A Brief History of Jamaican Reggae Music

A look at the history of Jamaican reggae music and how it has evolved over the years.

The Origins of Reggae

Jamaican reggae music has its roots in the ska and rocksteady genres of the 1960s. Ska is a style of music that originated in Jamaica and was influenced by the mento and calypso styles of the Caribbean. Rocksteady is a slower, more relaxed style of ska that developed in the late 1960s. Reggae is a fusion of ska and rocksteady that became popular in the 1970s.

Ska

Ska is a style of music that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s. Ska combines elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. The name ska comes from the Jamaican Creole word for tempo or energy. Ska was the precursor to reggae, and its popularity spread from Jamaica to the United Kingdom in the 1960s.

The main instrumentation of ska includes drums, bass, guitar, and horns such as trumpet and saxophone. The horns are used to provide melody and countermelody against the guitar and bass, which play offbeat rhythms known as “skank” or “chop” chords. Ska is typified by its fast tempo and staccato rhythms.

Ska was popularized in the UK by bands such as The Specials and Madness, who blended ska with punk rock to create a new style of music called 2 Tone. 2 Tone bands were often made up of members of different racial backgrounds, which was reflective of the multicultural nature of late 1970s Britain.

Rocksteady

Rocksteady is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in 1966. The term rocksteady comes from a style of Jamaican dance. By 1967, rocksteady had replaced ska as the dominant type of dance music in Jamaica.

Rocksteady is slow and relaxed, played at about 60–68 beats per minute (bpm). The drums are often played on the backbeat while the guitar emphasizes the offbeat. Bass lines are often syncopated or “riddimically” complex but remain within the same mode throughout a song. Guitar and keyboard riffs may use body parts other than the fingers and are played in an “offbeat” style. horns are less common in rocksteady than in ska but still occasionally used; flutes are also sometimes used as solo instruments. Unlike ska, rocksteady did not have much success outside of Jamaica due largely to its slower tempo; however, it laid the groundwork for what would later become reggae by further emphasizing the backbeat, bringing drums and bass to the forefront of the mix and eschewing horns for guitars and keyboards playing more complex riffs on the offbeats.

The first international rocksteady hit was “The Train Is Coming” by Alton Ellis, which charted in 1967. Other notable tracks from this era include versions of American soul classics such as “My Girl Sloopy” by Theparagons, “I’ll Be Sweeter Tomorrow (Than I Was Today)” by Phyllis Dillon, and “Tears of a Clown” by Smokey Robinson & The Miracles.

The Golden Age of Reggae

Reggae music first gained prominence in the late 1960s, with the rise of artists such as Bob Marley and the Wailers. Reggae quickly became a global phenomenon, with its catchy beats and Rastafarian-inspired lyrics. The golden age of reggae lasted until the early 1980s, when the genre began to decline in popularity.

The Wailers

The Wailers were a Jamaican reggae band created by Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, and Bunny Wailer. The band started out as a ska group in 1963 but later switched to reggae. They became globally famous with songs like “No Woman, No Cry,” “Could You Be Loved,” and “Get Up, Stand Up.” The Wailers are considered to be one of the best reggae bands of all time.

Bob Marley

Robert Nesta “Bob” Marley, OM (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981) was a Jamaican singer-songwriter who became an international musical and cultural icon, blending mostly reggae, ska, and rocksteady in his compositions. Starting out in 1963 with the group the Wailers, he forged a distinctive songwriting and vocal style that would later resonate with audiences worldwide. The Wailers would go on to release some of the earliest reggae records with producer Lee “Scratch” Perry.

After the Wailers disbanded in 1974, Marley pursued a solo career which culminated in the release of the album Exodus in 1977 which established his worldwide reputation and produced his status as one of the world’s best-selling artists of all time, with sales of more than 75 million records. Exodus stayed on Britain’s albums chart for 56 consecutive weeks. It included four UK hit singles: “Exodus”, “Waiting in Vain”, “Jamming”, and “One Love”. In 1978 he released Kaya, which included the hit singles “Is This Love” and “Satisfy My Soul”. A few months before his death, he released Survival, which included the single “Forever Loving Jah”.

Marley died in 1981 at age 36 from cancer. He was a committed Rastafari who infused his music with a sense of spirituality. He is credited with popularising reggae music around the world and served as a symbol of Jamaican culture and identity. Martha Vineyardnumbered Marley’s final resting place as one of nine to visit before you die.

Other Notable Reggae Artists

In addition to the artists mentioned above, there are a number of other notable reggae artists who have made significant contributions to the genre. These include:

-Bob Marley & The Wailers
-Jimmy Cliff
-Peter Tosh
– Burning Spear
-The Maytals
-The Heptones
-The Skatalites

The Modern Age of Reggae

In the late 1960s, reggae music began to gain popularity in Jamaica. The genre started to gain international attention in the 1970s with the release of Bob Marley’s album, “Catch a Fire.” Since then, reggae music has continued to evolve and grow in popularity. In this article, we’ll take a look at the history of Jamaican reggae music and how it has evolved over the years.

Reggae fusion

Reggae fusion is a combination of Jamaican reggae with other genres of music, typically American R&B, pop, rock or hip hop. Artists such as Shaggy, Sean Paul, Ziggy Marley and Zombie Nation have had international success with this new sound. The genre has also been popular in the UK, with artists such as Craig David and Ms. Dynamite crossing over from the R&B charts.

Contemporary reggae artists

In the early 2000s, a new crop of reggae artists began to break through to international audiences. Artists like Sean Paul, Beenie Man, and Elephant Man helped bring dancehall reggae to new audiences with their chart-topping singles. More recently, artists like Chronixx, Protoje, and Koffee have been carrying the torch for contemporary Jamaican reggae music.