Jamaica is in mourning.
Reggae pioneer Toots Hibbert died Friday September 11 in Kingston at the age of 77.
The cause of death has not been specified, reports AFP, but Toots Hibbert had been admitted to the hospital where he
"awaited the results of a Covid-19 test"
, in the words of his entourage.
Of
"respiratory complications"
had then need an artificial coma.
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Toots Hibbert, whose real name is Frederick Nathaniel Hibbert, was born on December 8, 1942, in May Pen in a family of eight offspring.
He spent his childhood in this city in central Jamaica.
It was while singing in the local parish that the boy discovered his passion for music.
In the late 1950s, after the death of his parents, he moved to the capital, Kingston.
There, next to his odd job as a hairdresser, he joins forces with two other singers: Henry "Raleigh" Gordon and Nathaniel "Jerry" Mathias.
The Maytals was born.
In 1964, they released their first album, very inspired by the rhythms of gospel:
I'll Never Grow Old
.
The invention of the name "reggae"
In 1968, Toots Hibbert and his friends sang
Do the Reggay
.
The official birth certificate, without being the invention, of this genre with a well-recognizable rhythm, an evolution of ska and rocksteady then so popular on the island.
The importance given to the voice is increased, that of the keyboards too.
To create the word “reggae”, Toots Hibbert says he was inspired, without thinking too much, by the slang word “streggae”, which designates a poorly dressed man or woman.
The success of the three boys increases on the island.
Until the advent of Bob Marley, they were the main reggae group in Jamaica.
In 1969, the group released their hit,
Pressure Drop
, which would be used in
The Harder They Come
.
Detective film which greatly contributes to the dissemination of reggae in the United States.
Soon The Maytals performed on stage at the Roxy Theater in Los Angeles, giving concerts across America and Europe.
The
1973
Funk Kingston
album
marked the start of a flourishing decade for them.
Master Otis Redding
The two that followed were less so.
The group broke up in 1981 after the record
Knock Out
.
It was not until 1998 that Toots Hibbert found a certain success, thanks to the album
Ska Father
.
In 2005,
True Love
, a compilation of historical hits sung as a duet (with Eric Clapton or Jeff Beck), received a Grammy Award.
In 2007, he took over
Pain in My Heart
by the immense Otis Redding, to whom he has often been compared for the power of his voice.
In 2011, he played in Saint-Barth for billionaire Roman Abramovich's New Year, alongside the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
At the same time,
Rolling Stone
magazine
ranked him among the hundred greatest singers in history.
A bottle thrown in his face during a concert in 2013 kept him away from the stage for three years.
Two years ago, Toots Hibberts performed on the set of the “Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon”.
Upon the announcement of his death, the bereaved testimonies were not long in coming.
Notably that of Bob Marley's son, Ziggy, who considered him
"a spiritual father"
, and Mick Jagger.
"He had such power in his voice ... He gave all his energy on stage,"
wrote the rock legend on Twitter.
This is not the least of the tributes.