Well, shit. I just heard that Terry Hall died a little over a week ago. Pancreatic cancer. He was the lead singer of the Specials from 1979-1981, when the band was at the peak of their popularity and the most visible of the second generation of ska bands, primarily British and most on Two-Tone Records. After he left the Specials he continued with Fun Boy Three, then Colourfield and, well, a few other projects. He eventually re-joined the Specials for a reunion tour in 2009. When you think about it, and I have, the Specials are a big part of the reason that people, in the U.S. anyway, know that there was Jamaican popular music prior to reggae. Although I'm sure I'd heard a few ska songs by the time the Specials surfaced, I hadn't noticed a distinct difference from reggae. But, just as in going backwards to find the sources of old blues or rock 'n' roll songs, I was prodded to learn about the origins of ska after hearing Hall and the Specials. Dude was like the Elvis of ska, in that he was turning kids on to old music originally done by black musicians they never heard of.
The Specials - Rat Race mp3 at Tumblr
The Specials - Too Hot mp3 at Tumblr
The Specials - Too Much Too Young mp3 at Tumblr
The Specials - Little Bitch mp3 at Tumblr
The Specials - Take Five mp3 at Tumblr
The Specials - Do the Dog mp3 at Tumblr
Video:
The Specials 30th Anniversary Tour at YouTube Full set, 24 songs
Visit:
2-Tone.Info - Extensive fan site
No comments:
Post a Comment