The Harder They Come

Awards aside, the name Toots is highly revered within the world of reggae no matter what. He consistently opens for the Rolling Stones every summer in Europe, and last summer alone, he toured with the Stones, Dave Matthews Band, Jimmy Buffett, and Los Lonely Boys as well as headlined his own gigs. It's a big part of why he's looked at as an iron man within the genre and feels so keen about continuing to make music.

Light Your Light is less of an international production than True Love; Raitt makes a guest appearance, but the album's mainly an in-house one. The few covers that do show up are like audible slices of heaven. With Hibbert's raspy drawl, his reworking of Ray Charles' "I Gotta Woman" sounds like a perfect fit, as entire stanzas pass by in which it's nearly impossible to distinguish the vocal differences between the two great singers. And by the time the Maytals get finished with Otis Redding's "Pain in My Heart," the wicked reggae groove played underneath it makes you almost forget it was a soul standard first. In that regard, Hibbert's always been good at keeping listeners on their toes, and it's one reason he can't help but laugh at talk of retirement.

"I'm just thinking of living a good life and playing music, not retiring," he says. "I eat a lot of garlic and exercise to keep fit, so I'm not going anywhere."