Toots & the Maytals

While they never achieved the commercial success or cultural impact of the Wailers, Toots & the Maytals were nearly as important in the history of Jamaican music. Like the Wailers, the Maytals thrived as ska gave way to rocksteady and then evolved into reggae, they boasted one of the island's finest singers and most charismatic frontmen in the great Toots Hibbert, and they worked with many of the most important producers and sidemen on the island. The Maytals were also the band that most clearly demonstrated the links between Jamaican sounds and American R&B (Hibbert's rich, emotive vocal style was informed by Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, and other soul icons), and the group's catalog contains a number of crucial, frequently covered tracks, most notably the classic "Pressure Drop." The expanded reissue of 1965's The Sensational Maytals is a fine selection of their early ska sides; 1973's Funky Kingston and 1976's Reggae Got Soul are joyous, muscular classics that belong in any reggae fan's collection; and 1988's Toots in Memphis is a solo effort where Hibbert pays homage to the classic R&B that inspired him.

From 🇯🇲 Jamaica