Etymology of "Ska"

[Fred Shapiro]

The OED's first citation is Sept. 1964.  The following provides earlier
evidence as well as an explanation of the etymology:

"The 'Ska' hits London --but they call it Blue Beat ... Towards the end of
the fifties the Jamaicans got keen on rhythm and blues, particularly a
record called 'No More Doggin' sung by Roscoe Gordon.  They got hold of
this beat, cheered it up a bit, added some cute lyrics and called it Ska
-- an onomatopoeic word for the sound the guitar made.  From 1959 onwards
this was all the rage.  We called it Blue Beat here [London, England]
because of the label it was issued on."
        Article by Maureen Cleave, Daily Gleaner (Kingston, Jamaica), 17
Mar. 1964, page 7

Fred Shapiro


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Fred R. Shapiro                             Editor
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