Toots and the Maytals, originally called
The Maytals, were a Jamaican musical group, 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 is considered a Reggae pioneer on par with Bob Marley. His soulful vocal style has been compared to Otis Redding, and led him to be named by
Rolling Stone as one of the 100 Greatest Singers. Their 1968 single "Do the Reggay" was the first song to use the word "reggae", coining the name of the genre and introducing it to a global audience. The Oxford English Dictionary credits Toots and the Maytals in the etymology of the word "Reggae". As Island Records founder Chris Blackwell says, "The Maytals were unlike anything else ... sensational, raw and dynamic."