Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your accountsSaved for Latersection.
Starkey (Ringo Starrs son) also co-produced and performed on the album.
It was like being in a room with a Buddha
Ben Harper:I love Toots.
He was an absolute musical king.
So, I saw Toots at age 10 at The Roxy.
And it was madness, as you would imagine, in 1979.
There were the rockers, that British punk component, and the straight-up rude-boy component.
Everyone blended perfectly together, and it was super powerful.
Its very tight, and not an ambient mic.
To project on a 58, you literally have to have your mouth on the screen.
Can you imagine seeing him at the age of 10, and then getting to collaborate with him?
Mavis Staples, Solomon Burke, and Toots Hibbert.
Thats it for me, man.
Stick a fork in me, Im cooked.
In the studio, we did Love Gonna Walk Out On Me.
We rehearsed it with just him and I, with Toots on acoustic guitar.
The chorus on the original version is, Love is gonna let me down.
Ive always wished I could change it.
Of course, he didnt need my permission.
But he asked if we could change the chorus because that way, the song would be timeless.
The song is already timeless, but that commitment to songsmith-ing and love …
I was very touched.
Talk about a lesson in songwriting.
I imagine its like being in a room with a Buddha.
He carried a Jedi force that was humbly fierce.
Its gonna take years for me to get used to a world without Toots.
He made me feel a part of dancehall and reggae royalty, and he embraced me.
They didnt think I was authentic, and thought I was just making pop music.
Toots really understood what I was doing, which was breaking barriers and stigmas, and helping the culture.
He was one of the few who really put his arms around me, along with Robbie Shakespeare.
Toots was never that guy.
He made me feel valuable, and a part of this elite group of reggae artists.
No one loved performing more than Toots.
Zak Starkey:Toots recorded very elaborate demos from his studio, Reggae Center, in Kingston.
He sent us about 40 or 50 great fucking songs.
We met with Toots, and told him what we thought, and how it should be done.
Toots played bass and most of the keyboards and organ himself.
He directed us, and sang the guitar parts at me.
I went to L.A. with the Who, and started to edit the tracks.
He said, That one needs a cowbell, this one needs tambourine.
With my dad and music, hes usually right.
Tootss only real notes were to turn his vocals up, and make them drier.
His voice was so good that you didnt need to add anything to it.
How many artists can take credit for naming a genre?
Im a huge fan of Toots to this day.
I was so excited by the response and the reception the music was getting.
Ive been watching this fabulous Bob Marley documentary series on TV, and theres several interview clips with Toots.
I love his whole ambiance and facade.
There was a sweetness to him, and in a way, it reminded me of Flavor Flav.
It was such a great period for new forms of music.
I just fell in love with reggae.
I was smoking a lot of pot, I guess.
We were also big fans of Mighty Sparrow, which was more of a Calypso thing.
All that stuff was coming around, but it wasnt getting a big boost commercially.
Chris Stein (Blondie):I remember seeing [1972s]The Harder They Comeas a midnight movie.
Im still really into reggaeton, those split beats are really sexy to me.
Those slower grooves are still really sexy to me.
Toots was great, man.
He really deserved more of a boost in his lifetime.
Ziggy Marley:Ive known this man for a long time.
I called him father; he was just like mine [Bob Marley] in many ways.
He wasnt the flesh father, but he was the spirit father.
He was the patriarch for the music that I practice and that I love.
Growing up, I remember knowing his music and his albums before meeting him.
He was a great singer, and when we recorded, he just did his thing.
He was full of improvisation, but he doesnt have to do it over and over again.
He would just do it one time.
He wouldnt do multiple takes, or have a go at make it perfect.
It was one time, and thats it.
Powerful voice, man!
And my father and Toots were peers.
There was no rivalry.
They respected each other.
They were all part of the same effort to push the music out of Jamaica to the world.
When Bob sang in Punky Reggae Party, The Maytals will be there!
Thats the respect that Bob had for Toots, and Toots respected Bob.
From what I understand, Toots is the only individual to be allowed to smoke weed onSNL.
Im talking the entire 30 Rock was lit up the entire time.
You could probably have seen smoke coming out of the windows.
I remember it was a big scandal.
But the smoke never went out.
At a certain point, everyone just surrendered.
To my knowledge, he was the only one to ever be allowed to consistently smoke in the building.
And you dont have to ask how good Tootss shit was.
It put Humboldt to shame, and hed mess with you.
Jack looked at me in complete panic, and I was freaking out.
Without missing a beat, Toots started doing the opening hum to Pressure Drop.
He was just fucking with us, and he knew exactly what he was doing.
You could see on our faces that shit had just hit the fan, temporarily.
Toots was trying, in real, everyday ways, to make people feel better.
I was thinking about Brian Wilson, and the enormous pain that he had in his music.
With Toots, that sadness came out in joyfulness, but underneath that joy was so much pain.
His biggest songs, like Pressure Drop or 54-46 Thats My Number, have became all-time party anthems.
But theyre really painful songs.
54-46 was written while he was incarcerated in a low-security facility on a marijuana charge.
He was basically put on ice for nine months.
He had a drive, since he was little, to be generous and help people.
Michael Franti:Toots was always welcoming to other artists, and thats rare.
A lot of artists show up at a festival and want their privacy.
When we were working in Jamaica, his wife would come to the studio and bring food for everyone.
He was just a beautiful spirit.
He invented the term reggae, and how many artists can take credit for naming a genre?
Who invented the term rock and roll?
I dont know who invented the phrase grunge.
Its Bob Marley.
I grabbed every record I could find after that.
Like Ray and Otis, Toots is one of the greatest soul singers Ive ever heard.
That rough, powerful R&B/gospel style just cuts through with equal parts fire and tenderness.
And I was raised by my grandmother, who was a devout Christian woman.
The only music she played besides gospel was Toots and the Maytals.
She always cooked Sunday dinner, so Toots was our Sunday music.
He was her Jamaican artist.
He was a force to be reckoned with in the game.
Along with Jimmy Cliff, they didnt just make great Jamaican music.
They made timeless music.
I grew up knowing Toots was a staple in the game.
Bob Marley was a staple in the game.
You dont say, Toots was dope when he was hot.
Theres no hot-or-cold scenario.
He was one of the warmest, most real people Ive been blessed to know.
I dont know if hell get in posthumously, but its way overdue.
They were hugely influential.
I remember thinking that it was perfect bowling music [laughs].
I saw them only one fucking time, sometime in the 90s.
It was in a bar downtown on lower Broadway.
There were only about a hundred drunk college kids, but it was an amazing show.
In a way it was sad, because they should have been at a much larger venue.
Sadly, it never came out.
Zak Starkey:Hes the greatest musician and songwriter Ive ever known.
Working with him, he was the most fun hang but also the most serious about the music.
He had a symphony in his head, and knew how to get it out of the players.
He had the same kind of energy and life force as Keith Moon, Liam Gallagher or Pete Townshend.
A true force of nature.
We thought he was going to make it, and pull through.
One hundred fucking percent.
Hed do the bump motion and say, Wireless.
As we got to know him, wed just say, Wireless when wed see each other.
That was trademark Toots.
It feels like a cruel twist of fate that he was just gearing up for his comeback.
He never went away, but he was loving the reception this record was getting.
Over rap beats, Toots warns, Got to be smart / living in this time.
Rest in blaring horns and dub sirens, Toots.
I think I know which kind of peace you preferred.
