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.
Start Me Up
Toots and The Maytals Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
If you start me up I'll never stop
You can start me up,
You can start me up I'll never stop
I've been running hot
You got me just about to blow my top
You can start me up, you can start me up,
You make a grown man cry,
You make a grown man cry
You make a grown man cry,
Spread out the oil, the gasoline
I walk smooth ride in a mean, mean machine
Start it up
You can start me up
Kick on the starter, give it all you've got
(you got, you got)
I can't compete
With the riders in the other heats
If you rough it up
If you like it you can slit it up, slide it up
Slide it up, slide it up
Don't make a grown man cry,
Don't make a grown man cry
Don't make a grown man cry,
My eyes dilate, my lips go green
My hands are greasy, she's a mean, mean machine
Start it up
Start me up
Ah, you've got to, you've got to
Never, never, never stop
Start it up
Ah, start it up, never, never, never
You make a grown man cry
You make a grown man cry
You make a grown man cry
Ride like the wind, at double speed
I'll take you places that you've never, never seen
It you start it up,
Love the day when we will never stop
Never stop, never, never, never stop
Tough me up
Never stop, never stop
You, you, you make a grown man cry
You, you make a dead man come,
You, you, you make a dead man come
The lyrics “If you start me up, If you start me up I'll never stop” suggest that the singer is ready to take on a challenge and once they start, they won’t be able to stop. The singer is offering themselves to be accessed with full force as seen when they say "Kick on the starter, give it all you've got." The singer is feeling intense passion and energy, they are "running hot," and they feel like they’re about to "blow [their] top,” but they want someone else to ignite them, to push them to their limits. The line “You make a grown man cry” suggests that whoever is pushing them is doing so in a way that is thrilling and challenging. The singer is prepared to be toughened up and taken to places they have never been before.
The line “Spread out the oil, the gasoline. I walk smooth ride in a mean, mean machine” implies that the singer considers themselves to be a machine or a vehicle, ready to be powered up and driven forwards. They are like a finely-tuned engine, trusting whoever is behind the wheel to handle them well. The line "You make a grown man cry, Don't make a grown man cry" suggests that they are pushing themselves to their limits, but they still can’t help feeling the intensity of the experience to the point of crying.
Line by Line Meaning
If you start me up,
If you get me going,
If you start me up I'll never stop
I'll keep going forever.
You can start me up,
You have the power to get me going,
You can start me up I'll never stop
And I won't quit until you tell me to.
I've been running hot
I'm already fired up,
You got me just about to blow my top
And I'm so close to losing control.
You make a grown man cry,
You have such an effect on me,
You make a grown man cry
That it brings me to tears.
You make a grown man cry,
You have such an effect on me,
Spread out the oil, the gasoline
Let's prepare the car for a ride,
I walk smooth ride in a mean, mean machine
And I know how to handle it well.
Start it up
Let's get it going,
You can start me up
You have the power to get me going,
Kick on the starter, give it all you've got
So let's start the car and put everything into it.
(you got, you got)
(you have it, you have it)
I can't compete
I can't match,
With the riders in the other heats
The competition is too tough for me.
If you rough it up
If you want to make things harder,
If you like it you can slit it up, slide it up
We can make it as exciting as you want.
Slide it up, slide it up
Make it more thrilling even further,
Don't make a grown man cry,
Just don't do anything to hurt me,
Don't make a grown man cry
Or I will break down emotionally.
Don't make a grown man cry,
Just don't do anything to hurt me,
My eyes dilate, my lips go green
I am overwhelmed with emotion,
My hands are greasy, she's a mean, mean machine
And I am trying to control myself while handling the car.
Start it up
Let's get started,
Start me up
Let me be your guide to this ride,
Ah, you've got to, you've got to
You must,
Never, never, never stop
And we cannot stop until we reach the end.
Ah, start it up, never, never, never
So let's keep going forever.
You make a grown man cry
You have such an effect on me,
You make a grown man cry
That it brings me to tears.
You make a grown man cry
You have such an effect on me,
Ride like the wind, at double speed
We will go very fast on this ride,
I'll take you places that you've never, never seen
And I'll lead you to new experiences.
It you start it up,
If you get me going,
Love the day when we will never stop
We will enjoy the ride forever.
Never stop, never, never, never stop
We will keep going, no matter what happens.
Tough me up
Make me stronger,
Never stop, never stop
And keep going, no matter what.
You, you, you make a grown man cry
You have such an effect on me,
You, you make a dead man come,
That it's almost as if you can bring me back to life.
You, you, you make a dead man come
You have such an effect on me,
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Mick Jagger, Keith Richards
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@c.martinbarraza3007
Nobody knows Keith thought Start me Up first as a Reggae. And they're great friends of Keith. Great version, indeed. Lovely
@NJtoTX
"We did like 45 versions of Start Me Up, and 44 of them were reggae." -
Keith Richards, 1989
@floepiejane
THIS is the best cover ever!!! HUGE improvement. Wow.
@ivanafterfive
I so love this band! And here's one more reason why!
@hipponations
Well done, great version.
@GFabio2011
You guys play a nice reggae version of a song which, when it was first conceived, was meant to be a reggae song. It is only a shame that you do not have any footage of your performance. Please watch the cover version of this song by Crash Course CH on my channel, we would very much appreciate it. And btw, liked!
@c.martinbarraza3007
Man of culture, indeed
@lauralee2414
Ah, Toots & the Maytals can do no wrong!
@Auroragemz
Agreed!! They are legendary
@skellyskelly1958
This is superb, speeded up and done with added Jamaican spice . . . N!CE MAN!