Ska To Reggae

The music of the wider Americas has always had an affect on popular culture and particularly on dance. However the impact of Latin music in the US and UK has been limited by the linguistic divide separating English from Spanish and Portuguese. In Jamaica, however, English is the major language and this allowed Jamaicans to fully assimilate blues transmitting from US radio stations in the 50s. They blended blues with the calypso-like mento (also partly of African origin) and this resulted in a number of variations with ska and reggae as the most prominent. Both genres are very similar and the most apparent difference between them is one of tempo – ska is frenetic while reggae is relaxed.

Ska became something of a novelty in the US and UK in the 60s and then came into its own during two later ska revivals. In the 80s some UK bands such as The Specials and Madness popularized ska. Then in the 90s some US bands like No Doubt and The Mighty Mighty Bostones did the same thing for a younger audience. In both eras however long-term popularity has been limited to cult followings.

In contrast reggae has had a much bigger impact on popular music. It was promoted in the 70s by artists like Bob Marley, Lee Perry and Peter Tosh to such an extent that artists associated with other genres all had reggae-tinged hits (including Led Zeppelin, Stevie Wonder, Supertramp, The Clash, Boney M, The Police and Culture Club). Some characteristics of its look or feel have been incorporated into other genres since from hardcore to hip-hop. And the practice of dance remixes so prominent in much techno had its origins in studio experimentation of the dub variation of reggae.