3 Minutes of Awesome! A little ska for your Friday...

Ska is a Jamaican music style that first came to light in the early to mid 1960s. It was based on a number of other styles, including American R&B and jump blues, Jamaican mento, and Caribbean calypso. It is characterized by a skittering, offbeat rhythm in the guitar that gives it an up-tempo, propulsive beat, as well as a sax/trumpet/trombone horn line to provide color. Important performers were Desmond Dekker, Toots and the Maytals, The Skatalites, and a young Bob Marley. Eventually, the beat slowed down (due to a particularly hot summer in 1966), and reggae was born.

In the late 70s/early 80s, there was a ska revival in the UK, led by bands like The English Beat and The Specials. I first encountered the style when my brother and I ("The Brame Brothers") were asked to add trumpet and sax to a rock band made up of some of our friends. The leader and guitarist was way into music that became the soundtrack of the 80s for me: Talking Heads, REM, English Beat, etc. It was very cool being in a rock band--we played a battle of the bands and a street fair in Glenview. I have some very embarrassing pictures that will not see the light of day...

Here is a great tune by the English Beat that will give you a good idea of the ska revival sound, "Twist and Crawl."

If you want to delve further, check out this Spotify playlist: