Ska
Upbeat offbeat guitar and brass — Kingston studios launch a global sound.
Ska emerges in late-1950s Kingston as Jamaica industrialises and sound-system culture grows. The rhythm emphasises the offbeat guitar skank, walking bass, and horn sections. By the mid-1960s the tempo begins to slow into rocksteady.
Note: The ska-to-rocksteady transition around 1966 is approximate.
- Offbeat guitar "skank"
- Brass-heavy arrangements
- Sound-system culture
Key artists
12Producers
5Labels
5Riddims
12Listen — albums & songs
20- By Demand
- I Shall Not Remove
- The Wailing Wailers
- Behold...How Sweet is it
- Come On Home
- Ska With Laurel
- The Sensational Maytals
- National Ska: Pain In My Belly
- Come Over
- Friend Till the End
- Turn And Now
- Welcome You Back Home
- How Sweet It Is
- Shame and Scandal
- Cry me a river .
- Tears From My Eyes.wmv
- You Send Me
- Top Deck Ska
- go away
- Survivor
Island Chronicle
8- The duo Keith and Enid had probably the most popular and best remembered recording during the ska era - Worried Over You
- Happy Birthday to one of Jamaican music's most legendary producers, the late Leslie Kong. Kong is perhaps best known for
- Prince Buster He is regarded as one of the most important figures in the history of ska and rocksteady music. The record
- In 1960 Derrick Morgan became the only artist ever to fill the places from one to seven on the Jamaican pop chart simult
- The song 'Oh Carolina', made popular by renowned Jamaican artiste Shaggy, was originally produced by Prince Buster in 19
- Nicky Thomas' first hint of success came with the release of 1959 "Run Nigel Run" produced by veteran singer Derrick Har
- Byron Lee presenting former Prime Minister Edward Seaga with a copy of the group's 1959 album 'Dumplings', which Seaga p
- Byron Lee is known to have introduced the electric bass guitar to Jamaica in late 1959. The bass guitar soon gained popu
This Day in Jamaican Music
6News & culture
4- ‘Simmer Down’: Five Trench Town Teenagers Walk Into Studio One and Leave as The Wailers
- Winston McIntosh Becomes Peter Tosh: The Wailers Take Shape in Trench Town, 1963
- ‘Hurricane Hattie’: James Chambers Becomes Jimmy Cliff and Leslie Kong Gets His First No. 1, 1962
- The Maytals Take Shape in Kingston: Toots Hibbert, Raleigh Gordon and Jerry Matthias Form a Vocal Trio, 1962
More links as the archive grows.
We add artists, riddims and stories to era pages as verified catalogue data arrives.
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.