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Toots Hibbert had reportedly been tested for coronavirus in the last two weeks
Jamaican reggae pioneer Frederick Nathaniel "Toots" Hibbert has died at the age of 77.
The legendary musician fronted the reggae and ska band Toots & the Maytals from the early 1960s.
Hibbert "passed away peacefully" in Kingston, Jamaica surrounded by his family, the group announced on Friday.
As yet it is unknown how Hibbert died, although he had been tested for coronavirus in the last two weeks and was put into intensive care.
Hibbert is credited with popularising reggae music and even naming the genre - his 1968 single "Do the Reggay" is the first song to use the term.
Other popular tracks include Pressure Drop, Sweet and Dandy, and 54-46 That's My Number.
In a statement, the band and Hibbert's family thanked medical staff "for their care and diligence". He is survived by his wife and seven of his eight children.
His death comes just weeks before the release of Got to Be Tough, the band's first full-length album in more than a decade.
Described as "the world's greatest living reggae singer" in a Rolling Stone profile last month, his vocal style has been compared to Otis Redding. The magazine lists him as one of the 100 greatest singers of all time.
Ziggy Marley, son of reggae icon Bob Marley, paid tribute to Hibbert on social media.
"He was a father figure to me," he wrote, saying his music "fills us with his energy".
