The Maytals

Jamaican vocal group formed in Kingston, 1962

Formed in Kingston in 1962 by Frederick “Toots” Hibbert with Henry “Raleigh” Gordon and Nathaniel “Jerry” Matthias, the Maytals began at Studio One and moved to producer Leslie Kong from 1967, a partnership that produced a run of hits across the late 1960s and early 1970s. “Monkey Man” was cut in 1969 at Dynamic Studios and released on Kong’s Beverley’s Records in Jamaica and on Trojan in Britain. It was the record that carried them beyond Jamaica for the first time.

Who recorded it

Songs The Maytals recorded first

Monkey Man

Recorded it first — now often credited to The Specials

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