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.

Sweet and Dandy
Toots and The Maytals Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Etty in the room a cry
Mama say she must wipe her eye
Papa say she no fi foolish
Like she never been to school at all
It is no wonder
It's a perfect pander
While they were dancing in that bar room last night

Johnson in the room afret
Uncle say he must hold up him head
Aunty say she no fi foolish
Like a no time fi him wedding day
It is no wonder
It's a perfect pander
While they were dancing in that bar room last night
One pound ten for the wedding cake
Plenty bottle of cola wine
All the people them dress up in a white
Fi go eat out Johnson wedding cake
It is no wonder
It's a perfect pander
While they were dancing in that bar room last night, yeah, yeah

Etty in the room a cry
Mama say she must wipe her eye
Papa say she no fi foolish
Like she never been to school at all
It is no wonder
It's a perfect pander
While they were dancing in that bar room last night

Johnson in the room afret
Uncle say he must hold up him head
Aunty say she no fi foolish

Like a no time fi him wedding day
It is no wonder
It's a perfect pander
While they were dancing in that bar room last night
One pound ten for the wedding cake
Plenty bottle of cola wine
All the people them dress up in a white
Fi go eat out Johnson wedding cake
It is no wonder
It's a perfect pander
While they were dancing in that bar room last night, yeah, yeah

Yeah there was sweet and dandy
Sweet and dandy
Sweet and dandy
Sweet and dandy
Sweet and dandy
Sweet and dandy
Sweet and dandy
Oh, sweet and dandy
There was sweet and dandy
There was sweet and dandy
There was sweet and dandy
There was sweet and dandy
There was sweet and dandy, sweet and dandy
Sweet and dandy, sweet and dandy

Overall Meaning

In the lyrics of the song Sweet and Dandy by Toots and The Maytals, we see the portrayal of two different scenarios. The first scenario involves a girl named Etty who is crying, and her parents telling her not to act foolishly. The second scenario is about Johnson, who is anxious on his wedding day, and his relatives telling him to hold his head up high and not to act foolish. In both situations, the individuals are being told to act in a certain way by those around them. Meanwhile, the refrain repeats, "Sweet and Dandy," which is a reference to the happy and enjoyable atmosphere of a wedding.

The lyrics of the song Sweet and Dandy explore the themes of societal pressure and the expectations put upon individuals. Both scenarios presented in the song show how individuals, whether it be Etty or Johnson, are expected to behave a certain way by those around them. They are told not to act foolishly, as if they have a certain reputation or standard to uphold. The song also highlights the joyous atmosphere of a wedding, with references made to a wedding cake, cola wine and guests in white. The refrain of "Sweet and Dandy" reinforces this happy and fun mood.

Line by Line Meaning

Etty in the room a cry
Etty is in the room crying

Mama say she must wipe her eye
Mama says that Etty should wipe her tears

Papa say she no fi foolish
Papa says that Etty shouldn't act foolish

Like she never been to school at all
Papa thinks that Etty is acting like she hasn't been to school

It is no wonder
It's not surprising

It's a perfect pander
It's the perfect situation for pleasing others

While they were dancing in that bar room last night
This all happened while they were dancing in the bar room the night before

Johnson in the room afret
Johnson is in the room nervous

Uncle say he must hold up him head
Uncle tells Johnson to hold his head up high

Aunty say she no fi foolish
Aunty tells Johnson not to act foolish

Like a no time fi him wedding day
Aunty says that it's not like it's his wedding day