[Ads-l] Slight Antedating of "Ska"

[Shapiro, Fred]

ska (OED 17 Mar. 1964)

1964 Evening Standard 7 Mar. (Rock's Back Pages)

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.

Fred Shapiro


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