional from Africa

Just to play a part for me
To help me with a specific issue

He told me that's an easy thing to do
He reassured me that it was a manageable problem

He told me, we don't need no relation
He stated that we did not have to be related for him to assist me

We don't want no relation
There is no necessity for a personal relationship

We don't need no relation
There is no requirement for a personal relationship

We don't want no relation
There is no desire for a personal relationship

Doctor Lester
The name of the medical practitioner being referred to