Ska: The Rhythm of Liberation

181 Pages·2013·1.97 MB·English

by  Heather Augustyn

Tempo
A Scarecrow Press Music Series on
Rock, Pop, and Culture
SeriesEditor:ScottCalhoun
Tempo:AScarecrowPressMusicSeriesofRock,Pop,andCultureofferstitlesthat
explorerockandpopularmusicthroughthelensofsocialandculturalhistory,revealing
thedynamicrelationshipbetweenmusicians,music,andtheirmilieu.Likeothermajorart
forms,rockandpopmusiccommentontheircultural,political,andeveneconomic
situation,reflectingthetechnologicaladvances,psychologicalconcerns,religiousfeel-
ings,andartistictrendsoftheirtimes.ContributionstotheTemposeriesaretheideal
introductiontomajorpopandrockartistsandgenres.
BonJovi:America’sUltimateBand,byMargaretOlson,2013.
Ska:TheRhythmofLiberation,byHeatherAugustyn,2013.

Ska
The Rhythm of Liberation
Heather Augustyn
THESCARECROWPRESS,INC.
Lanham•Toronto•Plymouth,UK
2013
PublishedbyScarecrowPress,Inc.
AwhollyownedsubsidiaryofTheRowman&LittlefieldPublishingGroup,Inc.
4501ForbesBoulevard,Suite200,Lanham,Maryland20706
http://www.scarecrowpress.com
EstoverRoad,PlymouthPL67PY,UnitedKingdom
Copyright©2013byHeatherAugustyn
Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthisbookmaybereproducedinanyformorbyany
electronicormechanicalmeans,includinginformationstorageandretrievalsystems,
withoutwrittenpermissionfromthepublisher,exceptbyareviewerwhomayquote
passagesinareview.
BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationInformationAvailable
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Augustyn,Heather,1972-
Ska:therhythmofliberation/HeatherAugustyn.pages;cm.--(Tempo:aScarecrowPressmusic
seriesonrock,pop,andculture)
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN978-0-8108-8449-6(cloth:alk.paper)--ISBN978-0-8108-8450-2(ebook)1.Ska(Music)--
Historyandcriticism.I.Title.
ML3535.8.A8422013
781.646--dc23
2013016566
ThepaperusedinthispublicationmeetstheminimumrequirementsofAmerican
NationalStandardforInformationSciencesPermanenceofPaperforPrintedLibrary
Materials,ANSI/NISOZ39.48-1992.
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
Contents
Acknowledgments vii
SeriesEditorForeword ix
Timeline xi
Introduction xv
1 StokingtheFire 1
2 MusicIsMyOccupation 15
3 FreedomSound 31
4 OutofMany,OnePeople 45
5 WinterofDiscontent 59
6 BritishSkainaFracturedNation 73
7 EastSideBeat 89
8 SkaintheKeyofSunshine 103
9 SkaBoomandSkaBust 117
10 SkaAllOvertheWorld 131
ReferencesandFurtherReading 147
FurtherListening 153
Index 155
AbouttheAuthor 163
v

Acknowledgments
Iwouldliketothankmyfamily,Ron,Sid,andFrank,forputtingupwith
myobsession.IknowIamannoyingandtaketimeawayfromthefamily
fromtimetotimetoresearch,travel,andwrite.Iamimmenselythankful
foryou.
To my mom, for your unconditional support and love, always. Even
though you may not be interested in my subject, you always listen and
encourageme:Icouldn’tdoitwithoutyou.Tomybrotherfortakingme
tomyfirstskashowandhelpingmedecidetotakeonthisproject.Tomy
dadforfirstintroducingmetothemusicofJamaica.
ScottCalhoun,myeditor,Iamabetterwriterbecauseofyou.Thatisa
massive gift. You taught me to put aside my journalism voice and em-
bracemyown.Ifoundanewsideofmethankstoyou.
Bennett Graff, thank you for finding me and trusting me with this
important work. Your vision has given ska significance rather than a
mereretellingofthehistory.
To my fellow skamrades, Brad Klein, Michael Turner, and Gus Ber-
ger—thankyouforyoursharedpassion.It’sgoodtoknowI’mnotcrazy
formyobsession,andit’sgoodtoknowIcanalwayscometoyouwhenI
have a question, as you all are so much more knowledgeable than I am!
Respect.
To historians Herbie Miller, Bunny Goodison, Kingsley Goodison,
Clinton Hutton, and Myrna Hague-Bradshaw, thank you always for be-
ing a resource in my research. The world thanks you for your contribu-
tionstokeepingskaandallJamaicanmusicandculturealive.Thankyou
forallowingmetoshareinyourhistory.
GraemeGoodall,engineerextraordinaire,endlesswealthofmemories
andstories,Ican’tthankyouenoughforyourhelp,andmostofall,your
friendshipandhumor.
SteveShaferofDuffGuidetoSkablogandMoonSkaRecords,Iowe
you a beer for all the help with reconstructing East Coast ska history. It
was fun reliving the ’80s and ’90s, and your involvement was crucial.
Cheers!AndMarcWassermanofofBiggerThomasandtheMarcoonthe
Bassblog,thankyouforyourwealthofinformationandundyinglovefor
ska.
To all of the musicians who have helped to shape my dialogue,
through your conversations, through your art, thank you for gifts that
cannotbequantifiedwithwords.
vii