THE BIRTH OF SKA
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 look out 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
One day he was trying to get the guitars to play
something, and him say 'make the guitars go Ska!,
Ska!, Ska!' And that's the way the ska name was born.
(Bunny Lee in Johnson and Pines. 1982 .49)
Clue J was well known for greeting his friends with a call of 'Love Skavoovie'. Many believe the name of ska is a shortened form of this greeting.
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 the world at the 1964 Worlds 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'.
Early ska dance movements and some lyrics were influenced by the religious revival era. Songs such as 'Wings of a Dove' performed by both The Blues Busters and The Wailers, 'Oil in My Lamp' by Eric Morris and 'King of Kings' by Jimmy Cliff are revival tunes with lyrics that are sped up. 'Israelites' by Desmond Dekker also features revival characteristics in the lyrics. Other ska lyrics were pop orientated and feature very little Jamaican patois. These songs were either nonsense lyrics such as Eric Morris' 'Humpty Dumpty' and 'Solomon Gundie' or romantic such as Delroy Wilsons' 'Dancing Mood', which was one of the first songs to bridge the gap between ska and it's slower successor Rocksteady (more later). In stark contrast are the political ska lyrics that reflected the social concerns of rude boys.
Now days ska is up beat, off beat, reagae/punk, matalic, brassy, jumpy, crazy, music that for some reason never seems to top the charts. Fantastic bands like Reel Big Fish, Less Than Jake and The Porkers, never seem to ever get mentioned on MTV or get any airtime. The only band that has come close was The Mighty Boss-tones with "The Impression That I Get." Since that time the Ska and media has been depleated to the stage were you only hear some Poppy-Ska in a Cake Song.
Well thats in the past now, and we cant change the past, but we can change the future, so what you do now is you post your favourite SKA band and your favourite song that they play. Than simply log onto http://www.mtv.com.au/trl/
click 'Vote Now' scroll down to Other, type in the artists name and the song title and show the world that Australians have their own opinions on music, and that were not some country that does everything America tells us to, except bomb other countries. Anyway, prove that we are not lame, and if i see fiddy cent's candy shop one more time, i'm gonna blame you guys for not requesting good music thousands upon thousands of times!
anyway now tell me your favourite ska artists and their best songs! (in your opinion)
mine are REEL BIG FISH - Sell Out, THE PORKERS - goin off, THE OPTIONALS - so long lung, 99% FAT - choad odessey.
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 look out 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
One day he was trying to get the guitars to play
something, and him say 'make the guitars go Ska!,
Ska!, Ska!' And that's the way the ska name was born.
(Bunny Lee in Johnson and Pines. 1982 .49)
Clue J was well known for greeting his friends with a call of 'Love Skavoovie'. Many believe the name of ska is a shortened form of this greeting.
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 the world at the 1964 Worlds 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'.
Early ska dance movements and some lyrics were influenced by the religious revival era. Songs such as 'Wings of a Dove' performed by both The Blues Busters and The Wailers, 'Oil in My Lamp' by Eric Morris and 'King of Kings' by Jimmy Cliff are revival tunes with lyrics that are sped up. 'Israelites' by Desmond Dekker also features revival characteristics in the lyrics. Other ska lyrics were pop orientated and feature very little Jamaican patois. These songs were either nonsense lyrics such as Eric Morris' 'Humpty Dumpty' and 'Solomon Gundie' or romantic such as Delroy Wilsons' 'Dancing Mood', which was one of the first songs to bridge the gap between ska and it's slower successor Rocksteady (more later). In stark contrast are the political ska lyrics that reflected the social concerns of rude boys.
Now days ska is up beat, off beat, reagae/punk, matalic, brassy, jumpy, crazy, music that for some reason never seems to top the charts. Fantastic bands like Reel Big Fish, Less Than Jake and The Porkers, never seem to ever get mentioned on MTV or get any airtime. The only band that has come close was The Mighty Boss-tones with "The Impression That I Get." Since that time the Ska and media has been depleated to the stage were you only hear some Poppy-Ska in a Cake Song.
Well thats in the past now, and we cant change the past, but we can change the future, so what you do now is you post your favourite SKA band and your favourite song that they play. Than simply log onto http://www.mtv.com.au/trl/
click 'Vote Now' scroll down to Other, type in the artists name and the song title and show the world that Australians have their own opinions on music, and that were not some country that does everything America tells us to, except bomb other countries. Anyway, prove that we are not lame, and if i see fiddy cent's candy shop one more time, i'm gonna blame you guys for not requesting good music thousands upon thousands of times!
anyway now tell me your favourite ska artists and their best songs! (in your opinion)
mine are REEL BIG FISH - Sell Out, THE PORKERS - goin off, THE OPTIONALS - so long lung, 99% FAT - choad odessey.
