A Short History of Ska
Ska is dance music, first and foremost. Ska is a form of Jamaican music which began in the early 1960’s. In the UK, ska was also known as *blue beat* music. *Rocksteady*, and later, *reggae* sprang from the loins of ska in the late 1960s. Mid-1970s and 1980s/1990s revivals of this popular dance form have kept this music alive and fun through the present. The ska beat on drums and bass, rhythm guitar, lots of horns and maybe a Farfisa or Hammond organ -- that's the ska sound.
Musical historians typically divide the history of ska into three waves. Ska's popularity has waxed and waned since its original inception, and has had revivals of note in England in the 1980s and another wave of popularity in the 1990s.
First Wave
After World War II, Jamaicans purchased radios in increasing numbers and were able to hear American R&B from southern cities like New Orleans, Louisiana, whose artists (such as Fats Domino) had the most influence on early ska. To meet the demand for such music, entrepreneurs like Prince Buster, Clement "Coxsone" Dodd, and Duke Reid formed sound systems, portable discotheques which appeared at dances and other gatherings. Sound system operators were able to obtain records from Miami and New Orleans, and these records were hot commodities in Jamaica. Often, these sound system operators removed labels from the most popular records in order to enjoy a monopoly on the best-liked tunes and draw the most customers.
Throughout the 1960's the ghetto areas of Jamaica were filling up with youths looking for work that did not exist. These youths felt excluded and did not share in the optimism of early ska roots. These youths drew group identity as 'Rude Boys' (a term, by the way, that originated from a much earlier period: 1940s). Being Rude was a means of being somebody when society was telling you were nobody. The way the Rude Boys danced the ska was different as well: slower with a menacing posture. The rude boys connected with the scofflaws and the underworld... those who lived outside the laws, and this was reflected in the lyric of the music. (Side Note: The Rude boy outfitting was customarily pants that were way to short... a style could still be seen in the 1980's by English Beat Toaster Ranking Roger) Ska music once again changed to reflect the mood of the rude with more tension in the bass as apposed to the previous free-walking bass style.
Some believe that the early jazz and rock 'n' roll broadcasts from American radio stations were misinterpreted by an eager Jamaican music audience, hence the off-beat rhythms that almost mimicked the break up of weak radio signals that hit the West Indian shores. Others consider ska not a misinterpretation but its own response to American music. The sound of ska was created at facilities like Studio One and WIRL Records in Kingston, Jamaica, by producers like Dodd, Reid, Prince Buster, and Edward Seaga (later Jamaica's prime minister). The upbeat sound of ska coincided with the celebratory feelings surrounding Jamaica's independence from the U.K. Bands like Rico Rodriguez ,Ernest Ranglin, Don Drummond, Lord Tanamo, Prince Buster, and The Wailers, and the Skatalites were formed, moving people with their new style of combining American jazz with reggea. The Skatalites are known to be one of the most influencial ska bands in history. They made ska known to the world. In 1962, an event commemorated by ska songs such as Derrick Morgan's "Forward March" and the Skatalites' "Freedom Sound".
Second Wave
In the 1970's the Rude Boy ideals were revitalized and expressed in the fusion of reggae and punk. The Two Tone (or 2 Tone) era was named after the similarly titled record label, formed by Jerry Dammers, keyboardist of The Specials. The band was formulated from the greatly diverse West Midlands region of England in the late 1970s, with bands such as The Beat and The Selecter in support of the scene. The Two Tone movement pushed towards racial unity, and was symbolized by a black and white checkerboard pattern. The black and white suits often accompanied by a pork pie hat. Bands formed all over the U,K such as Madness and Bad Manners in 1976, The Selecter in 1977, and The Bodysnatchers in the early 80’s. The Toasters appeared in the early 80’s but is controversially considered Third Wave since they are from the U.S as oppose to the British Two Tone of the Second Wave. Although Two Tone ska did not hide its musical roots and was not afraid to cover some of the great older songs, it definitely had a sound of its own. Two Tone recordings are characterized by faster tempos, fuller instrumentation and a harder edge than original 50's and 60’s ska. The branches that stem from the influence of some of these ska bands are long reaching, a number of bands like The Police, The Clash, and Elvis Costello mention ska music as being incredibly important in their musical background and the number of bands that were influenced by bands such as those goes on and on. Two Tone bands may have been the most popular from 1978-85 however they were not the only ones playing ska. Others included The Tigers, Ska City Rockers, The Akrylykz (with Roland Gift on Tenor Sax who later joined ex-english beat members Cox and Steele as singer for Fine Young Cannibals), The Employees, The Pirahnas, and many more....
Third Wave
Beginning in the late 1980s and gaining popularity in the early 1990s, the third wave of ska moved across the Atlantic Ocean and became hugely popular in the United States. Combining elements of ska with rock, punk, hardcore, and jazz, musicians of the third wave created a new style of ska. Ska punk and skacore, sub-genres of the third wave, make up a majority of this genre.
Some of the most popular and long lasting third wave ska bands include Fishbone, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Reel Big Fish, The Aquabats, Catch 22, Rx Bandits, Mustard Plug, Buck-O-Nine, and Operation Ivy. .
In recent years, ska has attempted to make a comeback. After the major ska surge of the 90's, the third wave ska movement died, only to be found rekindling in new bands, both ska and ska punk in the 2000s such as Big D and the Kids Table, The Taj Motel Trio, High School Football Heroes, Perfect Orange, Long Shot Hero, Too Short Notice and older bands that are now making a comeback The Planet Smashers, The Toasters, and Slow Gherkin.

Originally Posted by RazorsInTheNight It's not his fault he doesn't want to add crap bands.

Originally Posted by RazorsInTheNight It's not his fault he doesn't want to add crap bands.

Originally Posted by Muzak If that is what everybody feels then so be it. Mods go ahead and take down this thread. :jailed: I am sorry, I have failed you all.

Originally Posted by RazorsInTheNight The bottom stuff in red should just be edited out. Otherwise it's good enough for anyone interested in getting into ska.

Originally Posted by krissi (Post 667669) im not moaning just adding bits of my ska history.... phase 1 - tommy mccook / ken boothe (freedom st etc) / maytals duke reid had some proper tunes...so did don drummond (man in the street / alipang!!!!!!!!!!) & rico etc im definitely still all about phase 1 and 2 (with the exception of the odd phase 3 tune... less than jake / mad caddies / the odd reel big fish tune etc.... ska was definitely the biggest in the early 60s for me

Originally Posted by dandelions (Post 624126) the slackers aren't 'skacore' or 'skapunk'. they play a mix of ska, reggae, rocksteady and dub. otherwise, good history.

Originally Posted by Daktari (Post 762017) Just agreeing with Jamstar here. The Skatalites are one of the main forerunners for all the ska style music that came later. Just mentioned this band in another thread but they are kind of carrying on in the same vein as the Skatalites. They are JAZZ JAMAICA based in London I think. Very good at that old style brassy/horn section old school ska. Gordon.

Originally Posted by khfreek (Post 870109) there is no such thing as a fourth wave of ska