The original sound of reggae (pre-reggae), played in Jamaica in the early 1960’s, originated largely by the island’s resort and studio players who came together to form The Skatalites. The early hits from The Wailing Wailers, such as “One Cup Of Coffee,” “Simmer Down,” and the original “One Love” are all great examples of ska featuring vocals. (A large part of original Jamaican ska was instrumental—check anything from The Skatalites! The Skatalites were the instrumental backing band for some of the early Wailers’ tracks.) Ska relies heavily on the saxophone, trumpet, and trombone to carry the melodies, and has a prominent steady upbeat carrying the music forward.
List of notable bands and musicians who performed primarily Ska or Ska-influenced music for a significant portion of their careers.
The originators of Ska started performing in 1950s
- Aubrey Adams
- Laurel Aitken
- Roland Alphonso
- Theophilus Beckford
- Val Bennett
- Baba Brooks
- The Blues Busters
- Prince Buster
- Clue J & His Blues Blasters
- Stranger Cole
- Desmond Dekker
- Don Drummond
- Jackie Edwards
- Alton Ellis
- The Ethiopians
- Owen Gray
- Derrick Harriott
- Justin Hinds
- Jah Jerry Haynes
- Judge Dread
- Lloyd Knibb
- Byron Lee & the Dragonaires
- Count Machuki
- Carlos Malcolm
- Tommy McCook
- The Melodians
- Johnny “Dizzy” Moore
- Derrick Morgan
- Eric “Monty” Morris
- Jackie Opel
- The Paragons
- Lee “Scratch” Perry
- The Pioneers
- Ernest Ranglin
- Rico Rodriguez
- The Skatalites
- Millie Small
- Symarip
- Lynn Taitt
- Lord Tanamo
- Toots & the Maytals
- The Wailers
- Delroy Wilson
Starting in late 1970s – 2 Tone Ska Revival
The 2 Tone sound was developed by young musicians in Coventry, West Midlands, England who grew up hearing 1960s Jamaican music.They combined influences from ska, reggae and rocksteady with elements of Punk Rock and New Wave music. Bands considered part of the genre include:
- Andy Cox
- Pauline Black
- Rhoda Dakar
- Bad Manners
- Mike Barson
- The Beat (known as The English Beat)
- Mark Bedford
- Buster Bloodvessel
- The Bodysnatchers
- John Bradbury
- Jerry Dammers
- Chris Foreman
- Lynval Golding
- Terry Hall
- Madness
- Everett Morton
- Horace Panter
- Roddy Radiation
- Ranking Roger
- The Selecter
- Chas Smash
- The Specials ( known as The Special AKA)
- Neville Staple
- Suggs
- Lee Thompson
- Dave Wakeling
- Daniel Woodgate
1980s /1990s Ska Punk / Ska-core (skacore)
Ska Punk is a fusion music genre that combines Ska and Punk Rock. It achieved its highest level of commercial success in the United States in the late 1990s.[Ska-core (sometimes spelled skacore) is a subgenre of ska punk, blending ska with hardcore punk.
The characteristics of ska punk vary, due to the fusion of contrasting genres. The more punk-influenced style often features faster tempos, guitar distortion, onbeat punk rock-style interludes (usually the chorus), and punk-style vocals. The more ska-influenced style of ska punk features a more developed instrumentation and a cleaner vocal and musical sound. The common instrumentation includes electric guitar, bass guitar, drums, brass instruments (such as trombones or trumpets), saxophones, and sometimes an organ.
Below is a list of famous Ska Punk and Ska-core Bands and Musicians
- 7 Seconds of Love
- Against All Authority
- Allniters
- The Allstonians
- Animal Chin
- The Aquabats
- Area-7
- The Arrogant Sons of Bitches
- Athena
- B. Lee Band
- BAMF!
- Bandits of the Acoustic Revolution
- Blag
- Blue Meanies
- Big D and the Kids Table
- Bim Skala Bim
- Bomb The Music Industry!
- Buck-O-Nine
- The Busters
- Capdown
- Catch 22
- Chase Long Beach
- The Chinkees
- Choking Victim
- Chris Murray
- Citizen Fish
- Common Rider
- Dance Hall Crashers
- Deal’s Gone Bad
- Desorden Publico
- Distemper
- The Donkey Show
- Edna’s Goldfish
- The Expendables
- Farse
- Fishbone
- Five Iron Frenzy
- The Flatliners
- The Forces Of Evil
- The Gadjits
- General Rudie
- Go Jimmy Go
- Goldfinger
- Gollbetty
- Hepcat
- High School Football Heroes
- The Hippos
- Hub City Stompers
- I Voted for Kodos
- The Impossibles
- The Insyderz
- Jeffries Fan Club
- The Johnstones
- Johnny Socko
- Kid British
- King Apparatus
- The King Blues
- King Prawn
- The Know How
- Kemuri
- Lightyear
- Less Than Jake
- Let’s Go Bowling
- Link 80
- Locomondo
- Long Shot Party
- Los Kung-Fu Monkeys
- Los Fabulosos Cadillacs
- Los Hooligans
- Mad Caddies
- Mark Foggo’s Skasters
- Mealticket
- Mephiskapheles
- The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
- Missing Andy
- Monkey
- Mouthwash
- Mr. Review
- Mu330
- Mustard Plug
- No-Cash
- No Doubt
- No Torso
- Nuckle Brothers
- The O.C. Supertones
- Operation Ivy
- OreSkaBand
- Pannonia Allstars Ska Orchestra
- Panteón Rococó
- Pepper
- The Pietasters
- Pilfers
- The Planet Smashers
- The Porkers
- Potshot
- Rancid
- Random Hand
- RedSka
- Reel Big Fish
- The Rough Kutz
- Ruder Than You
- The Rudiments
- The Rudimentals
- Rx Bandits
- Save Ferris
- The Scholars
- The Scofflaws
- Ska-P
- Skankin’ Pickle
- Skavoovie and the Epitones
- Skinnerbox
- The Skunks
- The Slackers
- Slapstick
- Slow Gherkin
- Spunge
- Sonic Boom Six
- Sounds Like Chicken
- Spring Heeled Jack
- Starpool
- Sto zví?at
- Streetlight Manifesto
- Stubborn All-Stars
- Subb
- Sublime
- Sublime with Rome
- Suburban Legends
- Suburban Rhythm
- The Suicide Machines
- Superhiks
- The Supervillains
- The Taj Motel Trio
- Tip The Van
- The Toasters
- Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra
- The Unlimiters
- The Upgrades
- The Uptones
- The Urge
- Tijuana No!
- Voodoo Glow Skulls
- Westbound Train
- Zdob Si Zdub