Dance Hall (Caribbean)
Encyclopedia
The dance halls of Jamaica
in the 1950s and 1960s were home to public dances usually targeted at younger patrons. Sound system operators had big home-made audio systems (often housed in the flat bed of a pickup truck), spinning records from popular American rhythm and blues
musicians and Jamaican ska
and rocksteady
performers. The term dancehall
has also come to refer to a subgenre of reggae that originated around 1980.
s to break up a competitor's dance, which fostered the growth and violent tendencies of this subculture. Dance halls contributed to the rise of ska
as the predominant form of popular music at the time, and gave rise to a new social power in the form of major sound system operators like Duke Reid
, and Coxsone Dodd
. It was in the dance halls that ska dancing
first originated.
Jamaican dance halls of today still bear strong resemblance to the days when Dodd was spinning the latest release out of Studio One. Dance halls of today often serve as competition grounds for DJs, just like they did in the early days, though today's competitions end less often in the dance being broken up by rude boys.
was born on January 26 1932 in Kingston, Jamaica. He began at a young age playing bebop
and jazz
records in his parent's liquor store for their customers in the late 1940s. He then moved to United States to work as a cane cutter, and it was there that he began to listen to rhythm and blues
. After a short period of time he moved back to Jamaica with his own PA system, turntable
, and box of records. Dodd set up his first sound system, the DownBeat, in 1954 playing boogie-woogie
, jazz, and R&B. Prince Buster
was born Cecil Campbell in 1938 in Kingston, Jamaica. After working for the Coxson Sound System, he created his own sound system in 1962 called The Voice of the People. Campbell dedicated himself to providing a voice for the African diaspora
.
, a Jamaican who lived in the urban neighborhoods of New York City. According to him, breakbeat
s were created out of his understanding or belief that the bass and the drum were the elements of music that moved people to dance. In an interview in 1989 with Davey D, DJ Kool Herc says "Hip hop, the whole chemistry of that came from Jamaica". Kool Herc was known in the Bronx for his sound system the Herculoids, which was a huge, heavy, and loud speaker system. He traveled around playing for free in the neighborhoods and parks of New York City. However, this new American phenomenon was not just common in New York. International dance culture, including hip hop, has adopted this practice.
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
in the 1950s and 1960s were home to public dances usually targeted at younger patrons. Sound system operators had big home-made audio systems (often housed in the flat bed of a pickup truck), spinning records from popular American rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
musicians and Jamaican ska
Ska
Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
and rocksteady
Rocksteady
Rocksteady is a music genre that originated in Jamaica around 1966. A successor to ska and a precursor to reggae, rocksteady was performed by Jamaican vocal harmony groups such as The Gaylads, The Maytals and The Paragons. The term rocksteady comes from a dance style that was mentioned in the Alton...
performers. The term dancehall
Dancehall
Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s. In the mid-1980s, digital instrumentation became more prevalent, changing the sound considerably,...
has also come to refer to a subgenre of reggae that originated around 1980.
History
Dance hall owners and sound system operators often competed fiercely with other owners/operators to capture the attention of their young clientele. The competition often led to the hiring of Rude boyRude boy
Rude boy, rudeboy, rudie, rudi or rudy are common terms used in Jamaica. In the 1960s it was also used for juvenile delinquents and criminals in Jamaica, and has since been used in other contexts...
s to break up a competitor's dance, which fostered the growth and violent tendencies of this subculture. Dance halls contributed to the rise of ska
Ska
Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
as the predominant form of popular music at the time, and gave rise to a new social power in the form of major sound system operators like Duke Reid
Duke Reid
Treasure Isle re-directs here. For the game, see Treasure Isle .Arthur "Duke" Reid, CD was a Jamaican record producer, DJ and label owner....
, and Coxsone Dodd
Coxsone Dodd
Clement Seymour "Sir Coxsone" Dodd, CD was a Jamaican record producer who was influential in the development of ska and reggae in the 1950s, 1960s and beyond...
. It was in the dance halls that ska dancing
Skank (dance)
Skanking is a form of dancing practiced in the ska, ska punk, hardcore punk, reggae, and other music scenes.The dance style originated in the 1950s or 1960s at Jamaican dance halls, where ska music was played. British mods and skinheads of the 1960s adopted these types of dances and altered them...
first originated.
Jamaican dance halls of today still bear strong resemblance to the days when Dodd was spinning the latest release out of Studio One. Dance halls of today often serve as competition grounds for DJs, just like they did in the early days, though today's competitions end less often in the dance being broken up by rude boys.
Notable early DJs
Coxsone DoddCoxsone Dodd
Clement Seymour "Sir Coxsone" Dodd, CD was a Jamaican record producer who was influential in the development of ska and reggae in the 1950s, 1960s and beyond...
was born on January 26 1932 in Kingston, Jamaica. He began at a young age playing bebop
Bebop
Bebop differed drastically from the straightforward compositions of the swing era, and was instead characterized by fast tempos, asymmetrical phrasing, intricate melodies, and rhythm sections that expanded on their role as tempo-keepers...
and jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
records in his parent's liquor store for their customers in the late 1940s. He then moved to United States to work as a cane cutter, and it was there that he began to listen to rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
. After a short period of time he moved back to Jamaica with his own PA system, turntable
Phonograph
The phonograph record player, or gramophone is a device introduced in 1877 that has had continued common use for reproducing sound recordings, although when first developed, the phonograph was used to both record and reproduce sounds...
, and box of records. Dodd set up his first sound system, the DownBeat, in 1954 playing boogie-woogie
Boogie-woogie
Boogie-woogie has the following meanings:*Boogie-woogie, a piano-based music style*Boogie-woogie , a swing dance or a dance that imitates the rock-n-roll dance of the 1950s*"Boogie Woogie" , a song by EuroGroove and Dannii Minogue...
, jazz, and R&B. Prince Buster
Prince Buster
Cecil Bustamente Campbell, O.D. , better known as Prince Buster, and also known by his Muslim name Muhammed Yusef Ali, is a musician from Kingston, Jamaica. He is regarded as one of the most important figures in the history of ska and rocksteady music...
was born Cecil Campbell in 1938 in Kingston, Jamaica. After working for the Coxson Sound System, he created his own sound system in 1962 called The Voice of the People. Campbell dedicated himself to providing a voice for the African diaspora
African diaspora
The African diaspora was the movement of Africans and their descendants to places throughout the world—predominantly to the Americas also to Europe, the Middle East and other places around the globe...
.
Influence on hip hop
According to many music historians, hip hop began with DJ Kool HercDJ Kool Herc
Clive Campbell , also known as Kool Herc, DJ Kool Herc and Kool DJ Herc, is a Jamaican-born DJ who is credited with originating hip hop music, in The Bronx, New York City...
, a Jamaican who lived in the urban neighborhoods of New York City. According to him, breakbeat
Breakbeat
In 1992, a new style called "jungalistic hardcore" emerged, and for many ravers it was too funky to dance to. Josh Lawford of Ravescene prophesied that the breakbeat was "the death-knell of rave" because the ever changing drumbeat patterns of breakbeat music didn't allow for the same zoned out,...
s were created out of his understanding or belief that the bass and the drum were the elements of music that moved people to dance. In an interview in 1989 with Davey D, DJ Kool Herc says "Hip hop, the whole chemistry of that came from Jamaica". Kool Herc was known in the Bronx for his sound system the Herculoids, which was a huge, heavy, and loud speaker system. He traveled around playing for free in the neighborhoods and parks of New York City. However, this new American phenomenon was not just common in New York. International dance culture, including hip hop, has adopted this practice.