Jamaican reggae legend Frederick Nathaniel "Toots" Hibbert has died at the age of 77 after being admitted into intensive care with COVID-19-like symptoms.

The legendary Jamaican musician fronted the reggae and ska band Toots & the Maytals from the early 1960s.

Rolling Stone magazine reported that Hibbert had "passed away peacefully" in Kingston, Jamaica surrounded by family.

Hibbert is credited with popularising reggae music and even naming the genre – his 1968 single "Do the Reggay" being the first song to use the term.

Other popular tracks include “54-46 Was My Number,” “Pressure Drop,” “Funky Kingston” and “Monkey Man."

Described as "the world's greatest living reggae singer" by Rolling Stone just last month, his vocal style was compared to Otis Redding.

Ziggy Marley, son of reggae icon Bob Marley, paid tribute to Hibbert on Twitter, saying: "He was a father figure to me."