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.
Fever
Toots and The Maytals Lyrics
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Never know how much I care
When you put your arms around me
I get a fever that's so hard to bear
You give me fever when you kiss me
Fever when you hold me tight
Fever in the morning
Everybody's got the fever
that is something you all know
Fever isn't such a new thing
Fever started long ago
Sun lights up the daytime
Moon lights up the night
I light up when you call my name
And you know I'm gonna treat you right
You give me fever when you kiss me
Fever when you hold me tight
Fever in the morning
Fever all through the night
Romeo loved Juliet
Juliet she felt the same
When he put his arms around her
He said, Julie baby, you're my flame
Thou givest fever when we kisseth
Fever with thy flaming youth
Fever, I'm afire
Fever, yea I burn forsooth
Captain Smith and Pocahontas
Had a very mad affair
When her daddy tried to kill him
She said Daddy-o don't you dare
He gives me fever with his kisses
Fever when he holds me tight
Fever, I'm his Missus,
Oh daddy, won't you treat him right
Now you've listened to my story
Here's the point that I have made
Cats were born to give chicks fever
Be it Fahrenheit or centigrade
They give you fever when you kiss them
Fever if you live and learn
Fever till you sizzle
What a lovely way to burn
What a lovely way to burn
What a lovely way to burn
The song "Fever" by Toots and The Maytals is a classic bluesy reggae song that speaks about the intense feelings of love and passion for someone. The lyrics speak about the way that this person makes the singer feel when they are close, how their touch and presence can cause a fever that is hard to bear. The song suggests that everyone experiences these intense feelings of love and passion, as evident in the lyrics "Everybody's got the fever, that is something you all know, fever isn't such a new thing, fever started long ago".
The song goes on to reference the story of Romeo and Juliet, highlighting the intense passion they shared, and how it caused a fever between them. The song also references the story of Captain Smith and Pocahontas, where again, their love was so strong that it caused a fever between them. The overall message of the song is that love and passion are intense emotions that can cause a fever that may never go away.
Line by Line Meaning
Never know how much I love you
I never realized how much I love you
Never know how much I care
I never realized how much I care for you
When you put your arms around me
When you embrace me with your arms
I get a fever that's so hard to bear
I experience intense passion that is difficult to handle
You give me fever when you kiss me
Your kisses make me feel feverish
Fever when you hold me tight
I feel feverish when you hold me close
Fever in the morning
I feel feverish in the morning
Fever all through the night
I feel feverish all night long
Everybody's got the fever
Everyone experiences passion
that is something you all know
It's a common knowledge among us
Fever isn't such a new thing
Passion is not a recent discovery
Fever started long ago
Passion has been around for a while
Sun lights up the daytime
The sun brightens the day
Moon lights up the night
The moon illuminates the night
I light up when you call my name
You make me feel radiant when you call my name
And you know I'm gonna treat you right
And I will make sure to treat you well
Romeo loved Juliet
Romeo had a deep love for Juliet
Juliet she felt the same
Juliet reciprocated Romeo's love
When he put his arms around her
When Romeo embraced her with his arms
He said, Julie baby, you're my flame
He called her his flame of love
Thou givest fever when we kisseth
You make me feel feverish when we kiss
Fever with thy flaming youth
Your youthful passion makes me feel feverish
Fever, I'm afire
I'm on fire with passion
Fever, yea I burn forsooth
I burn with immense passion
Captain Smith and Pocahontas
Captain Smith and Pocahontas had a love affair
Had a very mad affair
They had a passionate relationship
When her daddy tried to kill him
When Pocahontas' father attempted to murder Smith
She said Daddy-o don't you dare
She warned her father not to harm Smith
He gives me fever with his kisses
Smith's kisses make her feel feverish
Fever when he holds me tight
She feels passionate when Smith holds her close
Fever, I'm his Missus,
She is Smith's wife and is passionate for him
Oh daddy, won't you treat him right
She asks her father to treat Smith well
Now you've listened to my story
Now that you've heard my tale
Here's the point that I have made
Here's what I wanted to convey
Cats were born to give chicks fever
Cats have always ignited passions in women
Be it Fahrenheit or centigrade
Regardless of the scale used to measure it
They give you fever when you kiss them
Cats make you feel feverish when you kiss them
Fever if you live and learn
Passion will always be present, no matter how much you live and learn
Fever till you sizzle
Passion will continue until it becomes too much to handle
What a lovely way to burn
What a beautiful and intense way to feel love and passion
What a lovely way to burn
What a beautiful and intense way to feel love and passion
What a lovely way to burn
What a beautiful and intense way to feel love and passion
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: NICHOLAS EDWARD JAMES HALLAM, ROBERT BIRCH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind