Jamaica

SKA!

Imagine this: spring break 1962, Jamaica. You are strolling down the streets of

Kingston, enjoying the cool sea breeze and the delightful Caribbean climate.

The streets are filled with many sounds. Cars' horns honking, children playing, and people shuffling by. There is one sound, however, that rises above all the hustle and bustle. Horns, guitars, organs, drums, emanating from smoke-filled clubs and bar rooms, fill you ears with a lush sound. This is the sound of ska.

Ska is an old Jamaican form of music that blossomed when Jamaica won its independence from England in 1962. At this time, a man named Clement Dodd decided to create a uniquely Jamaican danceable sound. Ska is a potpourri of different musical styles; and draws influence from many countries. It takes swing, jazz, big band, soul, and rhythm and blues from the U.S., and couples it with calypso, ya-ya, and mento (a form of calypso) from the islands to create the Jamaican ska. The sound of ska is unique to Jamaica and is the original

"music of Jamaica." Its accented upbeat, bouncy rhythms, and colorful horn lines made it perfect for dancing. Ska got its name from the sound made by the guitar as it played on the off beats. This music served as the basis for the slower rocksteady music style which later spawned the ever-popular reggae genre. Ska music finally made its world debut in New York at the 1964 world's fair at the

Jamaican exhibition. By this time ska was an established musical genre. Ska later emigrated to England where the English began to develop their own style ska, which is seen in the second wave of ska.

Ska music can be divided into three waves, or periods. Each wave has a characteristic style and sound distinguishing it from the others. Each wave also has bands that represent them respectively. The first wave began in the

1950's and ended in or around 1968. The first wave sound was defined by the keyboard, guitar, or horns playing on the offbeat, and the bands usually had vocals, guitars, bass, drums, piano, and a horn section. This music was dance music; its up tempo and bouncy feel allowed people to skank (ska dance) to it easily. It was during this wave that rocksteady and reggae were also born.

These two slower, less instrumental versions of ska were brought about by two reasons: the hot weather made it uncomfortable for people to dance to the fast tempo of the ska music, and the social and political changes going on in Jamaica made people less happy and more subdued.