THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.
291-The Maytals-Monkey Man.
1969-Number 47 single.
Best Bit-At 0.47. This songs writer, and lead singer Toots Hibbert, is responsible for introducing the word ‘Reggae.’
Toots Hibbert was born Frederick Nathaniel Hibbert on December 8th, 1942, in May Pen, Colony of Jamaica, he died of COVID-19 during the pandemic in Jamaica, on September 11th, 2020, at the age of 77. In 2012 he was awarded the ‘Order of Jamaica,’ (OJ) which is the equivalent of a British Knighthood. The nickname ‘Toots’ (rhymes with newts) came from his older brother calling him ‘tuts’ when they were children. Toots Hibbert formed ‘The Maytals’ in 1962 with Henry ‘Raleigh’ Gordon, and Nathaniel ‘Jerry’ Mathias, as a vocal trio, in Kingston, Jamaica. According to Hibbert, ‘Maytals’ is a reference to the ‘Rastafari’ term for ‘do the right thing,’ but there have also been suggestions that the name was influenced by Hibbert’s hometown of ‘May Pen.’ The Maytals were initially a sought after vocal group, working with some of Jamaica’s top music producers such as Coxsone Dodd, (1932-2004) Byron Lee, (1935-2008) and Prince Buster (1938-2016) (see also best songs 734 and 139.) In the mid 1960’s the group was expanded, when musicians were added to the band, In total there have been 18 different group members come and go, with the band still active at the time of writing and performing as ‘Former members of The Maytals Band.’ They had originally started out as ‘The Maytals,’ which they were known as until 1972, when they became ‘Toots and the Maytals,’ until Hibbert’s death in 2020.
The discography of Toots and the Maytals includes 24 studio Albums released between 1964-2020, and 137 singles released between 1963-2021, there are also six extended plays, (EP’s) one box set, 21 official compilation Albums, and seven live Albums available. In the UK, they have never had a top 40 chart entry, but three of their singles have reached the top 100, ‘Monkey Man,’ (1969-Number 47) (54-46 Was My Number,’ (1970-Number 53) and ‘Reggae Got Soul’ (1976-Number 55.) Toots Hibbert has also had two solo singles chart in the UK, ‘Hard to Handle,’ (1989-Number 92) and ‘Broadway Jungle’ (2000-Number 77.)
In 1968 Toots Hibbert wrote a song called ‘Do the Reggay,’ which is widely credited as the genesis of the genre name ‘Reggae.’ Reggae is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960’s, strongly influenced by traditional Jamaican Folk music, as well as American Jazz, and R&B. Reggae evolved out of the earlier genres of ‘Mento,’ (see also best songs 390) ‘Ska’ (see also best songs 139) and ‘Rocksteady’ (see also best songs 420.) Toot Hibert has said, ‘There’s a word we used to use in Jamaica called ‘streggae.’ If a girl is walking and the guys look at her and say ‘Man, she’s streggae,’ it means she don’t dress well, she look raggedy. The girls would say that about the men too. This one morning me and my two friends were playing and I said, OK man, let’s do the reggay. It was just something that came out of my mouth. So we just start singing do the reggay, do the reggay, and created a beat. People tell me later that we had given the sound its name. Before that people had called it blue-beat and all kind of other things. Now it’s in the Guinness World of Records.’ Bob Marley (1945-1981) (see also best songs 618 and 56) said that the word Reggae came from a Spanish term for ‘the king’s music.’ In the liner notes of ‘To the King,’ which is a compilation of Christian Gospel Reggae, it suggests that the word Reggae was derived from the Latin ‘regi,’ meaning ‘to the king.’
‘Monkey Man’ was written by Toots Hibbert in 1969, with the production being by Leslie Kong, (1933-1971) (see also best songs 122) the song was recorded at the ‘Dynamic Studios,’ in Kingston, Jamaica, and issued on ‘Beverley’s Records’ in Jamaica, and ‘Trojan Records’ in the UK. Toots Hibbert who was a a multi-instrumentalist, is not only remembered as one of Reggae’s greatest artists, he was also ranked Number 71 in the American magazine ‘Rolling Stone’s’ ‘100 Greatest Singers of All Time’ in 2010. In his 2016 ‘The Rise of Reggae and the influence of Toots and the Maytals,’ Matthew Sherman wrote, ‘In the winter of 1968, the cool rocksteady beat gave way to a faster, brighter, more danceable sound. Reggae was born. Toots heralded the new sound with the seminal, complex groove monster ‘Do the Reggay’ advertising ‘the new dance, going around the town.’ Toots wanted ‘to do the Reggae, with you!’ From ’69 to ’71, Toots could do no wrong recording for Leslie Kong. With the consistent nucleus of musicians, the Beverley’s All-Stars (Jackie Jackson, Winston Wright, Hux Brown, Rad Bryan, Paul Douglas, and Winston Grennan) and The Maytals’ brilliant harmonising, Toots wrote and sang his unmistakable voice about every subject imaginable.’
‘Monkey Man’ has notable cover versions. There are two other charting versions in the UK, General Levy, (1993-Number 75) and Reel Big Fish (2003-Number 86.) In 1979 the British Ska revival band the Specials (see also best songs 924 and 372) recorded a version for their self titled debut studio Album, and in 2006 the British singer Amy Winehouse (1983-2011) (see also best songs 806) recorded the song for the Japanese edition of her second and final studio Album ‘Back to Black.’ In 2009, the Australian singer Kylie Minogue (see also best songs 928) and the Australian children’s music group the Wiggles recorded a version of the song to raise funds for ‘UNICEF.’
Monkey Man tells the tale of someone who has been dumped by his girlfriend, and has taken up with a big ugly brute of a man. In Jamaica a ‘Monkey Man’ is a slang word for a doorman, or a bouncer.
‘I see no sign of you, I only heard of you hugging up the big monkey man. Aye, aye, aye, aye, aye, aye, tell you baby, you’re hugging up the big monkey man.’