The
Maytals
The
Maytals
Of all the brilliant Jamaican vocal trios there can be little doubt that the Maytals were far and away the most impassioned, due largely to the baptist-derived delivery of lead singer Fredrick 'Toots' Hibbert. Their performances on record, spanning over a quarter century, have been among the greatest ever committed to wax in the whole history of Jamaican Music, whether in the ska style of the early sixties or in the later form which came to be known worldwide as 'raggae'.
The grouped formed circa 1961, comprising lead vocalist Toots and backup vocalists Nathaniel 'Jerry' McCarthy and Henry 'Raleigh' Gordon. By 1962 they had begun recording for the renowned producer Clement Dodd. These early sessions were supervised by Lee Perry and brought forth hits from the start. Their first success, "Hallelujah" was, followed by such as "Six and Seven Books of Moses", "Hurry Up", "Hello Honey", "John and James" and others. Their relationship with Dodd ended in 1963, when they teamed up with the mighty Prince Buster. The group offered commentary on their sojourn at Dodd's Studio One label via the disc "Dog War", also known as "Broadway Jungle". Further tunes cut for Buster include "Pain in my Belly", "Beat You Lied", "Domino" and "Little Flea".
By the end of 1964 the trio were recording at Federal Studios for Byron Lee, hitting with tunes like "It's You", "Daddy", and "Never You Change". the group also won the first of their three Jamaican Song Festival victories with "Bam Bam" in 1966. Following Toots jail sentence for possession of jive, the Maytals began recording for producer Leslie Kong. The songs from these sessions are collected on three Trojan LPs; "Monkey Man", "From The Roots" and "Do The Reggae 1966-70". Toots gives a scathing verdict on his jail sentence in the lyrics of both "54-46... That's My Number" and "Struggle", but has obviously regained his confidence in the lyrics of "Reborn" judging by the succinct advise he offers to those that detained him.
With the help of the superb session musicians used by Kong (and other producers of early reggae like Clancy Eccles and Harry Mudie) the trio cut a series of records which exemplify all that is best in first phase of reggae - a fast, chugging and ridiculously tight beat was laid down over which the vocalists delivered their superb call-and-response patterned songs. These performances gave the final knockout punch to the rock steady beat popularised by Duke Reid among others. The Maytals never recorded in that style due to Toots' stay in jail, but it would seem anyway that the leaders' wild, abandoned vocal style would in any case have been unsuitable for the cool rock steady beat.
Through 1968 and 1969 the trio were supreme - classic tunes like "Pressure Drop", "Bla Bla Bla', "She's My Scorcher", "African Doctor" and "Monkey Man" were all cut at this time - and only the Ethiopians, recording for Sir JJ, and the Pioneers, recording for Joe Gibbs, and later for Kong, came anywhere near them. "Bim Today" was second to Desmond Dekker's "Intensified Dirt" in the 1968 Song Contest, and the Maytals won for the second time in 1969 with "Sweet and Dandy". Incidentally the trio can be seen performing this song in the film "The Harder They Come", gaining a global audience in the process. Also included on "Do The Reggae 1966-70" are hits like "Just Tell Me", "Do The Raggay" (sic), which is the first record to feature the name of the new beat in its title, and beautiful cuts like "Hold On" and "Bim Today".
By 1970, Jamaican Music was undergoing further changes; The Wailers, under the aegis of producer Lee Perry had recorded brilliant music of a more rootsy, dread persuasion during 1969/70 and were pointing to one of the directions Jamaican musicians and singers would follow in the new decade. King Tubby's sound system, with deejay U. Roy at the controls, had begun playing dubs of well-known rhythms as the sixties came to a close, indicating two more ways forward. The music would acquire a more menacing, political edge in the years to come, at the same time gaining the largest audience outside Jamaica and the Afro-Caribbean communities in the UK, USA and Canada.
Following Leslie Kongs' death in 1971, the Maytals were produced with varying degrees of success by Warwick Lyn and Chris Blackwell - see for example "Funky Kingston", "In The Dark" and "Slatyam Stoot". Toots performed with enthusiastic crowds all over the USA and Europe, with and without Jerry and Raleigh. It remains true that the music the group made from 1968 to 1970 will endure as long as does Jamaican Music itself. Music this intense and soulful is perhaps made only once or twice in a lifetime, so let the pressure drop on you!
