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Revision as of 20:38, 24 December 2002 by 216.234.193.170 (talk)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Ska was the first independent Jamaican music, which began in the early 1960s. It was a precursor in Jamaica to rocksteady, and later, reggae.
The sound of the ska was created at Studio One in Kingston, Jamaica, by the Skatalites, working with producer Clement "Coxsone" Dodd. The originators of the ska beat were the drummer, Lloyd Knibb, and the bassist Lloyd Brevett. The music of ska is known for the placement of the accented guitar and piano rhythms on the upbeats. The word "ska" may come from the onmatopoeia from this rhythm, or from the greeting "Skavoovie," used by Clue J, the bassist and leader of Clue J and the Blues Blasters, a late 1950s Jamaican musical group which spawned some the of the greatest musicians of the ska era (1962-1966).
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).
One of the most commercially successful bands of Two Tone ska music was Madness.
The biggest selling American bands of 3rd Wave Ska were the Offspring, the Mighty Mighty Bosstones and No Doubt, both of whom fused ska with rock music to the point of losing almost all Jamaican elements in their musics.