“King of Ska” – Desmond Dekker and the Cherry Pies
(Words/music: Desmond Dacres, available on The Definitive Collection, Sanctuary 2005) 

When reggae music started to gather steam in the mid-to-late part of the 1960s, Desmond Dekker was right in the middle of things.  By the end of the decade, Dekker wrote one of the most iconic tracks of the time period (“Israelites”) and found commercial success with several other tracks (including Jimmy Cliff’s “You Can Get It If You Really Want”).  However, as early as 1964 Dekker declared himself “King of Ska.”  Recording with the Cherry Pies (later known as the Maytals, reggae icons in their own right), Dekker seized the throne.  While the music sounds dated to the mid-1960s, lyrically Dekker sounds more like a battle rapper than a young reggae star.  “I am going to burn your skin like a blazing fire” he declares in the song’s contrasting section, giving his proclamation of power some more teeth to it.  If nothing else, it foreshadows the unforgiving nature that made “Israelites” its urgency. 

While I can’t refute Dekker’s royal lineage, I will always consider my friend (and frequent SSC commenter) Kevin to be “Ska Royalty” in my world.  I met Kevin in college and to this day I’ve never met someone with a more complete knowledge of a genre both in its contemporary form and its historical roots.  I’m pretty sure he was introduced to me as “Ska Kevin” and he certainly lived up to the name (all the while possessing one of the most open minds to non-ska music as well).  Today is Kevin’s birthday and he’s currently coping with the “Snopocalypse” blanketing the mid-Atlantic region, so I send warm happy birthday wishes along with this post.

More on Desmond Dekker: Allmusic | Amazon MP3 | Emusic | Last.fm