Tributes are pouring in after the passing of Jamaican reggae legend Frederick “Toots” Hibbert.
Music stars like Ziggy Marley, Mick Jagger, Yusuf/Cat Stevens, Massive Attack and many others took to social media to pay tribute to the Toots & the Maytals frontman, who died Friday (Sept. 11) at the age of 77.
“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,” Jagger tweeted.
Hibbert’s death was announced on his eponymous band’s social media accounts, saying that the singer/songwriter “passed away peacefully tonight, surrounded by by friends and family at the University Hospital of the West Indies in Kingston, Jamaica.”
Marley referred to Hibbert as a “father figure” in an emotional tribute on Twitter.
“The Legendary Toots Hibbert has passed i spoke w/him a few wks ago told him how much i loved him we laughed & shared our mutual respect,” Marley wrote. “He was a father figure to me his spirit is w/us his music fills us w/his energy i will never forget him RIP MIGHTY & POWERFUL NYAH FYAH BALL.”
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Yusuf/Cat Stevens added, “Sad to hear of the passing of Toots Hibbert. He was an early originator of Ska, Rock Steady and Reggae. Prayers and thoughts with his family and loved ones. God bless his soul.”
The cause of Hibbert’s death had not been revealed at press time, but it was recently reported that he was in an intensive care unit as he awaited results of a test for COVID-19.
See more tributes below.
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… pic.twitter.com/zOb6yRpJ7n
— Toots & The Maytals (@tootsmaytals) September 12, 2020
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
https://twitter.com/ziggymarley/status/1304679577516568576
Sad to hear of the passing of Toots Hibbert. He was an early originator of Ska, Rock Steady and Reggae. Prayers and thoughts with his family and loved ones. God bless his soul.@tootsmaytals #tootshibbert pic.twitter.com/qis9ZPd7Xy
— Yusuf / Cat Stevens (@YusufCatStevens) September 12, 2020
RIP Toots pic.twitter.com/xuUeydzq0W
— Paul Arthurs. (@BoneheadsPage) September 12, 2020
Rest in peace Frederick 'Toots' Hibbert, 1942-2020. @tootsmaytals supported The Who on their 1975 US tour. Toots released a new album, Got To Be Tough, last month on the @JamaicaTrojan label. pic.twitter.com/y6XFyyKpGA
— The Who (@TheWho) September 12, 2020
Toots RIP 🖤 https://t.co/pOfrgMJCVk
— Massive Attack (@MassiveAttackUK) 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
Tonight at 7pm (U.K. time) Join us for a listening to celebrate the life and music of Toots Hibbert.
Sweet And Dandy by Toots and the Maytals is the album we’ll be playing. No tweets from me, no guests, just those brilliant songs.
Safe travels Toots x pic.twitter.com/kSqJD5Wm9O
— Tim Burgess (@Tim_Burgess) September 12, 2020
Don’t even know where to begin… We’ve lost our Uncle Toots last night and it feels unreal when we think of all the times we spent together at home when you came to visit. Or on stage where you taught us how to be a master performer and great singer. pic.twitter.com/OxGhbvMis8
— MORGAN HERITAGE (@morganheritage) September 12, 2020
Sail on, Toots. https://t.co/2zZFjgUpdN
— Tedeschi Trucks Band (@DerekAndSusan) September 12, 2020
Rest in Peace Toots. pic.twitter.com/fjbPAJxKnx
— Echo & the Bunnymen (@Bunnymen) September 12, 2020
We have just heard that the legend Toots sadly passed away yesterday.
A statement from his family read: “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 pic.twitter.com/dL3sd08NBt
— UB40 (@UB40OFFICIAL) September 12, 2020
RIP!
Toots Hibbert, Reggae Pioneer Who Infused Genre With Soul, Dead at 77 https://t.co/EEAnTd0zjZ
— Living Colour (@LivingColour) September 12, 2020
RIP legend, Toots Hibbert ❤️💛💚 pic.twitter.com/KioBj2SKJY
— DJ Z-TRIP (@ztrip) September 12, 2020
#Toots was all fire, all passion. Did a couple shows with him years ago.
Rest in paradise.
— Howi Spangler (@HowiSpangler) September 12, 2020