Mick Jagger has paid tribute to Frederick “Toots” Hibbert, calling the death of the Maytals singer “a great loss to the whole music world.”
“So sad to hear of Toots Hibbert’s passing,” Jagger wrote on social media. “When I first heard ‘Pressure Drop‘ that was a big moment.”
The Rolling Stones singer added of Hibbert in a statement to Rolling Stone, “He was a great singer with a really powerful voice who influenced everyone in the early days of reggae. He was a great stage performer. So full of energy and vitality always giving a top class performance that I was lucky enough to witness.”
The Rolling Stones were longtime admirers of Toots & The Maytals, even recruiting the band to open for the Stones on their Bigger Bang Tour.
Guitarist Ronnie Wood wrote on social media, “I’d like to send my condolences to the Hibbert family for my dear friend Toots Hibbert who passed away on Friday. I have very happy memories of playing with him, a lovely man and a great talent.”
Jagger’s bandmate Keith Richards, who recorded the duet “Careless Ethiopians” with Hibbert in 2004, similarly praised Toots in a recent Rolling Stone profile about the reggae legend.
“As a singer, he’s amazing,” Richards said. “His voice reminds me very much of the timbre of Otis Redding. When you hear him do ‘Pain in My Heart,’ it’s an uncanny resemblance. I think he knows himself. He’s his own man and he knows the contribution he’s made, which is why he’s still around. You know, whenever I get a call from Toots, I go running.”
In a new statement released Saturday evening, Richards said it was “a sad day for Jamaica music.” “Toots was a giant,” he added. “I loved working with him. I loved hanging with him. I will always miss him. My deepest condolences to the Hibbert family.”
So sad to hear of Toots Hibbert’s passing. When I first heard Pressure Drop that was a big moment – he had such a powerful voice and on stage he always gave the audience his total energy. A sad loss to the music world. pic.twitter.com/CAs9VF4X41
— Mick Jagger (@MickJagger) September 12, 2020
I’d like to send my condolences to the Hibbert family for my dear friend Toots Hibbert who passed away on Friday. I have very happy memories of playing with him, a lovely man and a great talent. Here we are talking about his song ‘Pressure Drop’: https://t.co/uBph4Skerj
— Ronnie Wood (@ronniewood) September 12, 2020
From Rolling Stone US
