walking upstream…
Prince Buster
photo: yerpo · cc by-sa 3.0 ↗Prince Buster
sourcesWikipedia
Cecil Bustamente Campbell, known as Prince Buster, was a foundational figure of Jamaican ska: a singer, producer, and sound-system operator whose early-to-mid-1960s sides helped codify the offbeat rhythm that grew out of the American R&B heard on Kingston's sound systems. Records like 'Al Capone,' 'Madness,' and the 'Judge Dread' series made him a star across Jamaica and among Britain's Mod and later skinhead audiences. A generation on, his catalog became a cornerstone of the 2 Tone revival, whose bands covered his songs and, in Madness's case, took their name from one.
the sound in question
1964
Al CaponePrince Buster
walk the tributaries ↓
Fats Domino1950s · Rock and roll / Rhythm and blues / Boogie-woogie
Ska grew directly out of the American R&B that dominated Jamaican sound systems in the 1950s, and Fats Domino's rolling New Orleans piano and easy, good-time swing were among the sounds Jamaican musicians absorbed and reworked into the new offbeat music Prince Buster made.
listen: upstream & here
1956
Blueberry HillFats Domino
1968
Enjoy YourselfPrince Buster
listen forHear the loping piano triplets and warm party feel of Domino's 'Blueberry Hill,' then notice the same melodic, piano-and-organ good humor carried into the offbeat bounce of Prince Buster's 'Enjoy Yourself.'
Louis Jordan1940s · Jump Blues / R&B / Swing
Louis Jordan's jump blues, the shuffling swing, the tight horn-driven combo, the wink of novelty and dance, was a sound-system staple in Jamaica and a clear ancestor of ska's jumpy, brass-forward instrumentals like the ones Prince Buster cut.
listen: upstream & here
1946
Choo Choo Ch'BoogieLouis Jordan
1964
One Step BeyondPrince Buster
listen forPlay Jordan's 'Choo Choo Ch'Boogie' for that chugging, train-like shuffle and jump-band horns, then hear Prince Buster turn a similar galloping jump feel into the ska instrumental 'One Step Beyond.'
Wynonie Harris1940s · Jump blues / Rhythm and blues
The shouting, exuberant jump-blues of Wynonie Harris, brash vocals riding a hard-driving R&B beat, was exactly the kind of American record Jamaican sound systems spun, and its raucous energy fed the boisterous, exclamatory side of Prince Buster's ska.
listen: upstream & here
1948
Good Rockin' TonightWynonie Harris
1963
MadnessPrince Buster
listen forCue Harris's 'Good Rockin' Tonight' for its whooping call to party over a stomping backbeat, then hear that same rowdy, shout-it-out spirit in Prince Buster's 'Madness.'