Although not many ska-loving kids know it today, reggae was a runoff of ska. Now, most kids today don’t even know what reggae is, let alone Ska. The majority of teens listen to modern day hip-hop and rock and have completely left behind the culture of ska and reggae.

    A lot was happening at that time in Jamaica. Money was being exchanged, a national indigenous music was on the verge of disappearing, and people were being influenced by what they heard on the radio.  All of this influenced the way that ska music sounds today. The big question now is, where did all this start?

    First of all, in the 1920's and 30's the local band scene in Jamaica was Mento. Mento was mostly a rural music because most of the bands were local bands. Typically a Mento band would play at weddings, local dances, fairs, and concerts. They were even employed on a more personal level as bands for house parties. As time passed by, the popularity of Mento was on a steady decline. By the late 1950's Mento started the slow transition into Ska music. The so called "society" bands were playing only token Mento numbers, but the bands on the road were getting more daring in how they applied their Mento craft.

    Like mento before it, ska was born out of a combining musical elements. Both mento and jazz were combined to produce a new style that was initially called 'Shuffle'.  Popular shuffle hits were recorded by Neville Esson, Owen Grey and the Overtakers. The newly set up recording studios were always on the lookout for the next new sound. With the popularity of American R&B artists like Fats Domino and Louis Jordan, many Jamaican performers incorporated the 12 bar blues chord progressions and boogie bass lines with mento guitar rhythms. Increasing emphasis was placed on the offbeat rhythms of mento.
The offbeats became shorter and more detached. These distinct syncopated rhythms were sounded on guitar and piano. The new style of music became known as ska. The first person to record this 'ska' rhythm was Ernest Ranglin when performing with Cluet Johnson (Clue J.) and the Blues Busters.

    Ska quickly became the most dominant form of music in Jamaica. Its success coincided with the independence and the departure of the English in 1962. There was a new attitude towards indigenous music. Ska was already enormously popular in Jamaica and music producers attempted to export it to the rest of the world, a move that was supported by the government. It was the national music of Jamaica and was demonstrated to the world at the 1964 World’s Fair in New York. The Jamaican delegates included Byron Lee and the Dragonaires, Jimmy Cliff, Prince Buster and dancers Ronnie Nasralla and Jannette Phillips who taught the world the moves for the 'Backy Skank', the 'Rootsman Skank' and the 'Ska'.

    By 1966 Jamaican audiences had grown tired of the insistent ska beat and tempo. Around 1966 the beat of ska was slowed and rocksteady was born. Some say that it was a particularly hot Jamaican summer that led to this more relaxed style but the real reason for this change can be traced, once again, to the continuing influence of American R&B. By the mid 60's R&B was developing into the smoother soul styles of Motown, Memphis and Philadelphia soul. Jamaican musicians responded to this with their own slower, smoother styles. The influence of another religious revival, Rastafarianism, led to further musical developments of ska and rocksteady, and reggae was born. As we know, reggae has dominated the Jamaican music scene since.

    This eventually lead to the second era of ska, known as Two Tone. In 1979, ska enjoyed a revival of popularity. Initially the ska revival was an English phenomenon, but gradually spread to the rest of the world, including Australia. The most notable bands associated with the second wave of ska popularity were The Specials, Madness, The Beat, and The Selecter. All these bands recorded their first albums for 'Two Tone Records', a label established by The Specials keyboard player Jerry Dammers. The label was named after the two tone tonic suits worn by the original ska stars of the 1960's and also reflected the multi racial membership of the bands signed to the label. The trade mark of the company was based on a negative photo of Peter Tosh from an early Wailing Wailers album cover. This 'Rude Boy' logo became affectionately known as Walt Jabsco.

    In the third wave, Two Tone ska did not make an impact in America. Bands such as Madness and The Specials were considered 'too English' probably due to their lyrics reflecting their own political and social concerns and the English dance hall type antics of the live shows that was far removed from the demur American stadium rock popular at the same time. Recently ska has enjoyed another wave of popularity. The third wave exists in many forms and combines many different styles of rock with ska rhythms and instrumentation. Bands such as Hepcat, New York Ska Jazz Ensemble, Jazz Jamaica and The Stubborn All Stars play traditional first wave styled ska. In contrast is the sound of Operation Ivy, Rancid, Voodoo Glow Skulls and Reel Big Fish who favor a harder 'ska-core' sound that is heavily influenced by punk. And there are thousands of bands playing every style in between. Although the sound of these bands is varied, the musical characteristics of the original ska can still be heard, although sometimes it is not as obvious.

    Obviously, this is just a brief history of the genre of ska. There is so much more to learn about the three waves of ska and all the artists that started and still rock the ska style today. Hopefully this will inspire teens to take another look at the music scene, to listen to meaningful lyrics, or to just try out a new sense of music.