Maia The Toad Releases Reggae Cover of Blues Singer Little Willie John's 'Fever'

Fever is one of those songs that singers from every genre want to cover. Peggy Lee, Madonna, Beyonce and Horace Andy have done versions of the steamy ballad first done in 1956 by blues singer Little Willie John.

Maia The ToadMaia The Toad, an American rock singer from Tucson, Arizona, is the latest to put her spin on Fever. Her reggae take was released in early December by RuffCompany Records, owned by Errol “General Smiley” Bennett, who also produced the track.

Based in Los Angeles, Maia The Toad cut Fever on a beat similar to the one Andy cut his version at Studio One in 1972. Although she likes that reggae version, her favorite rendition of Fever is Lee’s, done in 1958.

“My big goal was to make both Peggy Lee fans and reggae people from all over the world share a positive experience together when listening to the song. I tried to maintain as many elements from the original as possible by trying to replicate Peggy Lee’s velvety vocals, while adding a little more dancehall for the reggae lovers,” she said.

It was General Smiley’s idea for Maia The Toad to take on Fever. The veteran deejay, a former member of the dancehall duo, Papa Michigan and General Smiley, thought it would be good to step outside of her comfort zone.

The singer, whose biggest musical influences include Amy Winehouse, Patti Smith and Chuck Berry, agreed and Fever became her second reggae song.

“l came out with a song called Planet Jam off of my first album titled Nebular back in 2019 but have not revisited the genre until now, and I’m very excited to keep putting out more stuff like this,” said Maia The Toad.

With Papa Michigan, General Smiley found fame in 1979 and 1980 with songs like Rub A Dub Style and Nice up The Dance, produced by Clement Dodd for Studio One.