I was thinking about posting some oldschool ska, because lately I’ve been listening to my old Toasters and Skatalites CDs again and again. Ska is probably a music I’ll always listen, it’s not pretentious, it’s fun, the dance itself is pretty cool and the music is always pleasing and masterful. While checking for some video footage on Youtube I came across 2 priceless Skatalites footage from 1984’s Sunbeam Festival.

The Skatalites – Latin goes Ska

Prince Buster & The Skatalites – Al Capone

That had set my mind to post about Skatalites, when I heard that Desmond Dekker died. Desmond Dekker is one of the original reggae/ska vocalists that really shaped the genre and got the first international hit with Israelites. So here’s a tribute to all the legendary ska figures that have passed away like Desmond Dekker and Don Drummond, Tommy Mc Cook, and Rolando Alphonso and living ones like Lester Sterling and Prince Buster.

The Skatalites – Latin goes Ska
The Skatalites – Doctor Dekker
Prince Buster and the All Stars – One Step Beyond (original of the world famous Madness song)
The Skatalites – Ball of Fire
Desmond Dekker & The Aces – Israelites on Chez Lubacov Radio
Desmond Dekker – Pretty Africa on Music for Robots

Desmond Dekker – The Israelites