A Quick Look At Ska - The Beginning of Ska Music

One of the biggest exports from Jamaica is not necessarily food or drink, it's actually music, and that's kind of a shocker for some people. Most people will cite reggae as the chief musical style of the tropical location, but that's only a piece of the larger picture.

In the late 1950's a genre of music was created that would melt together Caribbean music with American jazz to formulate a new style of music that would change the musical landscape for decades at a time. The quality of music was underlined by a creative and accented bass movement that is often referred to by many "walking bass line", with upbeat rhythms and song structure.

The Three Periods

There are three distinct periods in this Jamaican style of music. First wave is often referred to as the beginning and creation periods of the format. Second wave or English 2 Tone ska revival came through in the late 1970's - mid 1980's, and finally, the third wave of this music hit major strides in the mid 1990's.

It is interesting to note, that while historians cite only three waves, some might say there is two other major rises of popularity through the years. These two are classified as punk-ska or fourth wave (late 90's) and the Christian ska movement (also in the 90's). Both movements ushered in success on both radio and video games, and would create a great rush for record labels to sign any ska band that had a medium-sized fan base.

Musical Style

No one has a definitive history of when the actual word "ska" was created. However, many musical experts have noted that it was Ernest Ranglin that utilized the term to refer to a guitar style that was more of a scratching motion (skat). Other musical historians refer to a 1959 recording session featuring Coxone Dodd and Cluett Johnson in which the guitarist was told to play "ska, ska, ska".

Much like other major musical forms, there is a great deal of folklore given to the creation and the early years of Jamaican roots music. The earliest moments of the movement are a little blurred, but then again, so are a lot of musical forms that have become popular throughout the years.

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