Evolution Revolution – Ska’s Roots
I was browsing the web in search of some good information regarding ska music’s formation in the early days, and stumbled across a great, if brief, article on the National Geographic website. What I like about the article is that it paints a great picture of how ska most likely mutated out of Jamaican interpretations of American R&B and boogie.
Most people know that there are many people who claim to have invented ska – what this article puts forth is that the actual creation of the ska sound, with its accent on the second and fourth beats, may have been an accident. Click here for the article.
In addition, National Geographic has an informative write-up of guitarist Ernest Ranglin that documents his influence on Jamaican music – from early ska, to rocksteady and onto reggae. Read about this musical godfather here.
Articles such as these bring up what I think is an important point – that ska music was created by artists of great talent and impressive musical pedigree. When reading about ska’s origins, it is easy to dismiss it as simply Jamaican youth trying to emulate what they heard on American and Cuban radio. Although this is certainly part of the story, there is much more to learn and explore regarding the contributions of some serious musicians to what has become a musical style that has gained worldwide popularity.