Toots & The Maytals - Sweet and Dandy (1969)

Toots Hibbert, a father of reggae, is dead - rest in peace!

The first to use the word reggae on a record, he sang in a soulful tone and wrote songs with subtle social commentary, helping bring the sounds of Jamaica to the world. He died on 11 September 2020 in Kingston, Jamaica. He was believed to be 77. His death, in a hospital, was announced on the social media accounts of his band, Toots and the Maytals. No cause was specified, but he was recently reported to have been hospitalized with Covid-like symptoms.

Although the original incarnation of Toots & the Maytals (Toots Hibbert, Nathaniel "Jerry" McCarthy, and Raleigh Gordon) parted ways in 1981, between the years 1964 and 1974 they managed to assemble one of the most highly charged and distinctive bodies of work in the history of Jamaican music. Led by Toots' Kingston-by-way-of-Memphis lead vocals and the ragged call-and-response background singing of McCarthy and Gordon, the trio created gospel-fueled reggae classics like "Bam Bam," "54-46 Was My Number," "Monkey Man," "Sweet and Dandy," "Pomps and Pride," "Funky Kingston," "Time Tough," and the immortal "Pressure Drop," all of which carried the stomp and wallop of the best and most enduring soul music of the day.


Tracklist:

A1 Monkey Man
A2 Pressure Drop
A3 I Shall Be Free
A4 Bla, Bla, Bla
A5 Just Tell Me
A6 We Shall Overcome
B1 Sweet & Dandy
B2 Scare Him
B3 Alidina
B4 I Need Your Love
B5 54-46 - That's My Number
B6 Oh Yea

Toots & The Maytals - Sweet and Dandy (1969)

(320 kbps, cover art included)