First Wave Ska (Episode 59)

In the late 50s, the streets of Jamaica were alit with music. Bands would bang out jazz and rhythm & blues songs every night, catering to large crowds of people desiring only to dance all night.

It was a disco, but outside in the streets, every night of the week, from dusk till dawn, like Mardis Gras and a discotheque crammed into one big outdoor dance-off.

However, there was a singular prevalent problem. The bands...they wanted breaks, and the breaks lasted too long and people wanted to keep going. A compromise of sorts was agreed upon, a sound system would be brought in and allowed to be play records during an intermission.

No one knew it then, but this compromise would eventually be the end of those bands and the start of ska's rise to prominence.

Research Sources used for the episode:

Heather Augustyn's Ska: An Oral History

The short documentary "The Origin of the Word Ska"

Heather Augustyn's website: Foundation Ska

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