‘Toots’ didn’t think ‘Bam Bam’ could win in 1966 - Returns with ‘Rise Up Jamaica’
Published:Sunday | July 19, 2020 | 12:00 AMYasmine Peru - Senior Gleaner Writer
Three-time Festival Song winners Toots and the Maytals could very well notch up a fourth victory if their song in this year’s contest secures the most votes from a very discerning public. But, honestly, Frederick ‘Toots’ Hibbert, the frontman for the group that won the inaugural competition over half a century ago, isn’t all that concerned about winning this time around. Having mellowed, like fine wine, the still super active Toots is focused on helping to build back a competition that once enjoyed pride of place in the hearts and minds of the Jamaican people at home and across the diaspora.
“I did not want to enter at all because I really did not have the time. So when some very important people – and I will not call any names – called me about submitting a Festival Song, I was going to turn it down because this is a really bad time for me as I am putting together an album and things like that. But afterwards, my engineer, Nigel [Burrell], said he had the song from three years ago, and then we couldn’t find a singer, so here I am with Rise Up Jamaica,” Toots told The Sunday Gleaner.
Rise Up Jamaica rings loudly with patriotism, quite unlike his 1966 winning entry, Bam Bam, which was, on the surface, just a really cool song but which is said to have revolutionised reggae music and was sung on a ‘riddim’ that would go on to become a classic. Also, once Toots and the Maytals introduced the phrase “bam bam” into the music lexicon, it became so catchy and hypnotic that, over the decades, those two words have taken on an almost cult-like status in the culture. An enthusiastic blogger who goes by the name Townman1, commenting under a YouTube video of the Byron Lee-produced track, said, “I can tell you that when this tune dropped, it took the entire island by surprise. It was like a hurricane, everyone knew the lyrics.”
Toots told The Sunday Gleaner that as a young man 54 years ago, he had no idea that the group would have won the competition with Bam Bam. “I never think we were going to win. I felt out of sight when the announcement was made!” he said with a loud laugh. “We just sing a song, and people liked it,” he added modestly. The group, then known as The Maytals, would go on to win again in 1969 with Sweet and Dandy. They secured their third victory as Toots and the Maytals in 1972 with the popular Pomps and Pride.
Although things and times have changed – for better and for worse – Toots is enjoying the experience of representing his country, despite it being during a COVID-19 era of upheaval and uncertainty.
Excellent experience
“The experience is very excellent. I am not allowing the germs from over there to affect me. You call it coronavirus, I call it germs,” he told The Sunday Gleaner.
“One of the main differences between now and then is that the ‘now’ people have to vote. Voting, voting, voting. If the song is good, it don’t need nuh vote,” he declared. “Maybe I’ll get a few, if some of my friends decide to vote for me,” he chuckled.
Toots says he is looking forward to today’s presentation show, which will be broadcast live on TVJ. “Well, I am not ready for anybody other than myself. But it will be entertaining,” said the man who is known across the globe for his engaging hours-long performances.
All 10 finalists in this year’s competition will showcase their entries today. They are Buju Banton ( I am a Jamaican), Freddie McGregor ( Tun up Di Sound), Toots and the Maytals ( Rise Up Jamaica), Papa Michigan ( Jamaica Dance), LUST ( Wave Di Flag), Odonald ‘Radix OD’ Haughton ( The Place to Be), Oneil ‘Nazzle Man’ Scott ( Jamaica Nice), Sakina Deer ( We Are Jamaica), Shuga ( One People), and William ‘Xtra Bigg’ Nembhard ( Jamaica a Paradise). The songs, for the first time, are available on online platforms such as Amazon, Spotify, Apple Music, and Deezer. The public, including the diaspora, will decide the winner of the competition by text-to-vote. Voting officially began on Sunday, July 12, and ends on Sunday, July 26.
Asked if he had a special message for his fans, the affable Toots certainly did. “This is Toots and the Maytals. As you can see, I am more than one person. I wanna say, stand up and take a stand. We are all God’s people, and we must live as one. This is the truth. Stand up. Rise up, Jamaica,” were his parting words.