The Proliferation Of Ska The music most commonly associated with Jamaica is reggae. However, this was not the first type of music to emerge from the island nation. Mento, ska, and rock steady all preceded reggae. “Mento was Jamaican folk music that combined sacred and secular elements. The styles mixed Pocamania church music, Junkano fife and drum sounds, the European quadrille, slave-era work songs, and even elements of American jazz. It was the first type of music recorded in Jamaica.”[i] In contrast rock steady is, “roughly half the speed of the standard ska beat, and the texture of the instrumentation is much less dense. Also, in rock steady the reggae accent patterns started to emerge. The guitar was played on the second and fourth beats of the four-beat measure while the bass guitar emphasized the first and third beats. The role of the drums was absorbed by the percussive playing of the guitar and bass, so the drummer’s role was diminished.”[ii] Ska music would come about in the early 1960’s, about the same time Jamaica was in the process of gaining it’s independence from England. “The general ska band lineup was a core of singer, guitar, bass, and drums, with the addition of a horn line of varying size. At barest minimum, the horn line included a saxophone, trumpet, and trombone. The style itself was a mixture of influences including Jamaican mento, American rhythm and blues, jazz, jump bands, calypso, and others. The ska beat was fast, appropriate for dancing, and emphasized offbeat accents that propelled the music forward.”[iii] Of the three: mento, ska, and rock steady, ska would make several revivals, and would spawn not only bands in Jamaica, but in the United Kingdom (U.K.) and the United States (U.S.) as well, in what is considered the first, second, and third waves of ska respectively. The first wave started in Jamaica with the Skatalites, who have become synonymous with the development of ska. Although they only initially existed for less than two years, they were instrumental in developing and defining the ska sound. One of the founding members, Don Drummond, was considered a pioneer in the ska movement. Considered by many to be musically brilliant and “ahead of his time,” he would be plagued with mental problems and in-between periods in mental hospitals, he would record and play with the band.[iv] The group would score hits with songs like “Guns of Navarone.” Not widely popular in the US, they would score a single in the UK top 10 with “Man In The Street.”[v] The Skatalites would disband in 1966 a year after Drummond was arrested and committed to a mental hospital for the murder of his common-law wife, Marquerita Mahfood.[vi] The group would be reorganized in 1983 to perform at Jamaica’s Reggae Sunsplash. In 1990 the reformed group would tour the US for the first time. “In January 1996, the Skatalites were nominated for a Grammy Award in the category of "Best Reggae Album" for their 1995 Shanachie release, "Hi Bop Ska". They were again nominated for a Grammy Award in the same category for their 1996 Shanachie release, "Greetings From Skamania" in January 1997.”[vii] Born Cecil Bustamente Campbell in Kingston, Jamaica, he would come to be known as Prince Buster. He aquired the name Prince because of his association with boxing and Jamaican music great, Clement “Coxsone” Dodd, and his last name, Buster, from shortening his middle name.[viii] He had two loves: boxing and music and the two would be intertwined in his life. His interest in boxing would led him into music when he “was a security guard for Coxsone Dodd’s famous Downbeat sound system.”[ix] This gave Campbell the drive to be a musician as well as to create a record label and open his own record store. It was in his studio that the group, Folkes Brothers, recorded the popular hit “Oh Carolina”,[x] which would later be re-recorded by Jamaican dancehall artist, Shaggy. “Campbell appeared on the British pop music program Ready, Steady, Go, becoming the first Jamaican to score a British Top 20 hit.”[xi] He would have an effect on British musicians, notably, musician Alex Hughs and the ska band, Madness. The ska sounds that originated from the U.K. are considered the ‘Second Wave.’ It is also known as “The Two Tone era[, it] was named after the similarly titled record label, formed by Jerry Dammers, keyboardist of The Specials.”[xii] The meaning, Two Tone, was meant to illustrate the multi-racial U.K. ska bands and to give respect to the original Jamaican musicians who typically wore two tone suits.[xiii] During this wave, punk rock’s uncompromising lyrics and distinguishing guitar sounds created a new sound, coupled with “thoughtful, irreverent, or politicaly charged lyrics.”[xiv] The U.K. artists did a lot to revive many Jamaican ska songs as evident with Prince Buster, who made more money by cover musicians royalties than he did from his own recordings.[xv] “Two Tone recordings are characterized by faster tempos, fuller instrumentation and a harder edge than original 50’s and 60’s ska.”[xvi] Bands like The Clash and The Police would cite ska as an influence on their music. Born in Kent, England, Alex Hughes would take on the name Judge Dread. Under his new name, which he took from a Prince Buster character,[xvii] he recorded the single “Big Six”, which charted at number 11 and stayed on the charts for about six months. Dread’s follow up singles “Big Seven” and “Big Eight” charted at number’s 8 and 14 respectively.[xviii] Controversy would surround his sexually orientated lyrics and he obtained the Guinness Book of World Records for having the most banned songs.[xix] On March 15, 1998 he would suffer a heart attack and collapse after a performance; he would later die. The seven-piece British ska band, Madness, was formed in London, England in 1976. Madness consisted of: vocalist, Graham McPherson; guitarist, Lee Thompson; drummer, Daniel Woodgate; guitarist, Chris Foreman; saxophonist, Lee Thompson; bassist, Mark Bedford; and trumpetist, Carl Smyth. The first single, The Prince, “was a tribute to the Jamaican ska musician Prince Buster, whose song, ‘Madness’, the band had named themselves after and which also was released as the B-side of ‘The Prince’.”[xx] The ensambles first album, “One step beyond…” was released in 1979, peaked at number two, and remained on the U.K. charts for more than a year. The group would have limited success in the U.S., with only two singles making the top 40, “Our House” and “It Must Be Love,” reaching number’s 7 and 33 respectively. Things were quite different in their native country as their first 20 singles reached the U.K. top 20, with their “polished pop elements along with large doses of ska, reggae, and other Caribbean musics.”[xxi] The band would dissolve in 1986, only to be reformed in 1992. Not until 1999 would the band release a new studio album and thus “entered the UK Top 10 singles chart for the first time in sixteen years with the first single from the album, ‘Lovestruck’.”[xxii] Although not achieving huge success in the U.S., Madness influenced such groups as No Doubt and The Might Might Bosstones. During the late 1980s ska would cross ‘The Pond’, as the Brits call the Atlantic Ocean, and would influence U.S. groups in what is considered the ‘Third Wave.’ Just as the second wave had modified the original ska sound, so too would the third wave. This time ‘ska-core’ and ‘ska punk’ would be used to describe the new ska. Ska-core was “a fusion of hardcore and two-tone ska,” while ska punk was “a fusion of Pop-Punk and ska.”[xxiii] The initial ska group in the U.S. used the two-tone format, The Toasters. However, many other bands experimented with sounds, to include: The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Operation Ivy, Fishbone, and No Doubt. Largely responsible for the development of ska-core, the Boston-based, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones appeared on the music scence during the 1980’s. The line-up included: vocalist Dicky Barrett, bassist Joe Gittleman, drummer Joe Sirois, saxophonists Tim Burton and Roman Fleysher, trombonist Chris Rhodes, guitarist Lawrence Katz, and dancer and “Bosstone” Ben Carr. Originally called the Bosstones, they released their first album, “Mash It Up,” in 1985. “The Bosstones were also fiercly idealistic, especially when it came to the issue of racism. Perhaps this was driven by both from their racially mixed lined-up.”[xxiv] After the release of the album it was discovered that there was a doo-wop group with the same name, and after some thought the name was changed to, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. After the release of the “Devil’s Night Out” album the ensamble started wearing plaid shirts, which their fans were quick to emulate. Shoe manufacturer Converse would approach the band and ask them “to promote their new line of Chuck Taylor sneakers. The band accepted the proposal and were seen in several television commercials promoting the sneakers.”[xxv] In 1991 the group released an EP called “Where’d You Go” which featured covers of Aerosmith's "Sweet Emotion," Metallica's "Enter Sandman," Van Halen's "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love”.[xxvi] Their first and only number one hit on Billboard would come from the 1997 release of the “Let’s Face It” album, with the single “The Impression That I Get.”[xxvii] No Doubt was formed in Anaheim, California in November 1996, by keyboardist Eric Stefani, vocalist John Spence, and Gwen Stefani as co-vocalist. Later Tony Kanal would be added as bassist and when John Spence committed suicide in 1997, Gwen Stefani took over vocals.[xxviii] The band would later be complemented with drummer Adrian Young and guitarist Tom Dumont. The band’s first album, “No Doubt” and subsequent album, “The Beacon Street Collection” had little success. Their third album, “Tragic Kingdom,” released in 1995 was a huge success, from that album came three hits. “Just a Girl” reached number 23 in the U.S., while achieving the number 3 spot in the U.K. “Spiderwebs” was released after “Just a Girl” and achieved number 5 in the U.S. However, the third single, “Don’t Speak” became an international number 1 hit. “Tragic Kingdom has sold over 15 million copies worldwide and has been certified diamond in the United States. No Doubt were nominated for two Grammy awards for Best New Artist and Best Rock Album (Tragic Kingdom) at the 1997 Grammy Awards. Then later, they were nominated for two more Grammy awards for Song of the Year and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, both for "Don't Speak". They failed to win any of these awards.” [xxix] The band’s subsequent album, “Return of Saturn” failed to live up to the success of “Tragic Kingdom.” However the follow-up album “Rock Steady,” contained the singles, “Hey Baby” and “Underneath It All” with the later single winning the Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.[xxx] Currently the band members are pursuing solo projects as well as working on No Doubt’s next album, rumored to be released sometime in 2007. Ska has endured through the ages, changing from one generation to another, country to country. The world has seen how the original sound from Jamaica has been altered by British and American musicians. What will be the fate of it? Perhaps ska and reggae have had their time in the limelight; maybe now is the time to allow the other Jamaican sounds of rock steady and dancehall to blossom.

NOTES
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[i] David V. Moskowitz, Caribbean Popular Music (Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 2006), 205.
[ii] David V. Moskowitz, Caribbean Popular Music (Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 2006), 257.
[iii] David V. Moskowitz, Caribbean Popular Music (Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 2006), 270.
[iv] Chuck Foster, Roots Rock Reggae (New York: Billboard Books, 1999), 11.
[v] Wikipedia, The Skatalites. May 31, 2006. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Skatalites (accessed June 2, 2006).
[vi] Chuck Foster, Roots Rock Reggae (New York: Billboard Books, 1999), 12.
[vii] Wikipedia, The Skatalites. May 31, 2006. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Skatalites (accessed June 2, 2006).
[viii] David V. Moskowitz, Caribbean Popular Music (Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 2006), 240.
[ix] David V. Moskowitz, Caribbean Popular Music (Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 2006), 239.
[x] David V. Moskowitz, Caribbean Popular Music (Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 2006), 239.
[xi] David V. Moskowitz, Caribbean Popular Music (Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 2006), 240.
[xii] Wikipedia, Ska. May 17, 2006. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ska (accessed May 26, 2006).
[xiii] Wikipedia, Ska. May 17, 2006. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ska (accessed May 26, 2006).
[xiv] Wikipedia, Ska. May 17, 2006. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ska (accessed May 26, 2006).
[xv] Wikipedia, Ska. May 17, 2006. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ska (accessed May 26, 2006).
[xvi] Wikipedia, Ska. May 17, 2006. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ska (accessed May 26, 2006).
[xvii] David V. Moskowitz, Caribbean Popular Music (Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 2006), 161.
[xviii] Wikipedia, Judge Dread. May 23, 2006. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judge_Dread (accessed June 10, 2006).
[xix] Wikipedia, Judge Dread. May 23, 2006. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judge_Dread (accessed June 10, 2006).
[xx] Wikipedia, Madness. June 6, 2006. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madness_%28band%29 (accessed June 10, 2006).
[xxi] Wikipedia, Madness. June 6, 2006. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madness_%28band%29 (accessed June 10, 2006).
[xxii] Wikipedia, Madness. June 6, 2006. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madness_%28band%29 (accessed June 10, 2006).
[xxiii] Wikipedia, Ska. May 17, 2006. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ska (accessed May 26, 2006).
[xxiv] Wikipedia, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. June 9, 2006. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mighty_Mighty _Bosstones (accessed June 10, 2006).
[xxv] Wikipedia, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. June 9, 2006. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mighty_Mighty _Bosstones (accessed June 10, 2006).
[xxvi] Wikipedia, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. June 9, 2006. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mighty_Mighty _Bosstones (accessed June 10, 2006).
[xxvii] Wikipedia, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. June 9, 2006. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mighty_Mighty _Bosstones (accessed June 10, 2006).
[xxviii] Wikipedia, No Doubt. June 11, 2006. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Doubt (accessed June 11, 2006).
[xxix] Wikipedia, No Doubt. June 11, 2006. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Doubt (accessed June 11, 2006).
[xxx] Wikipedia, Underneath It All. May 12, 2006. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underneath_It_All (accessed June 11, 2006).