The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #168548   Message #4071931
Posted By: Gibb Sahib
15-Sep-20 - 07:34 AM
Thread Name: 2020 Obit: Toots Hibbert, frontman of The Maytals
Subject: RE: 2020 Obit: Toots Hibbert, frontman of The Maytals
I was a skinhead and my top music, always and still, is Jamaican music. I don't even say reggae, I just say Jamaican music because "reggae" evokes so much many misrepresentations. It's just a continuum of music. From Revival to the work songs, mento, boogie woogie, the ska, rudie beat, john crow skank, flyers, rockers, steppers, cool 'n' deadly, rub a dub... it never ends! Real Rock riddim, Stalag, Bobby Bobylon, Answer, Heavenless, Bam Bam, Boops, Hot Milk, African Beat! Toots' "Do the Reggay" from 1968 is completely different from "Sweet and Dandy" in 1969. And by the time Bob Marley's touring band froze "reggae" in time, it was something else! Skinheads know the Jamaican oldies better than any other non-Jamaicans. "Skinhead" means "old school JA music fan." Don't let anybody tell you different. Unless you think "Muslims = terrorists" then you know how funny it sounds to a Muslim if a non-Muslim insists she's a terrorist. The style of "Sweet and Dandy" is called "skinhead reggae" in honor of the foreign fans. After 1970 that style ended. After '73 they (Blackwell) had produced Bob Marley for the rock crowd and hippies... got people confused about the values... RIP Toots. He brought the church gospel style of singing while others tried to be crooners. If you want to hear good old time gospel singing, go listen to "John and James". Come for the singing, stay for Lloyd Knibb's drumming.