Before Bob Marley brought reggae to the world, before Jimmy Cliff and Peter Tosh, before thousands of musicians played a Jamaican rhythm, there were the men and women who created ska music, a blend of jazz, American rhythm and blues, and the indigenous music of the Caribbean. This book tells the story of ska music and its development from Jamaica to England, where the music took on a distinctively different tone, and finally to the rest of the world. Through the words of legendary artists, gleaned from more than a decade of interviews, the story of ska music is finally told by those who were there.

Heather Augustyn is a continuing lecturer in the English department at Purdue Northwest. She has written seven books on ska and Jamaican music and lives in Northwest Indiana.

Heather Augustyn
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 216
Bibliographic Info: 27 photos, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2010
pISBN: 978-0-7864-6040-3
eISBN: 978-0-7864-6197-4
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments      vi
Foreword by Cedella Marley      1
Preface      3

1. Let the Good Times Roll: Derrick Morgan, with Millicent “Patsy” Todd and Lyn Taitt      7
2. Queen of Ska: Doreen Shaffer with Lloyd Knibb, Lloyd Brevett, Roland Alphonso and Lester Sterling      34
3. Godfather of Ska: Laurel Aitken      56
4. Passion and Revival: Toots Hibbert      64
5. Big Man: Judge Dread      73
6. Too Much Too Young: The Specials’ Roddy Radiation      83
7. So Hot You’re Cool: The Beat’s Dave Wakeling and Ranking Roger      109
8. More Than a “Three Minute Hero”: The Selecter’s Pauline Black with Millie Small      137
9. Welcome to the House of Fun: Lee “Kix” Thompson of Madness      151
10. Fat Bastard: Buster Bloodvessel of Bad Manners      163
11. Melting Pot      175

Bibliography      197
Index      201

• Finalist, ARSC Award for Excellence
• “Excellent…fascinating interviews…hugely entertaining”—Trojan Records
• “Well-researched and always interesting book”—R2 Rock ’n’ Reel
• “Groundbreaking story…worthy tribute”—Chesterton Tribune
• “You’ll definitely want this book”—Marco on the Bass