Last Updated on September 12, 2020, 8:09 AM AST by Anthony Morris
Frederick Nathaniel “Toots” Hibbert, Jamaican reggae legend has died at the age of 77 years, Toots and The Maytals, his band said in a statement.
The University Hospital of the West Indies said on Friday in a Twitter statement that Hibbert “passed away peacefully” in Jamaica “surrounded by his family”.
The cause of Hibbert’s death has not yet been announced; the band said on September 3 that Hibbert had been taken to ICU and he was waiting to receive the results of a coronavirus test.
Saturday’s statement said that the family and the management team would like to thank the medical professionals and teams for their diligence and care.
The statement added that his 39-year-old wife and seven survive Hibbert out of his eight children.
The reggae label which released albums by Toots And The Maytals, Trojan Records, was among the ones paying tribute to Hibbert.
It said in a statement that they are very sad after hearing of the passing of Toots. He was a true pioneer who changed lives and brought a lot of joy through his music. A true legend has been lost. His music would live on forever.
The death of Hibbert came weeks after the band released “Got To Be Tough,” which is its first album in over a decade.
The son of reggae star Bob Marley, Ziggy Marley, contributed to the recent album of Toots and The Maytals, featuring on a cover of “Three Little Birds” which is a song of his late father.
Marley tweeted while paying his respects to Hibbert on social media, that he sees the musician as a “father figure,” and added that he would never forget Hibbert.
Marley also said that the pair had spoken a few weeks before Hibbert’s death.
Toots and The Maytals’ hits include “Pressure Drop,” “Monkey Man” and “Do The Reggay,” the last of which is said to have given the genre its name.
Anthony Morris covers stories related to politics and regional developments. His in-depth reporting about governance and reforms makes him stand out in regional journalism, with a deep analysis of political trends and their impact on Caribbean communities.
