Rocksteady
Rocksteady describes a style of music that was predominant in Jamaica between the sixties and seventies .
Rocksteady evolved from Ska . A heat wave and the burgeoning violence of the rude boys in dance halls are often cited as the trigger for this development . The beat was slowed down to make dancing less strenuous and to calm the heated minds. More likely, however, is the simple fact of countering fast ska with a style that was new at the time, which gave the bass player more room for more complex and melodic basslines. Rocksteady then went into reggae , or in its early phase, early reggae .
Similarities between Ska, Rocksteady and Reggae are the strong accentuation of the “and” beats by the rhythm instruments ( electric guitar and piano ), the so-called African “off-beat”. The " one drop ", which is already used in ska, becomes the dominant drum style in rocksteady . With this rhythm, the usual beat of the big drum on the first beat is omitted and many edge beats, so-called "rim shots", are used.
A difference to the ska is the already mentioned slower pace. In addition, the electric bass accompaniment , which in ska mostly followed the walking bass or some other simple scheme, became more syncopated and riff- like. Usually the bass line was doubled by a muted lead guitar , an element that is also often found in reggae. The rhythm guitar gave the slower tempo more room for rhythmic variations. In contrast to the ska, the winds faded into the background or disappeared entirely. They were used, if at all, for melodic interjections and rarely for harmonic accompaniment.
Singing trios became very popular during the Rocksteady era. In part, these are based on a slow, somewhat sappy variant of the American soul of the mid-sixties. Here are the Techniques , the Uniques , the Melodians , the Heptones and the Paragons . The Ethiopians , the Pioneers , Justin Hinds & The Dominoes and Desmond Dekker & The Aces developed a rougher and more independent sound . Solo artists of the era were Alton Ellis , Dandy Livingstone , Ken Boothe and Prince Buster .
Thematically, Rocksteady was very fixated on love songs, especially with the soul-oriented groups as well as with Alton Ellis and Ken Boothe. The second prevailing theme was the rude boy scene. Often it was a call to them to renounce violence. As a third topic, wisdom and religious topics can be mentioned, so u. a. with Justin Hinds.
As the very first rock steady track, Tougher Than Tough by Derrick Morgan is occasionally mentioned . Other typical songs of this era are: Too Hot by Prince Buster , Keith & Tex with Stop that Train , The Ethiopians with The Whip , 007 (Shanty Town) by Desmond Dekker , Lee Perry with I'm the Upsetter , Justin Hinds ´ Save A Bread , The Gaylads with ABC Rocksteady , Alton Ellis ´ Rock Steady , The Paragons with The Tide Is High , I'll get along without you by The Melodians , Dandy Livingstones Rudy, A Message To You , Laurel Aitkens Donkey Man and Queen Majesty by of the group The Techniques.
The Swiss filmmaker and specialist in Jamaican music Stascha Bader released the documentary Rocksteady - The Roots of Reggae in 2009 . Performing in it: Hopeton Lewis, who recorded the rocksteady song Take It Easy when he was 16 ; Dawn Penn , whose song You Don't Love Me (No, No, No) was covered by many other bands and became a worldwide hit; Stranger Cole ( Love Me Today ); Marcia Griffiths ( The Tide Is High ); Ken Boothe ( Shanty Town (007) ); Derrick Morgan ( Tougher Than Tough ); Leroy Sibbles ( Equal Rights ); U-Roy ( Stop That Train ) and Judy Mowatt ( Silent River Runs Deep ).
Individual evidence
- ^ The Melodians. In: Trojan Records. Retrieved July 31, 2020 (American English).
- ↑ Andreas Reichelt: The forefather of Reggea: Stranger Cole. In: MUSIK-MARKETING.NET. April 24, 2020, accessed on April 25, 2020 (German).
- ↑ documentary Rocksteady in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- ^ Rocksteady: The Roots of Reggae. In: Version in the Internet Archive. February 14, 2018, accessed July 31, 2020 .