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.
She's My Scorcher
Toots and The Maytals Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
No one ever should have let she be
I said, turn her back, turn her back and don't let her go
No one ever should have let she be
No one could believe that a girl like that
She looks so real yet she makes me grieve
But she's my scorcher, yeah, yeah, yeah
She's got a burner, burner, burner, burner, burner, burner
Got balls of fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire
She's got a burner, she's, she's, she's, she's, she's, she's, she's
She's got got balls of fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire
I said turn her back, turn her back and don't let her go, yeah
No one ever should have let she be, yeah, yeah
Turn her back, turn her back and don't let her go
No one ever should have let she be
No one could believe that a girl like that
Who looks so real yet she makes me grieve
But she's my scorcher, I love love her
I love love her, I love love her
Yes she's my scorcher, yeah, yeah, yeah
She's got a burner, yeah, yeah, yeah
The lyrics of Toots and The Maytals's song "She's My Scorcher" are about a woman who is dazzling and captivating, but also dangerous and explosive like fire. The singer tells someone to turn her back and not let her go, as she should never have been let out in the first place. He describes her as having a "burner" and "balls of fire," which symbolize her passionate and wild nature. Despite acknowledging the risk that comes with being with her, the singer cannot resist her and declares his love for her.
The lyrics can be interpreted as a warning about the danger of being with someone who is unpredictable and potentially destructive. The woman represents a force of nature that cannot be tamed or controlled, and the singer recognizes the risk that comes with being with her. However, he is also drawn to her irresistible energy and is willing to take the risk because he loves her.
Overall, the lyrics of "She's My Scorcher" convey the idea that passion and danger often come hand in hand, and that sometimes it is worth taking the risk to experience intense emotions.
Line by Line Meaning
I said, turn her back, turn her back and don't let her go
I warned you to turn her away and never let her leave
No one ever should have let she be
It was a mistake to have allowed her to be around
No one could believe that a girl like that
She's so amazing that it's hard to believe she exists
She looks so real yet she makes me grieve
She's so beautiful that it hurts, but she causes me pain
But she's my scorcher, yeah, yeah, yeah
Despite everything, she's the one for me
Yes she's my scorcher, yeah, yeah, yeah
I love her, she's my everything
She's got a burner, burner, burner, burner, burner, burner
She's on fire, full of passion and energy
Got balls of fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire
She's bold, daring, and unstoppable
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: FREDERICK HIBBERT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@lduranceau8046
I've always loved this version of the song since 1970. Beautiful Reggae beat. We'll always love you Toots and the Maytals.
@mattwolf3929
Going to see them tonight for the first time!!
@soibiwest8100
Matt Wolf they’re still alive?
@mattwolf3929
Well, I know Toots is!!
@unseenseer
RIP
@uduakukekpe4353
So he's gone? Hearing this one for the first time. Rest in peace the peaceful one. The Go Like man.
@ChristopherCribbs
Even the Jamaicans don't know half of the Maytals songs. She IS my Scorcher though. Both of them.
@racketman2u
nice chune!