Ska
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2008-07-12T18:50:53Z
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Reverted edits by [[Special:Contributions/Achilles750|Achilles750]] ([[User talk:Achilles750|talk]]) to last version by Spylab
{{otheruses4|the genre||SKA}}
{{mergefrom|Third wave of ska|Talk:Ska#Merger proposal|date=February 2008}}
{{Refimprove|date=June 2007}}
{{Infobox Music genre
| color = purple
| bgcolor = #FF8020
| name = Ska
| stylistic_origins = [[Jamaica]]n [[Mento]] and [[Calypso music|Calypso]]; [[United States|American]] [[Jazz]] and [[Rhythm and blues|R&B]]
| cultural_origins = Late 1950s Jamaica
| instruments = [[Guitar]], [[Bass guitar]], [[Trumpet]], [[Trombone]], [[Saxophone]], [[Piano]], [[Drum kit|Drums]], [[organ (music)|Organ]]
| popularity = Highest in early 1960s; wide popularity in Jamaica & notable popularity in [[United Kingdom]]; notable revivals in 1970s/1980s UK and late-1990s [[North America]]
| derivatives = [[Rocksteady]], [[Reggae]]
| fusiongenres = [[2 Tone]], [[Ska punk]], [[Ska jazz]]
| other_topics = [[Third wave ska]], [[J-ska]], [[List of ska musicians]], [[Rude boy]], [[Mod (lifestyle)|Mod]], [[Skinhead]], [[Suedehead (subculture)|Suedehead]]
}}
'''Ska''' ([[Help:Pronunciation|pronounced]] /ska/ or in [[Jamaican Patois]] /skja/) is a [[music genre]] that originated in [[Jamaica]] in the late 1950s and was a precursor to [[rocksteady]] and [[reggae]].<ref name="Britannica">{{cite encyclopedia
| title = Ska
| encyclopedia = Encyclopædia Britannica
| volume =
| pages = [http://www.search.eb.com/eb/article-9118222 http://www.search.eb.com/eb/article-9118222]
| publisher = Hussey Dermot
| date =
| id =
| accessdate = 2007-02-02}}</ref>
Ska combined elements of [[Caribbean]] [[mento]] and [[Calypso music|calypso]] with [[United States|American]] [[jazz]] and [[rhythm and blues]]. It is characterized by a [[walking bass]] line, accented [[guitar]] or [[piano]] rhythms on the [[Off-beat (music)|offbeat]]. In the early 1960s, ska was the dominant musical genre of Jamaica, and it was also popular with [[United Kingdom|British]] [[Mod (lifestyle)|mods]]. Many [[skinhead]]s, in various decades, have also enjoyed ska (along with reggae, rocksteady and other genres).<ref>[http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2005/is_1_38/ai_n6234788/pg_1 Subcultures, pop music and politics: skinheads and "Nazi rock" in England and Germany | Journal of Social History | Find Articles at BNET.com<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20010219175613/ska.about.com/musicperform/ska/library/1999/aa081699a.htm Smiling Smash: An Interview with Cathal Smyth, a.k.a Chas Smash, of Madness - Ska/Reggae - 08/16/99<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref> Marshall, George (1991). Spirit of '69 - A Skinhead Bible. Dunoon, Scotland: S.T. Publishing. ISBN 1-898927-10-3)</ref><ref>[http://www.montrealmirror.com/ARCHIVES/1998/011598/music1.html Inspecter 7<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
Music historians typically divide the history of ska into three periods: the original Jamaican ska scene of the 1960s, the [[2 Tone]] ska revival that started in [[England]] in the late 1970s, and the [[third wave ska]] movement, which started in the 1980s.
==History==
After [[World War II]], [[Jamaica]]ns purchased radios in increasing numbers and were able to hear [[rhythm and blues]] music from [[Southern United States]] cities such as [[New Orleans]] by artists such as [[Fats Domino]] and [[Louis Jordan]]. The stationing of American [[military]] forces during and after the war meant that Jamaicans could listen to military broadcasts of American music and there was a constant influx of records from the US. To meet the demand for that music, [[entrepreneur]]s such as [[Prince Buster]], [[Coxsone Dodd|Clement "Coxsone" Dodd]], and [[Duke Reid]] formed [[Reggae sound system|sound system]]s. As [[jump blues]] and more traditional R&B began to ebb in popularity in the early 1960s, Jamaican artists began recording their own version of the genres.<ref name="AMG">{{cite web
| last =
| first =
| authorlink = http://www.allmusic.com
| coauthors = All Music Guide
| title = Ska Revival
| work = Genre Listing
| publisher = [http://www.allmusic.com All Music Guide]
| date = 2007
| url = http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=77:386~T00
| format = Web
| doi =
| accessdate = 2007-02-02}}</ref> The style was of bars made up of four triplets, similar to that of "My baby just cares for me" by Nina Simone, but was characterized by a [[guitar]] chop on the [[off beat]] - known as an upstroke or skank - with [[Horn section|horns]] taking the lead and often following the off beat skank and [[piano]] emphasizing the bass line and, again, playing the skank.<ref name="Britannica"/> Drums kept [[4/4 time]] and the [[bass drum]] was accented on the 3rd beat of each 4-triplet phrase. The snare would play side stick and accent the 3rd beat of each 4-triplet phrase. <ref name="Britannica"/> The upstroke sound can also be found in other [[Caribbean]] forms of music, such as [[mento]] and [[Calypso music|calypso]].<ref name="Nidel_WM">{{cite book |last=Nidel |first=Richard O. |title=World Music: The Basics |year=2005 |publisher=Routledge Taylor and Francis Group |location=[[New York City|New York]], [[New York]] |isbn=0-415-96800-3 |pages=282 }}</ref>
{{Jamaicanmusic}}
One theory about the origin of ska is that [[Prince Buster]] created it during the inaugural recording session for his new [[record label]] Wild Bells.<ref name="Nidel_WM"/> The session was financed by [[Duke Reid]], who was supposed to get half of the songs to release. However, he only received one, which was by [[Trombone|trombonist]] [[Rico Rodriguez]].{{Fact|date=March 2007}} Among the pieces recorded were "[[They Got To Go]]", "[[Oh Carolina]]" and "[[Shake A Leg]]."{{Fact|date=February 2007}} According to [[reggae]] historian [[Steve Barrow]], during the sessions, Prince Buster told guitarist Jah Jerry to "change gear, man, change gear."{{Fact|date=February 2007}} The guitar began emphasizing the second and fourth beats in the bar, giving rise to the new sound. The drums were taken from traditional Jamaican drumming and marching styles. To create the ska beat, Prince Buster essentially flipped the R&B shuffle beat, stressing the offbeats with the help of the guitar.
The first ska recordings were created at facilities such as [[Studio One (record label)|Studio One]] and WIRL Records in [[Kingston, Jamaica]] with producers such as Dodd, Reid, Prince Buster, and [[Edward Seaga]].<ref name="Nidel_WM"/> There are different theories about the origins of the word ''ska''. Guitarist [[Ernest Ranglin]] said the offbeat guitar scratching style that he and other musicians played was described as "ska! ska! ska!"{{Fact|date=February 2007}} Some believe that bassist Cluet Johnson coined the term ''ska'' when explaining the ''ya-ya'' sound of the music.{{Fact|date=February 2007}} Johnson was known to greet his friends with the word ''skavoovie'', perhaps imitating American [[hipster]]s of the era. Johnson and the Blues Blasters were Coxsone Dodd's house band in the 1950s and early 1960s before the rise of the [[The Skatalites]].{{Fact|date=February 2007}}
The ska sound coincided with the celebratory feelings surrounding Jamaica's independence from the UK in 1962; an event commemorated by ska songs such as [[Derrick Morgan]]'s "Forward March" and The Skatalites' "Freedom Sound." Because the newly-independent Jamaica didn't ratify the [[Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works]] until 1994 [[copyright]] was not an issue, which created a large number of cover songs and reinterpretations. Jamaican musicians such as The Skatalites often recorded instrumental ska versions of popular American and British music, such as [[The Beatles|Beatles]] songs, [[Motown]] and [[Atlantic records|Atlantic]] [[soul music|soul]] hits, movie theme songs, or [[surf rock]] instrumentals. [[Bob Marley]]'s band [[The Wailers (reggae)|The Wailers]] covered the Beatles' "[[And I Love Her]]," and radically reinterpreted [[Bob Dylan]]'s "[[Like a Rolling Stone]]."
[[Byron Lee & the Dragonaires]] performed ska with Prince Buster, [[Eric "Monty" Morris]], and [[Jimmy Cliff]] at the [[1964 New York World's Fair]]. As music changed in the United States, so did ska. In 1965 and 1966, when American [[Soul music|soul]] became slower and smoother, ska changed its sound accordingly and evolved into [[rocksteady]].<ref name="Moskowitz_06">{{cite book |last=Moskowitz |first=David V. |title=Caribbean Popular Music |year=2006 |publisher=Greenwood Press |location=[[Westport, Connecticut|Westport]], [[Connecticut]] |isbn=0-313-33158-8 |pages=270}}</ref><ref name="Nidel_WM"/>
===2 Tone===
{{main|2 Tone}}
The [[2 Tone]] genre, which began in the late 1970s in [[England]], was a [[Fusion (music)|fusion]] of Jamaican ska [[rhythm]]s and [[Melody|melodies]] with [[punk rock]]'s uncompromising lyrics and aggressive [[guitar]] [[Chord (music)|chord]]s.<ref name="Moskowitz_06"/> Compared to 1960s ska, 2 Tone music had faster [[tempo]]s, fuller instrumentation and a harder edge. The genre was named after [[2 Tone Records]], a [[record label]] founded by [[Jerry Dammers]] of [[The Specials]]. Although 2 Tone bands were respectful to the original [[Jamaica]]n ska artists, The Specials failed to credit musicians such as [[Prince Buster]], [[Toots & the Maytals]] and [[Dandy Livingstone]] as the composers of songs on their 1979 debut vinyl release. However, in many cases, the reworking of classic ska songs turned the originals into hits again in the [[United Kingdom]]. The 2 Tone movement promoted [[Anti-racism|racial unity]] at a time when [[Racism|racial tensions]] were high in the UK. Most of the 2 Tone bands had multiracial lineups, such as [[The Beat (band)|The Beat]] (known as English Beat in [[North America]]) and [[The Selecter]].<ref name="Britannica"/> Although only on the 2 Tone label for one single, [[Madness (band)|Madness]] were one of the most effective bands at bringing the 2 Tone genre into the mainstream.
===Third wave ska===
{{main|Third wave ska|Ska punk}}
In the 1980s, bands influenced by the [[2 Tone]] ska revival began to form in the [[United States]] and other countries.<ref name="Moskowitz_06"/> The first well-known American ska revival band was [[The Toasters]], who played in a 2 Tone-influenced style and paved the way for the [[third wave ska]] movement. Other notable early third wave ska bands included [[The Uptones]], [[Fishbone]], [[Operation Ivy (band)|Operation Ivy]], [[Let's Go Bowling]] and [[Bim Skala Bim]].
Many third wave ska bands played [[ska punk]] and it's subgenre, ska-core. Ska punk took 2 Tone and increased the [[punk rock]] elements while ska-core blended ska with hardcore punk. However, some third wave ska bands — such as [[The Allstonians]], [[Hepcat]] and [[The Slackers]] — continued to play in a more traditional 1960s-influenced style. By the early 1990s, ska revival and ska punk bands were forming throughout the United States and many other countries. An enormous growth of the ska punk genre occurred after the ska-core band [[Mighty Mighty Bosstones]] signed with [[Mercury Records]] in 1993 and appeared in the film ''[[Clueless (film)|Clueless]]'' with their first mainstream hit "Someday I Suppose". [[No Doubt]],[[Sublime (band)| Sublime]], [[Reel Big Fish]], [[Suicide Machines]], [[Less Than Jake]] and [[Goldfinger (band)| Goldfinger]] also gave the ska genre more mainstream attention. By the late 1990s, mainstream interest in third wave ska bands waned as other music genres gained momentum. Some of the most popular ska punk bands have maintained a steady following in the 2000s, although many of those bands have moved away from their earlier ska-influenced sound to embrace other genres.
==Footnotes==
{{reflist}}
== Further reading==
* {{cite book |last=Du Noyer |first=Paul |title=The Billboard Illustrated Encyclopedia of Music |year=2003 |publisher=Billboard Books |location=[[New York City]] |isbn=0-8230-7869-8 |chapter=Ska |pages=350-351 }}
==See also==
*[[List of ska musicians]]
*[[Skank (dance)|Skank]]
==External links==
*[http://www.skaspot.com/ SKAspot]
*[http://www.potentbrew.com/skaregdu.html The Origins of Ska, Reggae, and Dub Music]
*[http://www.bluejuice.org.au/subpage12.html The Untold Story of Jamaican Popular Music] by Mohair Slim
*[http://web.fccj.edu/~ivanhoof/ska/ The History of Ska Music] by Ian Vanhoof
*[http://skajerk.com/ Ska Jerk] Ska & rocksteady history, lyrics and more
*[http://www.skaville.de List of Reggae and Ska coverversions]
*[http://www.butumbaba.com.ar Reggae and Ska bands from latin america]
*[http://ska-times.de/ Ska Times] Ska, Rock Steady, Reggae agenda (concerts, festivals, nighter, scooter runs / international)
*[http://www.skaland.hu/ SkaLand - Ska-Reggae Webzine]
*[http://www.skablahblah.com/ SkahBlahBlah] Ska music podcast, news, history and articles
*[http://skasource.com/ SkaSource.com] Ska music news, interviews, reviews
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[[Category:Jamaican music]]
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