Toots, Striker Lee viewings today - Both to be buried on Sunday
Published:Friday | November 13, 2020 | 12:16 AM
The bodies of late reggae icon Frederick ‘Toots’ Hibbert and legendary music producer Bunny ‘Striker’ Lee will be on view today at the National Indoor Sports Complex on Arthur Wint Drive in Kingston. The viewings will take place from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and although the bodies will be in the same place, they will be positioned at two separate spaces.
Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport Olivia Grange noted that the contributions of both men to the development of Jamaican music was so tremendous that “we want to ensure that they are both given their due and that their fans get a good chance to pay their respects and say goodbye”.
Minister Grange added that she is appealing to members of the public who attend the viewings to abide by the COVID-19 protocols that will be in place. These include the wearing of masks, social distancing, hand sanitising and temperature checks.
HUNDREDS OF VISITORS
The Anglican Church Hall in May Pen, Clarendon, Toots’ parish of birth, hosted a public viewing of the reggae singer’s body last Wednesday. Hundreds reportedly turned out to pay their respect to the man who was a fantastic musical ambassador, starting from the days of ska, through to rocksteady and reggae. Toots and the Maytals’ 1968 single, Do the Reggay, was the first song to use the word ‘reggae’ and is credited with giving the genre its name.
The family of Bunny Striker Lee shared with The Gleaner that a nine-night will also be held today; however, owing to COVID-19 restrictions and the curfew which is still in place, the scaled-down event is scheduled for in the day, instead of the traditional evening hours. It will take place between noon and 6 p.m.
“The day after the nine-night, we will be having a second viewing of Mr Lee’s body. This will be held on Saturday at Roman’s Funeral Home on Dunrobin Avenue, but that one is for family and close friends. It starts at 10 a.m.,” Annette Wong-Lee, Striker Lee’s widow, added.
A memorial service is scheduled to get under way at Roman’s Chapel at 2 p.m., also on Saturday.
Both Striker Lee and Toots will be buried on Sunday, November 15. Family members confirmed to The Gleaner that Toots’ interment has been moved up to 9 a.m. on Sunday at the National Heroes Park, instead of the previously announced 3 p.m. The interment, in keeping with COVID-19 protocols, is reserved for family members.
“The proceedings will be streamed, so fans can stay at home and watch it,” a Ministry of Culture official said. A 90-minute musical tribute, ‘Toots – Farewell to Cultural Icon’, is also scheduled to be aired on Sunday.
Toots, 77, the frontman for the legendary music group Toots and the Maytals, died in the University Hospital of the West Indies on September 11.
The interment for Bunny ‘Striker’ Lee, the prolific producer to whom many artistes owe their start in the music business, takes place at 11 a.m. at the Dovecot Memorial Park in St Catherine. He will be buried beside his mother, as was his wish. Striker Lee passed away on October 6 after a prolonged illness. He was 79 years old.