LEGENDARY musician Frederick Nathaniel “Toots” Hibbert has passed away at the age of 77.
Hibbert fronted influential reggae and ska band Toots & the Maytals from the early 1960s. The group announced he had “passed away peacefully” in Kingston surrounded by his family.
Hibbert is credited with popularising reggae music and even naming the genre itself with the 1968 single “Do the Reggay”. The band’s other hits included Sweet and Dandy and Pressure Drop.
The musician’s cause of death was not confirmed, but he was tested for Covid-19 in the last two weeks and was put into the ICU.
The band and Hibbert’s family released a statement thanking medical staff.
The statement said: “It is with the heaviest of hearts to announce that Frederick Nathaniel ‘Toots’ Hibbert passed away peacefully tonight, surrounded by his family at the University Hospital of the West Indies in Kingston, Jamaica.
“The family and his management team would like to thank the medical teams and professionals for their care and diligence, and ask that you respect their privacy during their time of grief.”
He is survived by his wife of 39 years, Miss D, and seven of his eight children.
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