Skatalites
Nowadays musicians tend to take for granted their ability to raise political awareness; for some it’s all in a day’s work. But popular music hasn’t always reflected the politics of the populace, and in the heady atmosphere of postcolonial Jamaica, the practice was still practically unheard of. Though they existed for just 14 months, from 1964 to ’65, the early Jamaican ska band the Skatalites heralded not only future incarnations of reggae but political pop from Curtis Mayfield to the Sex Pistols to Public Enemy.
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Oddly, Jamaica in the 50s lacked a recording industry, despite rabid demand for records from mobile “sound system” DJ collectives like the one run by Clement “Coxsone” Dodd (who produced the tunes on Foundation Ska). But when American swing petered out at the end of the decade, Jamaican musicians and producers finally began collaborating on their own music, a sort of swing-derived boogie. The musicians were a disorganized lot, understandably eager to record as much as possible, and producers took advantage, calling on whomever was available, paying them up front to cut tracks, and then sending them on their way. One of the musicians, tenor saxist and flutist Tommy McCook, figured if he gathered together the best of his peers into a set group, he’d have more bargaining power.
Though roughly half the tunes on Foundation Ska are instrumental–a fact that might surprise modern ska fans–this sort of wildly exuberant, celebratory horn play reflected Jamaican attitudes in the wake of independence. The overwhelming feeling even among the poor was that Jamaica was finally on its way to glory. Carefree instrumentals titled “Hot Cargo” and “Christine Keeler”–named for the woman at the center of the political scandal that helped end British rule–summed up the prevailing mood. Other titles paid homage to key political figures, including Fidel Castro, with whom many islanders identified. When the Skatalites did use vocals, they often turned to artists they’d worked with in their session days, like Bob Marley & the Wailers on “Simmer Down,” and Cole on “World Fair,” both included on Foundation Ska along with other tracks fronted by popular vocalists like Jackie Opel.
