I’ve always been subtly influenced by Reggae – often without even knowing it. Being drawn to artists/bands such as The Police, Sublime, Joe Strummer… it’s really interesting finding out where their influences came from.

The vault of greatness:
Tenor Saw passed 3 years after this performance. He was a dance hall singer in the 80s and one of the most influential singer/performers of the early digital reggae era. His best-known song was the 1985 hit “Ring The Alarm” below.

For more music : http://www.discogs.com/artist/Tenor+Saw

Reggae’s used to define most types of Jamaican music following on the development of ska and rocksteady.
Many artists have been influenced by Tenor, specifically Sublime and Supercat to name a few.

The history of ska is typically divided into three periods:
1)The original Jamaican scene of the 1960s.
2)The English ska revival of the late 1970s which was a fusion of Jamaican ska rhythms and melodies with punk rock’s more aggressive guitar chords and lyrics.
3)The third wave ska movement, which started in the 1980s and rose to popularity in the US in the 1990s. No Doubt, for example.

I always wondered where my attraction to punk music came from – I knew it wasn’t the screaming or the often defiant behavior (not pointing any fingers). It was the under-lying Jamaican ska rhythms and melodies.
The Specials, The Clash, Rancid, Mighty Mighty Bosstones.
A few of my favorites…
Rancid – Time Bomb

The Clash – Straight To Hell (Every time I hear M.I.A’s Paper Planes I think of the beginning of this song……..)

Enjoy!