Ska

While most people know of Jamaica either because of their food or their views on marijuana, the truth is that one of the biggest exports coming out of that country is their music. While most people will recognize Reggae as being their musical style that has found many admirers all over the world, the truth is that there is a lot more to the picture than you think.

Somewhere around the late 50s a new genre of music was born in Jamaica that would combine together American Jazz with various Caribbean music beats in order to make a new musical style that, while you may not know it, still serves as a source of inspiration for many up and coming musicians. The main characteristic of that music was laying in the usage of the walking bass line alongside with very upbeat rhythms.

Even though the genre of music is quite new, it had the time to go through various periods during which a lot happened. The starting period lasts basically through the late 1950s to the late 1960s, the second wave, otherwise referred to as English 2 tone ska came back in style throughout the 1970s and the 1980s, with the last period starting in the mid 1990s and still going strong today. Of course, that is only the larger picture of things as there are many out there that claim that if the history of this musical style is to be studied in greater detail one would see that there are two other ska movements that have emerged in the 1990s: punk-ska and Christian ska. While these two movements were less popular with the general public, they did garner some attention when it came to radio shows and video games and eventually had their own recognisable fanbase.

While there is no official explanation as to where the word "ska" originated from, there is somewhat of an agreement that the term was coined by Ernest Ranglin when he described a certain style of guitar playing which basically involved a scratching motion rather than the traditional stroking. There are others out there however who have somewhat of a different theory, stating that the term originated from a recording session with Coxone Dodd and Cluett Johnson where the guitarist was ordered to play "ska, ska, ska", which while being prettty odd is equally plausible.

This is only but the big picture when it comes to this musical genre. Just like with any other type of music, there is much more to learn about its origins as there is much folklore and history involved in its creation. What matters in the end however is the influence which it had over some of history biggest music stars. Various popular bands and artists have been associated with this style of music, including The Bodysnatchers, Elvis Costello, Rico and The Beat, Madness and Bad Manners... chances are that at least one of your favourite bands or artists has at some point or another crossed into this style.