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.
Peace Perfect Peace
Toots and The Maytals Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Everybody's talking about
Bagism, Shagism, Dragism, Madism, Ragism, Tagism
This-ism, that-ism, is-m, is-m, is-m.
All we are saying is give peace a chance
All we are saying is give peace a chance
Everybody's talking about Ministers,
Sinisters, Banisters and canisters
Bishops and Fishops and Rabbis and Pop eyes,
And bye bye, bye byes.
All we are saying is give peace a chance
All we are saying is give peace a chance
Let me tell you now
Everybody's talking about
Revolution, evolution, masturbation,
Flagellation, regulation, integrations,
Meditations, United Nations,
Congratulations.
All we are saying is give peace a chance
All we are saying is give peace a chance
Everybody's talking about
John and Yoko, Timmy Leary, Rosemary,
Tommy Smothers, Bobby Dylan, Tommy Cooper,
Derek Taylor, Norman Mailer,
Alan Ginsberg, Hare Krishna,
Hare, Hare Krishna
All we are saying is give peace a chance
All we are saying is give peace a chance
Toots and The Maytals's song "Give Peace a Chance" is a cover of John Lennon's iconic song of the same title. The song begins with Toots and his group mocking the endless "isms" and "ists" that fill up our everyday conversations. They list Bagism, Shagism, Dragism, Madism, Ragism, Tagism, among others, and suggest that all we need is to give peace a chance. The song is a call for people to come together and focus on the bigger picture, which is peace. They urge individuals to stop getting caught up in the small things that divide us and work towards a common goal of peace.
In the second verse, Toots and the group mention Ministers, Sinisters, Banisters and canisters, Bishops and Fishops, Rabbis, and Pop eyes. They are essentially saying that everyone talks, but nothing gets done about peace. The song also mentions various activities such as revolution, evolution, masturbation, flagellation, regulation, integration, meditation, United Nations, and congratulations. Toots implies that people need to start doing something instead of just talking about it.
The final verse mentions various personalities such as John and Yoko, Timmy Leary, Rosemary, Tommy Smothers, Bobby Dylan, Tommy Cooper, Derek Taylor, Norman Mailer, Alan Ginsberg, and Hare Krishna. Toots is essentially saying that everyone talks about peace, but no one truly puts in the work to achieve peace. By mentioning these people, Toots is also placing emphasis on the fact that peace is not just something that we should strive for as individuals, but it should be something that the whole world should work towards.
Overall, "Give Peace a Chance" is a call for action from Toots and the Maytals. The song suggests that everyone should set aside their differences and work together to achieve peace. It also highlights how people tend to talk about peace but do nothing about it. Toots is urging people to stop talking and start doing something about it.
Line by Line Meaning
Two, one two three four
Starting off with a classic countdown of a band getting ready to play music.
Everybody's talking about
Bagism, Shagism, Dragism, Madism, Ragism, Tagism
This-ism, that-ism, is-m, is-m, is-m.
People are always talking about different things such as various ideas, movements, and trends labeled by different -isms.
All we are saying is give peace a chance
All we are saying is give peace a chance
The only request from Toots and The Maytals is for everyone to give peace a chance.
C'mon
Everybody's talking about Ministers,
Sinisters, Banisters and canisters
Bishops and Fishops and Rabbis and Pop eyes,
And bye bye, bye byes.
People are also busy talking about different heads of institutions like religious leaders, politicians, and bureaucrats.
Let me tell you now
Everybody's talking about
Revolution, evolution, masturbation,
Flagellation, regulation, integrations,
Meditations, United Nations,
Congratulations.
People talk about various things like big changes in society, personal growth, and praise for accomplishments.
All we are saying is give peace a chance
All we are saying is give peace a chance
Again, the message is clear. All that is being asked is for everyone to give peace a chance, regardless of the various things people discuss.
Everybody's talking about
John and Yoko, Timmy Leary, Rosemary,
Tommy Smothers, Bobby Dylan, Tommy Cooper,
Derek Taylor, Norman Mailer,
Alan Ginsberg, Hare Krishna,
Hare, Hare Krishna
Besides discussing different isms, institutions, and topics, people also talk about famous people, cultural icons, and even religious figures.
All we are saying is give peace a chance
All we are saying is give peace a chance
The song closes with the repeated call for peace and the hope that it will be given a chance.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: John Lennon
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@anniefranklin9853
So sad today. Thankyou so much for the years of wonderful music. Rest in Power. 🙏🏽
@nelsontiger3237
thenks 4 yo coment anniel
@siosaiapupua8943
RIP Toots, thanks for the memories, in 1989 I took my nephew (11yrs old) to see you and I brought him all the way to the front and lift him on stage and you gave him the chance to dance on stage with you, for that unforgettable memory I salute, miss 'n love you always and your music Toots🥰. Nephew Johnny let me know if you see this, please comment and pay your respects to Toots🙏💖
@tedcrawford4888
How could you give this song a thumbs down I pray for you and wish love and peace in your soul
@thembasepotokele6575
Still relevant today and tomorrow. Evergreen.
@vukaningcobo5680
This song goes to the very core of my soul. Been looking for it for years , didn't know the title
@nelsontiger3237
no water can cool the fire
@sifisosibiya135
No water can cool this fire,only the Lord can save us.We need more love in this community.
@BubblePi
Forgot about this wonderful tune. Rest in complete peace rastaman 🤎
@gracep1213
Rest in Peace Toots. This song, this music, is so moving. I can’t describe how it makes me feel inside. I keep playing it over and over, very moving. Having goose pimples...💕💖⭐️ 🌻.