And Then There Was Ska…
In the last issue of The Montreal Community Contact, I examined the origins of Jamaica’s first popular music, Mento… The Calypso Of Yard, so to speak. It gives us an opportunity to delve into the evolution of Jamaican music by looking at ‘ska’ the music that followed mento. With The Folkes Brothers’ 1960 tune “Oh Carolina”, it ushered in a new era in Jamaican music with its Nyabinghi drummer and Rastafarian influence. Mento by now was more so novelty music for the older folks as something new was happening on the island, musically. The Nyabinghi drummers and Rastas would be …