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Celebrating Toots’ 79th anniversary of birth

Published:Friday | December 10, 2021 | 12:08 AM
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Frederick Nathaniel ‘Toots’ Hibbert, late frontman of Toots and the Maytals, would have celebrated his 79th birthday on Wednesday.
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Frederick Nathaniel ‘Toots’ Hibbert, late frontman of Toots and the Maytals, would have celebrated his 79th birthday on Wednesday.
Last year, Cressida Rattigan, the granddaughter of the late Frederick Nathaniel ‘Toots’ Hibbert, had her personal balloon tribute at the National Heroes Park to mark the 78th birthday of the reggae legend.
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Last year, Cressida Rattigan, the granddaughter of the late Frederick Nathaniel ‘Toots’ Hibbert, had her personal balloon tribute at the National Heroes Park to mark the 78th birthday of the reggae legend.
Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport Olivia Grange shares lens with Cressida Rattigan, the granddaughter of the late Frederick Nathaniel ‘Toots’ Hibbert.
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Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport Olivia Grange shares lens with Cressida Rattigan, the granddaughter of the late Frederick Nathaniel ‘Toots’ Hibbert.
Culture Minister Olivia Grange lays a floral arrangement at the shrine of the late Frederick Nathaniel ‘Toots’ Hibbert last Wednesday at the National Heroes Park in Kingston. Standing with Grange are (from left) Cressida Rattigan, Toots’ granddaughte
Contributed
Culture Minister Olivia Grange lays a floral arrangement at the shrine of the late Frederick Nathaniel ‘Toots’ Hibbert last Wednesday at the National Heroes Park in Kingston. Standing with Grange are (from left) Cressida Rattigan, Toots’ granddaughter; Howard McIntosh, chairman of the Entertainment Advisory Board; Ewan Simpson, chairman of the Jamaica Reggae Industry Association, and Woman Constable Melonie Blair.
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Reggae icon Frederick ‘Toots’ Hibbert would have celebrated his 79th birthday on Wednesday, December 8. In celebration of this event, the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission, an agency of the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, hosted a floral tribute at his resting place at the National Heroes Park in Kingston.

Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport Olivia Grange laid the tribute and gave remarks in remembrance of the late reggae icon. Representing the family was his granddaughter Cressida Rattigan, the vice-president of Toots Foundation and the co-executor of his estate, who, last year, released balloons at the park.

In reflecting on Toots last year, Rattigan noted, “In recent years, my granddad would throw himself these impromptu birthday parties. He just loved having people around and sharing good food and times with them, and they always showed up for him and his birthday. Grandpa, you were truly one of a kind, a real rock star, to say the least. I know heaven has gained a lot more rhythm and musicality to last forever.”

Toots, the lead singer and songwriter for the reggae and ska band Toots and the Maytals, was one of the genre’s foundational figures. A pioneer, he performed for six decades and helped establish some of the fundamentals of reggae music.

A prolific hitmaker from the sixties, Toots’ landmark album , Funky Kingston, turned him into a global superstar, and soon he was opening for supergroups such as The Who and the Eagles. A two-time Grammy winner, Toots released his final album, Got To Be Tough, on the Trojan Jamaica label in August 2020, one month before his death. The set subsequently won the Grammy award for Best Reggae Album that year.

On September 11, 2020, the beloved singer, songwriter and frontman of the ska and reggae band Toots and the Maytals made his transition. The reggae pioneer, who had toured consistently for six decades and who was credited with naming the genre, with his song Do the Reggay, passed away at the University Hospital of the West Indies, St Andrew. He was 77.

Toots’ manager, Cabel ‘Jeffrey’ Stephenson, hailed the man whom he affectionately called ‘Fyahball’ for his tenacity, his professionalism and for leaving a body of work that will thrill generations to come.