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 a onomatopoeia 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 music to the point of losing almost all Jamaican elements in their musics.
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2 Further Reference 3 External Links |
Ska Musicians of Note
First Wave (original)
Second Wave (Two-Tone Era)
Third Wave
Further Reference
External Links