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What
It all started with the transistor radio, which brought American R&B, jazz, blues, big band swing and rock & roll to Jamaica in the 1950s. Musicians combined Caribbean calypso, Afro-Cuban jazz, religious folk music and other traditional Jamaican styles with the American music, and ska was born. Its simple structure (double-time rhythm with an accent on the upbeat) has allowed a variety of styles--like rock steady, dancehall and reggae--to emerge. British ska revivalists in the late '70s and early '80s added a punk rock edge.
When
The First Wave: In 1963, The Skatalites recorded their first album and founded the genre. The Second Wave: In the late '70s, British punks, most famously The Specials, rediscovered ska via reggae. The Third Wave: In the mid-'90s, ska was reincarnated in U.S. punk scenes by bands such as Operation Ivy, Dance Hall Crashers, Rancid, Save Ferris and No Doubt.
Who
Clement "Coxsone" Dodd's record label Studio One brought ska pioneers like The Skatalites, Desmond Dekker, Toots & the Maytals, Millie Small and a young Bob Marley to the masses. Second Wave notables include The Specials, Madness and The English Beat. Rob "Bucket" Hingley's (of the Toasters) label, Moon Ska Records, helped usher in the Third Wave with The Slackers, The Scofflaws, The Pie Tasters, Less Than Jake and Venice Shoreline Chris.
Etc...
The Specials' label, 2-Tone, used black-and-white checkered iconography to reflect a common theme of the Second Wave: interracial musicians coming together to make music with a progressive, political message.
