Toots Hibbert, a father of reggae music who brought a unique soulfulness and punk energy to the Jamaican musical style, died Friday at a Kingston, Jamaica, hospital. He was 77.

Hibbert, the leader of The Maytals born Frederick Hibbert, was recently hospitalized with COVID-19 symptoms. No cause was given for his death.

The first artist to use the word reggae on a record, Hibbert started as a ska singer in the early 1960s. In 1966, the Maytals’ won a national song competition with “Bam Bam,” which positioned Hibbert as a voice for social justice. That same year he was arrested for marijuana possession, which he discussed in the 1968 song “54-46, That’s My Number,” which is among Hibbert’s standards in the reggae canon.

Exposure beyond the island nation came with the 1972 film and soundtrack The Harder They Come, which featured two Toots and the Maytals songs that would become classics: “Pressure Drop” and “Sweet and Dandy.”

He would build a seven-decade career singing about making moral choices in a commanding tenor that drew comparisons to soul greats such as Ray Charles and Otis Redding; one of his best-received efforts was his 1988 Mango album Toots in Memphis that was heavy on Stax/Volt songs.

While Bob Marley and the Wailers would soon surpass the Maytals and Cliff in popularity in the mid’-‘70s, Hibbert’s work found ardent fans in The Rolling Stones, The Clash, Graham Parker and the ska revival bands of the late 1970s/early’80s. Hoping to build their audience with rock fans, Toots & the Maytals opened for The Who on a 1975-76 tour after signing with Island Records and would also open shows for The Eagles, Jackson Browne and Linda Ronstadt.

During their run on Island, Toots & the Maytals released songs that didn’t necessarily chart well as hits but came to be among his classics: the originals “Reggae Got Soul” and “Funky Kingston” and the covers of “Take Me Home Country Roads” and “Louie Louie.” It’s been reported that Toots & The Maytals have had a record 31 #1 singles in Jamaica.

In 1980, Toots & the Maytals embarked attempted to set a world record by recording, pressing and distributing an album in 24 hours. Toots Live hit its deadlines was in stores less than 24 hours after being recorded, but Island failed to properly register with the Guinness Book of World Records.

Toots & the Maytals won the Best Reggae Album Grammy for 2004’s True Love (V2), a collection packed with new recordings of their best-known songs with guests such as Eric Clapton, Keith Richards and No Doubt.

Toots and the Maytals did a 50th anniversary tour of the U.S. and Europe in 2018 and, in August, released their first album in a decade, Got to Be Tough (Trojan Jamaica/BMG). They had planned to tour this year and next.

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

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. 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 ðŸ˜¢ pic.twitter.com/zIofrbYZU0
— Ziggy Marley (@ziggymarley) 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

RIP Toots Hibbert â¤ï¸ðŸ†â¤ï¸ pic.twitter.com/hRE0JAGpbX
— Debbie Harry/BLONDIE (@BlondieOfficial) September 12, 2020

Very saddened to hear of the passing of Toots Hibbert

Speaking about his friend Island’s founder Chris Blackwell once said “I've known Toots longer than anybody… Toots is one of the purest human beings I've met in my life, pure almost to a fault." pic.twitter.com/kgq7if7vQg
— Island Records (@islandrecordsuk) 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

Rest in Peace Toots. pic.twitter.com/fjbPAJxKnx
— Echo & the Bunnymen (@Bunnymen) September 12, 2020

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