The genre of music known as ska has gone through three very different waves in three very different places. From the early cuts of Jimmy Cliff to the current riffs of Less Than Jake, see where ska was formed on the maps below.
The genre of music known as ska has gone through three very different waves in three very different places. From the early cuts of Jimmy Cliff to the current riffs of Less Than Jake, see where ska was formed on the maps below.
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Jimmy Cliff / The Skatalites / A sound system party / Desmond Dekker
Originating in Jamaica during the 1950s, ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. It is characterized by a walking bass line accented with rhythms on the upbeat. Artists like The Skatalites and Derrick Morgan made the style into a signature sound for the island, which coincided with the celebratory feelings surrounding Jamaica's independence from the United Kingdom in 1962. The genre is considered to be the precursor to rocksteady and reggae.
Data Source: Wikipedia. "Ska". Accessed: May 2015.
The Specials / Madness / 2 Tone Records / The Beat
Beginning in the late 1970s in the Coventry, England area, the second wave of ska became known as the 2 Tone genre. It was a fusion of Jamaican ska rhythms and melodies with punk rock's more aggressive guitar chords and lyrics. Compared to 1960s ska, 2 Tone music had faster tempos, fuller instrumentation and a harder edge. The genre was named after 2 Tone Records, a record label founded by Jerry Dammers of The Specials. In many cases, the reworking of classic ska songs turned the originals into hits again in the United Kingdom. The 2 Tone movement promoted racial unity at a time when racial tensions were high in the UK.
Data Source: Wikipedia. "2 Tone". Accessed: May 2015.
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones / Mustard Plug / Operation Ivy / Less Than Jake
American bands took ska into its third wave with heavily distorted guitars and even faster song tempos, which in turn created the subgenre known as ska punk. While the beginnings of most groups can be traced back to the 1980s, it was the success of several bands on major commercial record labels during the 1990s that propelled ska into the mainstream. Despite this success being short-lived, many ska punk acts still exist today with the help of independent labels.
Data Source: Wikipedia. "Ska punk". Accessed: May 2015.
