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Ska is a form of Jamaican music which began in the early 1960s. Combining elements of traditional mento and calypso with an American rhythm and blues sound, it was a precursor in Jamaica to rocksteady, and later, reggae.

The sound of the ska was created at Studio One in Kingston, Jamaica.

The music of ska is known for the placement of the accented guitar and piano rhythms on the upbeats. The word "ska" may have onomatopoeic origins in a tradition of poetic or possibly even musical rhythms.

Guitarist Ernest Ranglin said that "the offbeat guitar scratching that he and other musicians played was referred to as 'skat! skat! skat!'"

Ska's popularity has waxed and waned since its original inception, and has had revivals of note in England in the 1980s (known as Two-Tone), and another wave of popularity in the 1990s (referred to as Third Wave Ska).

The Two-Tone era was named after the similarly titled record label, formed by Jerry Dammers, keyboardist of The Specials. Other artists on this label included The Selecter and the commercially successful Madness.

The biggest selling American bands of Third Wave Ska were The Mighty Mighty Bosstones and No Doubt, both of whom fused ska with rock and punk to the point of losing almost all Jamaican elements in their music.

Ska Musicians of Note

First Wave (original)

• Prince Buster
• Desmond Dekker
• Peter Tosh (later of Bob Marley & the Wailers fame)
• Toots & the Maytals
• The Skatalites

Second Wave (Two-Tone Era)

• The Specials
• Madness
• The English Beat
• The Selecter
• Bad Manners

Third Wave

• The Toasters
• The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
• Hepcat
• Skinner Box
• The Scofflaws
• Less Than Jake
• The Slackers

Further Reference

• Timothy White, Catch a Fire: The Life of Bob Marley, UK:Corgi Books, 1983

External Links

• "Upside-Down Rhythm: Offbeats, Upbeats, and Afterbeats in Jamaican Ska" by Matt Sakakeeny
• The Origins of Ska, Reggae, and Dub Music
• The Untold Story of Jamaican Popular Music by Lloyd Dewar