"Do the Reggay" is a
reggae
Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...
song by
The Maytals, written by
Toots Hibbert, produced by
Leslie Kong and released on
Beverley's in
Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispa ...
and Pyramid Records in the UK in 1968. It was the first popular song to use the word "
reggae
Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...
" and defined the developing genre by giving it its name. At that time, "reggay" had been the name of a passing dance fashion in
Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispa ...
, but the song's connection of the word with the music itself led to its use for the style of music that developed from it.
Toots claimed in a
BBC Radio 6 Music interview that he took the word from a slang term for a person who is a bit scruffy or not well kept.
Footnotes
1968 songs
1968 singles
Songs about dancing
Songs about reggae
Toots and the Maytals songs
Songs written by Toots Hibbert
Song recordings produced by Leslie Kong
Novelty and fad dances
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