Toots and the Maytals - "Pressure Drop" (sound file, information, & comments)

shark5981, Oct 12, 2012

Toots and the Maytals, originally called simply The Maytals, are a Jamaican musical group and one of the best known ska and rock steady vocal groups. According to Sandra Brennan at Allmusic, "The Maytals were key figures in reggae music. Formed in the early 1960s when ska was hot, the Maytals had a reputation for having strong, well-blended voices and a seldom-rivaled passion for their music. Frontman Hibbert's soulful style led him to be compared to Otis Redding".

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Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post presents information about Toots Hibbert and the group "Toots And The Maytals" (also known as "The Maytals"). This post also presents information about and lyrics for the Toots And The Maytals' song "Pressure Drop". 

Selected comments from the discussion thread of this embedded YouTube sound file and from the discussion thread of another YouTube sound file of this song are also included in this post.

The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners. 

Thanks to Toots Hibbert and to The Maytals for their cultural legacies. Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publisher of these YouTube examples.

Rest In Peace and Rest In Power, Toots Hibbert.

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INFORMATION ABOUT TOOTS HIBBERT
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toots_Hibbert
"Frederick Nathaniel "Toots" Hibbert, O.J. (8 December 1942 – 11 September 2020) was a Jamaican singer and songwriter who was the lead vocalist for the reggae and ska band Toots and the Maytals. A reggae pioneer, he performed for six decades and helped establish some of the fundamentals of reggae music.[1][2] Hibbert's 1968 song "Do the Reggay" is widely credited as the genesis of the genre name reggae.[3] His band's greatest hits album True Love won a Grammy Award in 2005.[2]

[...]

.Hibbert formed Toots and the Maytals in 1961. According to Hibbert, Maytals is a reference to the Rastafari term for "do the right thing".[4] The Maytals became one of the more popular vocal groups in Jamaica in the 1960s, recording with producers Coxsone Dodd, Prince Buster, Byron Lee, Ronnie Nasralla, and Leslie Kong. This success included winning Jamaica's National Popular Song Contest three times with songs Hibbert wrote: in 1966 with "Bam Bam", 1969 with "Sweet and Dandy" and 1972 with "Pomps & Pride".[6]

In 1966, Hibbert was sentenced to 18 months in prison for possession of marijuana.[7] This experience provided the inspiration for one of his best known songs, "54-46 That's My Number".[7] Hibbert was one of the first artists to use the word "reggae", in 1968's "Do the Reggay".[2]"...

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE TOOTS AND MAYTAL SONG "PRESSURE DROP"
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pressure_Drop_(song)

"Pressure Drop" is a song recorded in 1969 by the Maytals for record producer Leslie Kong. The song appears on their 1970 album Monkey Man (released in Jamaica by Beverley's Records) and From the Roots (released in the UK by Trojan Records). "Pressure Drop" helped launch the band's career outside Jamaica when the song was featured on the soundtrack to the 1972 film The Harder They Come, which introduced reggae to much of the world.[1] In 2004, Rolling Stone rated the song No. 453 in its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.[2] ...

 "Pressure Drop" refers to the barometric pressure. This song predates modern weather forecasting, and at that time in the context of this song, island populations relied on the simple but reliable instrument (barometer) to predict adverse weather. The liquid barometer displays pressure as a measure of the fluid in a glass tube, and when the air pressure drops the fluid level "drops" accordingly. A rapid drop in air pressure indicates the severity of the approaching storm (hurricane), and is sometimes referred to as "the bottom dropping out". Attention to pressure changes could spell the difference between life and death for an island dweller. "Pressure drop" is used as a poetic device in this song, and is the artist's way of saying, "A storm is coming for you."

The song was featured in the 2004 video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas on the radio station K-Jah West.

In an interview in 2016, songwriter Frederick "Toots" Hibbert said that "Pressure Drop" was a song about karmic justice.

It’s a song about revenge, but in the form of karma: If you do bad things to innocent people, then bad things will happen to you. The title was a phrase I used to say. If someone done me wrong, rather than fight them like a warrior, I’d say: 'The pressure’s going to drop on you.'"
— Frederick ‘Toots’ Hibbert, The Guardian[3]"
-snip-
Click https://genius.com/Toots-and-the-maytals-pressure-drop-lyrics for the lyrics for Toots And The Maytals' Reggae song "Pressure Drop" which was composed in 1969 by Frederick "Toots" Hibbert and released in 1970
.
A note on that genius.com website indicates that
"Pressure Drop” was recorded in 1969 and gained The Maytals publicity outside of their home country with its appearance in the movie The Harder they Come.

Despite the uplifting nature of the song, the theme is rather foreboding. The song is about karmic justice"...

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SELECTED COMMENTS FROM TWO DISCUSSION THREADS FOR THIS SONG

Comments Source #1: embedded song file:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uw66FA6OTqA&ab_channel=shark5981

All of these comments were posted on Sept. 12, 2020

1. Graeme Mackenzie
"R.I.P. Toots. Your positivity and the  warmth you brought to the world shall live on."

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2. Elise Schissler 
"Sad day, Toots gone. His music was part of my early years, oh how I danced! such joy in his songs!
He gave us such a gift."

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3. Mickey Knox, 2020
"Pioneer of Reggae, Ska, Rocksteady, Skinhead, Two-tone, Northern, Beat."

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4. Erik Sheppard
"Rest in piece legend. Forever helping me get thru these pressures times"

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5. Paul Kersey
"I'm listening to this wanting to tear up. What a legendary voice and sound. Jah bless Mr. Hibbert."

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6. MusicJools

"RIP Toots - a very sad day indeed. What an amazing musician and most beautiful, soulful voice. Every time I went to one of his concerts I knew I was very lucky to be experiencing the live music of a true legend. 40 years of listening and I still feel this way."

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7. Divette2
"Very sad at the passing of the reggae legend. He coined the term and waved the banner high! Take your rest Toots Hibbert"

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8. mstephens44
"I hate 2020

Rest on to Paradise Toots."

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9. Enrico Ramos
"Rest in Zion Toots!"

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10. Paul Kleiman
"He looked great performing at Coachella 3 years ago. This guy could have gone another ten easy. COVID takes another great. And what a song this is. Rest in Peace, Toots."

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Comments Source #2:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmNJvSyWyQM&ab_channel=TootsandTheMaytals-Topic   Pressure Drop - Original
Toots and the Maytals, April 8, 2020

Comments posted in July 2020 or August 2020

1. Holalos Foffo
"Always lovely Jamaican old school.

Thank you Toots and the Maytals"

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2. Alt Bread
"I swear this song is in every Jamaican movie"

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3. Kauê Marques
"Gta san andreas😥"

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REPLY
4. Melwin Olsen,  August 2020
"Allways when i played gta sa driving round in the van with roof spoiler this song played and when i turned the wheels the song ended☹"

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Comments posted on Sept. 12, 2020

5. Da_kingjayjay
"TOOTS JUST PASSED AWAY FROM COVID-19 TODAY😪"
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6. George Muehlheim
"I went to see Toots and the Maytals at the Pirates Cove in Cleveland in 1981 I believe.  I was already a fan at the time as I had a friend who had gotten me into reggae and was listening to Marley and Jimmy Cliff, Desmond Dekker and had worn out my tape of The Harder They Come soundtrack. It was the middle of summer, the club was packed and hotter than blazes and Toots came out dressed in all leather. He proceeded to put out this energetic soulful performance that blew everyone away. He never stopped moving, he was pouring sweat and putting everything into his work and the place was going crazy, everybody was dancing along with him. It was truly a powerful performance in that little out of the way club in Cleveland, Ohio, but one that I will never forget.  Thanks Toots! Go easy bro, RIP."

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7. Brandon kuhn
"Rip Toots! Thanks for all the good tunes and vibes for the past half century."

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Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

Toots And The Maytals - "Funky Kingston" (YouTube sound file & selected comments)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part III of a three part pancocojams series about Toots And The Maytals, an iconic Jamaican Ska & Rocksteady music group.

Part III showcases a YouTube sound of file of Toots And The Maytals' "Funky Kingston" and documents selected comments from the discussion thread of that sound file.

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2019/04/information-about-iconic-jamaican-ska.html for Part I of this series. Part I presents information about Toots And The Maytals and showcases a YouTube video of the group's song "54-46 That's My Number." Information about that song is included in this post along with a link to that song's lyrics.

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2019/04/toots-and-maytals-song-funky-kingston.html for Part II of this pancocojams series. Part II presents information about the Toots And The Maytals' song "Funky Kingston". This post also showcases a YouTube video of Toots And The Maytals performing "Funky Kingston", and includes the lyrics to that song.

The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Toots And The Maytals for their musical legacy. Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publisher of this video on YouTube.

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SHOWCASE SOUND FILE: Toots & The Maytals - Funky Kingston



Alvaro Sánchez, Published on Nov 5, 2009
-snip-
Statistics: as of April 16, 2019 3:32 PM ET
total views - 2,717,446

total likes - 15,000

total dislikes - 275

total comments - 464
-snip-
Information about Kingston, Jamaica
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingston,_Jamaica
"Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island....
In the Americas, Kingston is the largest predominantly English-speaking city south of the United States."...

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SELECTED COMMENTS FROM THIS SOUND FILE'S DISCUSSION THREAD
This compilation presents selected comments from a sound file for the song "Funky Kingston" by Toots and the Maytals. Numbers are added for referencing purposes only.

Disclaimer: I didn't read all of the comments in that discussion thread, but I did read A LOT of them. I believe that these selected comments are representative of the comments in that entire discussion thread.

1. Thefog666, 2010
"funny how most people only know this from GTA, i known this song since i was little, probably cause my mom and dad used to play this stuff all the time. back in the day. Ruddy Brilliant!
-snip-
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Theft_Auto:_San_Andreas
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is an action-adventure video game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It was released on 26 October 2004 for PlayStation 2, and on 7 June 2005 for Microsoft Windows and Xbox. A high definition remastered version received a physical release for both Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on 30 June 2015 and 1 December 2015, respectively.

[...]

Considered one of the sixth generation of video gaming's most significant titles, and by many reviewers to be one of the greatest video games ever made, San Andreas received rave reviews by many critics who praised the music, story and gameplay. It became the best-selling video game of 2004, and has sold over 27.5 million copies worldwide as of 2011;[3] it remains the best-selling PlayStation 2 game of all time."...
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2. Omer, 2011
"haha it's the miami ink theme song :P"
-snip-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miami_Ink
"“Miami Ink is an American reality show on TLC that follows the events that took place at a tattoo parlour in Miami Beach, Florida. The show premiered in July 2005 and finished broadcasting its sixth and final season in 2008.[1] The show led to several spin-offs, including the shows LA Ink, London Ink, NY Ink, and Madrid Ink, some of which are also broadcast on TLC.[1]”

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3. A2Z11tree, 2012
"Yeeee, I live in Funky Kingston... Ontario"
-snip-
Ontario, Canada

Comment #36 below is another example of prefacing the name of your city with the place name "Kingston". This probably implies that your city is also "funky" ("cool", "hip").

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4. Bruno Prestat, 2012
"trop superbe pour mettre des commentaires. from nowher in France"
-snip-
Google translate from French to English
"Too superb to put comments"

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5. Xamuri Rimura, 2012
"brasil e jamaica punks e skins unit! lindo som"
-snip-
Google translate from Portuguese to English
"brazil and jamaica punks and skins unit[e]! Beautiful sound"

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6. fizzska, 2012
"love this tuuune reggae for ever"

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7. Bullzown, 2012
"Alot of us now this song because of the PLEBS :) Itv2 comedy :)"
-snip-
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plebs_(TV_series)
"Plebs is a British television series broadcast on ITV2"...

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8. Justin Tyme, 2013
"London calling In the Groove!"
-snip-
This is one example in this compilation of what I refer to as a "nation signing comment". "Nation signing in" comments serve as "shout outs" (brief public acknowledgements/greetings and/or praises) for a particular song and/or singer/s. These comments document the global reach of a particular song, singer/s, and particular musical genres by serving as a "roll-call" of the nations (and sometimes also from ethnic groups, language groups, cities/states etc.) that know this song/singer and are enthusiastic about this song/singer. I'm not sure if the comment given below (#9) was written in response to this "nation signing in" custom, but, either way, it nicely sums up one of the main purposes for that custom.

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2019/04/examples-of-nation-signing-in-comments.html for more information about and examples of "nation signing comments" from the discussion thread of a Nigerian Afrobeat record by Wizkid.

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9. Jent Borgstijn, 2013
"so, It's a sort of a tribute and the song is awesome haha"

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10. Chris topher, 2013
"If it weren't for the old school masters like Toots all these modern so called Pop artists could and would not exist..who would they copy from? Great piece of music!"

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11. Vocal viv, 2014
"wicked.... lovin it.."

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12. Mario Gomez, 2014
"You can't beat the classics,...Woooooooooooooooo! 1"

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13. LIFE LIBERTY RADNESS, 2015
"One of the greatest jams ever."

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14. lasarousi, 2014
"i hate that pitbull sampled this song which is a classic by its own and perfect roots."

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REPLY
15. felix, 2014
"Actually TJR sampled.."

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REPLY
16. i2Shea, 2015
"+lasarousi Sampled? Lmfao he pretty much stole the song word for word. He's a pathetic excuse for an "artist". More than half of his songs are just stolen from music made years and years ago."

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REPLY
17. Giuseppe LoGiurato, 2015
"I'm so glad that I don't know who this pitbull person is/was... he sounds like he might be a lame person who needs to steal other's good ideas..."

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REPLY
18. tam 1445, 2016
"lasarousi omg I just heard this on the radio and I thought "wow, this sounds like that pit bull song". Sad"

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REPLY
17. igotasweetass, 2018
"^this. i wouldn't mind if he sampled a bit. No he straight up took the whole song. I hope toot's got his."

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18. Jagoff PhD, 2019
"TJR sampled and then sold it to pitbull so this song got double raped"

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19. Rootslove, 2015
"Toots is Roots ..."

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REPLY
20. caleb basile, 2017
"Root toot ska-boot"

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REPLY
21. MrViperVip, 2017
"doot doot"

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22. yeye, 2017
"Ye but "do the raggay" of the same band give his name to that new style betwin the Roots, the ska, the rock and thé soul ;)"

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23. GoodIceMaster, 2015
"I actually came here from a video game, shark tales."

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REPLY
24. Master Of Disaster, 2017
"Gta San Andreas! 😂😂"

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REPLY
25. Chance Vought, 2016
"And Scarface The World Is Yours :D"

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26. Tracy Turner, 2017
"Plebs brought me here. Salve Grumio!"

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REPLY
27. Marron Giant, 2017
"This song is similar to the plebs closing theme"

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28. Ping Pong, 2016
"Just hearing this on the UK movie 'County Kilburn'!"

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29. T-Zay, 2016
"Kingston native here!"

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30. Abraham Palmer, 2016
"Legit song. Reggae use to be awesome back then 70s/80s."

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REPLY
31. Abraham Palmer, 2016
"Is true I notice that too even the production of reggae nowadays is so artificial"

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REPLY
32. Fat Max, 2017
"I agree, some is, but check out Chronixx. He is the next big thing in reggae, true legend."

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33. ArchosR14, 2017
"who's here because they were looking for the end credits song from plebs..."

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29. chasmanian remakas, 2017
"Been jamming to this for quite some time and it still moves me every time I listen too it. Always keep it rolling!"

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30. paul elliott, 2017
"Toots, and the mighty Maytals rocking it out in the best way
Cool groove"

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31. David Washburn, 2017
"Such a great song from an amazing man / group. I've been lucky to see Toots and the Maytalls 5 or 6 times and loved every show. The last time, a few years ago he was close to 70yrs old and hadn't slowed down a bit. He never phones in a show, he works every one. At one show he was wearing a light purple shirt and a dark leather vest. He was working the crowd and having fun with the band and giving it everything. He took off his vest, obviously hot from the effort, and he had sweat so completely under the vest, it looked like he still had it on as the light purple shirt and turned dark and wet matching the vest outline. See him while you can!"

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32. Jaibi Tico, 2017
"Que piezotaa....!!! Calidad de reggae..!!!! Buenas vibras desde Costa Rica 🤙🏻🇨🇷"
-snip-
Google translate from Spanish to English
"What piezotaa .... !!! Reggae quality .. !!!! Good vibes from Costa Rica 🤙🏻🇨🇷"

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33. Pigmeat Martin, 2017
"A favorite since I was a young boy. It spawned a ton of knockoffs like "Funky Nassau" and "Funky Lagos" to name a few. Anywhere this was played someone would cut a knock off, it was too damned good of a groove to waste."

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34. ruiz Lomas Cajun Trujillo, 2017
"this is the maytals but recorded as "The Flames" cause they didn´t had their own "rights" at the moment..."

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35. Crypto Steve, 2018
"Toots and the Maytals have so many classic hits that everyone knows...and many don't realize how active and groundbreaking the group was. Much love and respect to Toots and the Maytals!"

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36. Rianna Ricco, 2018
"❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ from Kingston, London"

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37. Gehan Dileepa, 2019
"Narcos Mexico!!!11"

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38. Pynner, 2019
"Man, I didn't discover this original until like 5 years after I heard Funky Vodka!
They didn't change much, probably should have called it a "remix"."

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39. SANDIEGOROOTS™, 2019
"Just this "Toots and the Maytals " Funky Kingston" Lp OG press out diggin' for vinyl today! Love this track as well as " Pressure Drop" on this record !"

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This concludes Part III of this three part series on Toots And The Maytals.

Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

Toots And The Maytals' song "Funky Kingston" (with video & lyric)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part II of a three part pancocojams series about Toots And The Maytals, an iconic Jamaican Ska & Rocksteady music group.

Part II presents information about the Toots And The Maytals' song "Funky Kingston". This post also showcases a YouTube video of Toots And The Maytals performing "Funky Kingston", and includes the lyrics to that song.

Update: April 17, 2019: The Addendum to this post presents a (music) definition for the word "funk" and information about "Funk music".

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2019/04/information-about-iconic-jamaican-ska.html for Part I of this series. Part I presents information about Toots And The Maytals and showcases a YouTube video of the group's song "54-46 That's My Number." Information about that song is included in this post along with a link to that song's lyrics.

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2019/04/toots-and-maytals-funky-kingston.html for Part III of this series. Part III showcases a YouTube sound of file of Toots And The Maytals' "Funky Kingston" and documents selected comments from the discussion thread of that sound file.

The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Toots And The Maytals for their musical legacy. Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publisher of this video on YouTube.

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SHOWCASE VIDEO: Funky Kingston - Toots and the Maytals



connectartists, Published on Aug 23, 2009
-snip-
Statistics: as of April 16, 2019 2:13 PM EST
total views - 547,411
total likes - 3,300
total dislikes - 25
total comments - 157

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE ALBUM AND SONG "FUNKY KINGSTON"
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funky_Kingston
"Funky Kingston is the name of two albums by reggae singing group Toots and the Maytals. The first was issued in Jamaica and the United Kingdom in 1972 on Dragon Records, DRLS 5002, a subsidiary label of Island Records, owned by Chris Blackwell.[2] A different album, with the same cover and title, was issued in the United States in 1975 on Mango Records, MLPS 9330. That album peaked at #164 on the Billboard 200 and was voted the eleventh best album of 1975 in the annual Pazz & Jop poll.[3] In 2003, the American version was placed at number 378 on Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.[4]

[...]

Context
When the music for this album was recorded at Dynamic Sound Studios in Kingston, reggae music was little known outside of its native Jamaica, other than in musical circles. The first international release by The Wailers, Catch A Fire, would not be until 1973. Awareness of reggae began to change in 1972 with the release of the seminal film The Harder They Come (1972), which became a cult hit that year in the UK, with its soundtrack featuring two numbers by the Maytals.[7] The Maytals had been consistent hit makers in Jamaica during the 1960s, and had even given the genre its name with their single "Do the Reggay". As he would with the Wailers the following year, producer Chris Blackwell tailored the Maytals for the international market on this album.[8]

Appearances in other media
The title track, "Funky Kingston", appears in the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas video game soundtrack, on the fictitious radio station K-Jah West. It also features as the opening theme for the reality show Miami Ink. It was the basis for the "Funky Vodka" track, which in turn fueled "Don't Stop The Party". The song can be heard in the film "Notes On A Scandal" where the Hart family can be seen dancing to it. The song "Time Tough" was featured on the soundtrack for Tony Hawk's Project 8.”...
-snip-
The song “Funky Kingston” is a track on Side One of the album with the same name.
“Funky Vodka” was recorded by ___
“Don’t Stop The Party” was recorded by Pittbull

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LYRICS: FUNKY KINGSTON
(Frederick "Toots" Hibbert)

Everybody, give it to me! Uh!
Hey Hey Hey Hey Hey!
Yeah! Oh yeah
Hey Hey Hey Hey Hey!

I want you to believe every word I say
I want you to believe everything I do
I said music is what I've got to give
And I've got to find some way to make it
Music is what I've got baby
I want you to come on and shake it
Shake it, shake it baby
Oh yeah, hey
Na na na
Oh yeah! Na na na

Funky, Funky, Funky
Funky Kingston, is what I've got for you
Oh yeah
Funky Kingston, yeah, is what I've got for you
Funky Kingston, oh yeah
Oh!
Uh! (x9)
Lemme hear your, funky guitar
Eh Eh! Eh Eh! Eh Eh!
Yo reggae
Hear the piano, stick it to me, stick to me

Na Na Na Na
Oh yeah, alright, oh yeah
Watch me now
You watch me now
Playing from east to west yeah
I just play from north to south, yeah
I love black America
People keep on asking me for, Funky Kingston!
But I ain't got none
Somebody take it away from me


Source: https://genius.com/Toots-and-the-maytals-funky-kingston-lyrics

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ADDENDUM- (MUSIC) DEFINITION FOR "FUNKY" AND INFORMATION ABOUT "FUNK MUSIC"
Funky
a) of or related to funk music

b) something or someone that is "cool", "hip" (and the same or similar newer superlatives)
-snip-
These definitions are different from the "smelly", "odorous", "nasty", "stinky" (and "stinking") meaning of "funky". However, if music is really funky, it will cause people to sweat while they "get down", i.e. dance/perform soulfully without inhibitions, including dance close to the ground. Also, “getting down and dirty" means playing music and dancing with all your heart. In so doing, those people and that place will smell funky (stink).

Note that one contemporary African American vernacular meaning of "nasty" is to perform or otherwise do something very well.

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Excerpt #1:
From https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/17228/where-does-funk-and-or-funky-come-from-and-why-the-musical-reference answered by Callithumpian Mar 22 '11
"As the Wikipedia entry on Funk indicates, Yale art historian Robert Farris Thompson has posited an African origin to the musical use of funky. Here is an expanded quote from his 1984 work, Flash of the Spirit: African and Afro-American Art and Philosophy:

The slang term 'funky' in black communities originally referred to strong body odor, and not to 'funk,' meaning fear or panic. The black nuance seems to derive from the Ki-Kongo lu-fuki, 'bad body odor,' and is perhaps reinforced by contact with fumet, 'aroma of food and wine,' in French Louisiana. But the Ki-Kongo word is closer to the jazz word 'funky' in form and meaning, as both jazzmen and Bakongo use 'funky' and lu-fuki to praise persons for the integrity of their art, for having 'worked out' to achieve their aims. In Kongo today it is possible to hear an elder lauded in this way: 'like, there is a really funky person!--my soul advances toward him to receive his blessing (yati, nkwa lu-fuki! Ve miela miami ikwenda baki) Fu-Kiau Bunseki, a leading native authority on Kongo culture, explains: 'Someone who is very old, I go sit with him, in order to feel his lu-fuki, meaning, I would like to be blessed by him.' For in Kongo the smell of a hardworking elder carries luck. This Kongo sign of exertion is identified with the positive energy of a person. Hence, 'funk' in black American jazz parlance can mean earthiness, a return to fundamentals.

"

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Excerpt #2:
From https://uselessetymology.com/2017/11/25/the-etymology-of-funk/
....“a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of soul music, jazz, and rhythm and blues (R&B).”...

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Excerpt #2: From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funk
"Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when African-American musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of soul music, jazz, and rhythm and blues (R&B). Funk de-emphasizes melody and chord progressions and focuses on a strong rhythmic groove of a bass line played by an electric bassist and a drum part played by a drummer. Like much of African-inspired music, funk typically consists of a complex groove with rhythm instruments playing interlocking grooves. Funk uses the same richly colored extended chords found in bebop jazz, such as minor chords with added sevenths and elevenths, or dominant seventh chords with altered ninths and thirteenths.

Funk originated in the mid-1960s, with James Brown's development of a signature groove that emphasized the downbeat—with heavy emphasis on the first beat of every measure ("The One"), and the application of swung 16th notes and syncopation on all bass lines, drum patterns, and guitar riffs.[2] Other musical groups, including Sly and the Family Stone, the Meters, and Parliament-Funkadelic, soon began to adopt and develop Brown's innovations. While much of the written history of funk focuses on men, there have been notable funk women, including Chaka Khan, Labelle, Lyn Collins, Brides of Funkenstein, Klymaxx, Mother's Finest, and Betty Davis."...
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The words that are written in italics were given that way in this article.

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This concludes Part II of this three part pancocojams series on Toots And The Maytals.

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Visitor comments are welcome.

Information About The Iconic Jamaican Ska, Rocksteady Group "Toots And The Maytals" (with a YouTube video of "54-46 That's My Number")

Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part I of a three part pancocojams series about Toots And The Maytals, an iconic Jamaican Ska & Rocksteady music group.

Part I presents information about Toots And The Maytals and showcases a YouTube video the group's song "54-46 That's My Number." Information about that song is included in this post along with a link to that song's lyrics.

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2019/04/toots-and-maytals-song-funky-kingston.html for Part II of this pancocojams series. Part II presents information about the Toots And The Maytals' song "Funky Kingston". This post also showcases a YouTube video of Toots And The Maytals performing "Funky Kingston", and includes the lyrics to that song.

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2019/04/toots-and-maytals-funky-kingston.html for Part III of this series. Part III showcases a YouTube sound of file of Toots And The Maytals' "Funky Kingston" and documents selected comments from the discussion thread of that sound file.

The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Toots And The Maytals for their musical legacy. Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publisher of this video on YouTube.

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Toots & the Maytals - 54-46 That's My Number - 11/15/1975 - Winterland (Official)



Toots on MV, Published on Sep 17, 2014

Toots & the Maytals - 54-46 That's My Number
Recorded Live: 11/15/1975 - Winterland - San Francisco, CA

More Toots & the Maytals at Music Vault: http://www.musicvault.com
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Statistics as of April 16, 2019 1:26 PM EST
total views - 177,473 views

total likes - 1, 300

total dislikes - 34

total comments - 51
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Click https://genius.com/Toots-and-the-maytals-54-46-thats-my-number-lyrics for the lyrics to this song.

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INFORMATION ABOUT TOOTS AND THE MAYTALS
Excerpt #1
From https://www.allmusic.com/artist/toots-the-maytals-mn0000790988/biography
Artist Biography by Mark Deming
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."....

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Excerpt #2
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toots_and_the_Maytals
"Toots and the Maytals, originally called The Maytals, are a Jamaican musical group and one of the best known ska and rocksteady vocal groups. The Maytals were formed in the early 1960s and were key figures in popularizing reggae music. Frontman Toots Hibbert's soulful vocal style has been compared to Otis Redding, and led him to be named one of the 100 Greatest Singers by Rolling Stone.[1] Their 1968 single "Do the Reggay", was the first song to use the word "reggae", naming the genre and introducing it to a global audience.[2][3] As Island Records founder Chris Blackwell says, "The Maytals were unlike anything else ... sensational, raw and dynamic."[4]

[...]

In 1972, the group changed its name from The Maytals to Toots and the Maytals,[7] with "Toots" referring to frontman Toots Hibbert, and "the Maytals" referring to the group's instrumentalists and background vocalists.

[...]

Awards, Recognition and Accolades
1981 Toots Live! nominated for Grammy Award

1989 Toots in Memphis nominated for Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album of the Year[47]

1998 Skafather nominated for Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album of the Year[48]

2004 True Love won Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album of the Year[49]

2010 Toots Hibbert named one of the 100 Greatest Singers by Rolling Stone[1]

2013 Reggae Got Soul: Unplugged On Strawberry Hill nominated for Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album of the Year[50]

Record holder for most number one songs in Jamaica (31 #1 songs)[23]

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Excerpt #3
From https://www.allmusic.com/artist/toots-the-maytals-mn0000790988/biography
Artist Biography by Mark Deming
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."....

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SONG "54-46 THAT'S MY NUMBER"
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/54-46_That%27s_My_Number
"54-46 (That's My Number)" is a song by Fred "Toots" Hibbert, recorded by Toots and the Maytals and originally released on the Beverley's label in Jamaica and the Pyramid label in the UK.[1] A follow-up version released a year later (as "54-46 Was My Number")[2] was one of the first ska songs to receive widespread popularity outside Jamaica and is seen as being one of the defining songs of the reggae genre. It has been anthologized repeatedly and the titles of several reggae anthologies include "54-46" in their title.

The lyrics describe Toots' time in prison after being arrested for possession of marijuana. The song features a similar riddim as "Train to Skaville"[3] by Toots and the Maytals' contemporaries The Ethiopians.[4]"...

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This concludes Part I of this three part pancocojams series on Toots And The Maytals.

Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.