TOOTS HIBBERT, the Grammy-winning Jamaican singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and leader of reggae/rocksteady/ska band Toots & the Maytals, has died at age 77. The tragic news comes exactly two weeks after the release of “Got to Be Tough,” Toots & the Maytals’ first album in 10 years, which had been critically hailed as one of the best of Hibbert’s six-decade career.

“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,” read a statement posted on Toots & the Maytals’ social media pages on Sept. 11.

“The family and his management team would like to thank the medical teams and professionals for their care and diligence, and ask that you respect their privacy during their time of grief. Hibbert is survived by his wife of 39 years, Doreen Hibbert, and his seven of eight children.”

While a cause of death was not given at press time, it was reported on Aug. 31 that Hibbert had been admitted to the intensive care unit at the University Hospital of the West Indies while awaiting the results of a COVID-19 test, but was “in good spirits” and “showing signs of improvement.”

On Sept. 1, it was revealed by his Jamaican publicist that he was “fighting for his life” and had been placed in a medically induced coma, although another statement released at that time said he was in stable condition and “receiving around-the-clock treatment to ensure his body can recover.”

Toots & the Maytals’ “Got to Be Tough,” which was the first Maytals album that Hibbert had produced himself, was released on Aug. 28 on Trojan America, the boutique reggae record label co-founded by Zak Starkey, son of Ringo Starr.

(SD-Agencies)