Ska is a specific, up-beat genre of music that first originated in the country of Jamaica back in the late 50s. It was the direct predecessor to the reggae and rocksteady styles, it combined the core elements of Calypso, Jazz and Rhythm and Blues. The buoyant walking bass lines and accented upbeat chops of guitar and keyboards meant it was extremely easy to dance to; this helped its popularity to grow throughout the 60s and spread from its native Jamaica to the US and across the Atlantic to Britain.

Due to its driving beats and upbeat, positive style, Ska became very popular with the British, scooter riding Mods who took the genre under their wing. By the time the late 70s came around, Ska had been adopted by a lot of Mods and Punks as a new scene began to emerge in southern England, this sound became labelled as 2 tone. The new 2 tone Ska sound promoted racial unity throughout the United Kingdom and was pioneered by UK groups such as The Special, The Beat and a band that only released one single with the famed Ska label, Madness. Madness were the band that helped bring Ska and the 2 tone style into the mainstream, the scene engulfed the United Kingdom and Mods and Punks alike embraced the genre.

Ska not only influenced the stylish Vespa and Lambretta owners from around Britain, it became an extremely popular genre in the United States, especially in California and Ska saw its final revival to date in the early 90s with bands like the Mighty Mighty Boss Tones and Toaster taking on the British 2 tone sound and creating their own Americanised version of the styles and sounds of Ska. Labels such as Moon Ska Europe helped to back the scene and as it returned to the mainstream all across the US, bands such as Sublime, No Doubt and Reel Big Fish took Ska to a new level of popularity across the world.

This article was written by Elliot Drake. Copyright 2009.
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