After news of Frederick Nathaniel “Toots” Hibbert’s death broke on Friday night, musicians took to social media to pay respect and share memories of the iconic Toots and the Maytals singer.
“So sad to hear of Toots Hibbert’s passing,” Mick Jagger wrote on Twitter. “When I first heard Pressure Drop that was a big moment – he had such a powerful voice and on stage he always gave the audience his total energy. A sad loss to the music world.”
Ziggy Marley called the ska and reggae legend a “father figure” in an emotional post. “The Legendary Toots Hibbert has passed i spoke w/him a few wks ago told him how much i loved him we laughed & shared our mutual respect,” he tweeted. “He was a father figure to me his spirit is w/us his music fills us w/his energy i will never forget him RIP MIGHTY & POWERFUL NYAH FYAH BALL”
The Hibbert family confirmed Toots’ death on his social media channels. “It is with the heaviest of hearts to announce that Frederick Nathaniel ‘Toots’ Hibbert passed away peacefully tonight, surrounded by his family at the University Hospital of the West Indies in Kingston, Jamaica,” the statement said. He was 77 years old.
See more tributes to Toots below.
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I was so sad to wake up this morning and hear about the passing of Toots Hibbert. Like so many people, I’ve loved his music my entire life. It was ubiquitous, playing at parties and gatherings. It felt like an element, like air. In 2003, I was asked to play on Toot’s new album, True Love. I was told that the Maytals were coming to the Barn to record. When Toots and the band arrived for the session, I was nervous and basically speechless. Toots was a ray of light, so kind and welcoming. The guys in the band hovered in the corner, smoking more ganja than I had ever seen consumed. We decided to play Sweet and Dandy. I was a bit mortified and confused as to why such an iconic song should be re-released, but we recorded it, and it was was a thrill. What happened next I will never forget for as long as I live. Toots was supposed to do a song with Willie Nelson, but Willie was not there of course. Toots began searching, playing different Willie songs deafeningly loud through the giant speakers in the barn, while a bunch of us stood next to him by the soundboard. He said that he had to believe every single word in order to sing a song, a lesson I’ll never forget. He heard “Still is Still Moving to Me” and liked the song, and then as I stood watching, he and the Maytals recorded that track, live in the barn. Willie added his vocal after the fact. As long as I live, I will never forget watching it all go down. On playback, the engineer turned the bass ALL the way up. I don’t even know how to describe how booming it was. The bass knob was pinned to the right and the speakers were on 10. I’ve never heard bass that loud in my life. The barn was literally shaking. My guts were shaking. It was incredible. Toots sang his vocal, moving and dancing with his body, embodying every single syllable, like an open tube to the cosmos. Thank you Toots for a lifetime of joy and blessings. Rest In Peace. 📷: @david.corio
A post shared by Trey Anastasio (@treyanastasio) on Sep 12, 2020 at 9:22am PDT
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