Rolling Stones, Jimmy Cliff, Skatalites, No Doubt, Blondie & more pay tribute to Toots Hibbert

BlondieAndrew Sacher
Rolling Stones, Jimmy Cliff, Skatalites, No Doubt, Blondie & more pay tribute to Toots Hibbert
Newport Folk Festival 2018 - Sunday
photo by P Squared

Following the news that reggae/ska/rocksteady legend Toots Hibbert of Toots and the Maytals passed away, the music world has come together to pay tribute.

Mick Jagger tweeted, “So sad to hear of Toots Hibbert’s passing. 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.” He also added to told Rolling Stone, “He was a great singer with a really powerful voice who influenced everyone in the early days of reggae. He was a great stage performer. So full of energy and vitality always giving a top class performance that I was lucky enough to witness.”

Keith Richards wrote, “A sad day for Jamaica music. Toots was a giant. I loved working with him. I loved hanging with him. I will always miss him. My deepest condolences to the Hibbert family.”

Mick and Keith’s Rolling Stones bandmate Ronnie Wood added, “I’d like to send my condolences to the Hibbert family for my dear friend Toots Hibbert who passed away on Friday. I have very happy memories of playing with him, a lovely man and a great talent.”

Fellow reggae legend Jimmy Cliff penned a lengthy tribute for Rolling Stone, which reads in part:

Toots, he’s out there somewhere now vibrating. Toots was one of the artists that I really loved and respected, because way back in the days, Toots was one of the people that got me into smoking herbs. They used to laugh at me, ‘Hey, take a draw, man.’ He was such a creative artist. People don’t know how creative he is. He’d start talking about something, then he’d take up a guitar and put [the song] down right away. That was one of the great things I’ll always remember about him, how creative he was.

Toots man, the world will always remember him. He has that amazing, unique voice. Back in the days when we used to do shows all over Jamaica — we had our little competition with each other, but it was all fun because we inspired each other — I used to sing some Otis Redding songs in my act, and the artists that were more inspirational to [Hibbert] were like Ray Charles. But after those shows, he became so taken up with Otis Redding that he started singing Otis Redding songs, and then he wrote this great song, a huge hit in Jamaica, called “Daddy.”

[…] And his new album [Got to Be Tough]. I love his new album! His new album is one of the best he’s done. He just leaved us with that great album, and gone! It’s one of his best definitely, without a doubt. He had some great songs prior to this, but it took him so long to make this new album. But he left us with something great.

Read the rest of Jimmy Cliff’s tribute here.

Ska legends The Skatalites wrote, “We are waking up to the terrible news that Toots Hibbert passed away. A tragic loss to us all. Our hearts go out to all his friends, family and fans. Thank you for your life and the music you gave the world. May you Rest In Peace brother x.”

The Who wrote, “Rest in peace Frederick ‘Toots’ Hibbert, 1942-2020. Toots and the Maytals supported The Who on their 1975 US tour. Toots released a new album, Got To Be Tough, last month on the Trojan Jamaica label.”

The Twitter account for the late Peter Tosh wrote:

https://twitter.com/PeterTosh/status/1305281912345432065

Rancid’s Lars Frederiksen wrote, “I heard Toots sing for the first time in 1979-1980. So much soul in his voice. The dude had pipes. I got to see him perform on multiple occasions in multiple different countries and was moved every time. His mic control was insane. Old school. I spray painted the names of his songs on my button downs like a badge of honor. It was. RIP.”

Ziggy Marley wrote:

The Legendary Toots Hibbert has passed i spoke with him a few weeks ago told him how much i loved him and what he means to me, we laughed and shared our mutual respect . i am fully in sorrow tonight i will miss his smile and laughter his genuine nature @tootsmaytalsofficial was a father figure to me his spirit is with us his music fills us with his energy i will never forget him. #foundingfather

RIP TO THE MIGHTY AND POWERFUL NYAH FYAH BALL ❤️💚💛. JAH RASTAFAR I 😢😢😢

See more tributes — from No Doubt, Blondie, Willie Nelson, Yusuf / Cat Stevens, Massive Attack, UB40, Cedella Marley, Jeff Rosenstock, The Pietasters, Reel Big Fish, Phish’s Trey Anastasio, John Cusack, Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness, and more — below…

https://www.instagram.com/p/CFBqLrsJfke/?igshid=1w7w1lxfh5wy9

Tags: Blondie, Cat stevens, Cedella marley, Jeff rosenstock, Jimmy cliff, John cusack, Keith richards, Lars frederiksen, Massive attack, Mick jagger, No doubt, Peter tosh, Phish, Rancid, Reel big fish, Ronnie wood, The pietasters, The rolling stones, The who, Toots and the maytals, Toots hibbert, Trey anastasio, Ub40, Willie nelson, Ziggy marley