Ska Punk - History

History

Ska and punk rock were first combined during the 2 Tone movement of the late 1970s, by bands such as The Specials, The Selecter, The Beat, and Madness. The fusion of the two genres became most prevalent in the 1980s, during the third wave of ska, and this is what most people associate with ska punk.

Fishbone formed in 1979 in Los Angeles and is widely considered a pioneer of the genre, followed by Operation Ivy formed in 1987 in the East Bay area of San Francisco. One of the first appearances of the term ska-core was in the title of The Mighty Mighty Bosstones 1993 album Ska-Core, the Devil, and More. Bands like Sublime and No Doubt gained mainstream popularity as ska-punk with No Doubt's 1995 Tragic Kingdom, and Sublime's 1996 self-titled album, which would both go Platinum multiple times with No Doubt going on to diamond certification, although Sublime is mostly associated with Ska and Reggae styles whereas No Doubt used elements of alternative Rock and dance music. The Mighty Mighty Bosstones appeared in the movie Clueless, and their 1997 album Let's Face It went platinum. Save Ferris appeared in the film 10 Things I Hate About You, and Reel Big Fish performed songs in the movie BASEketball which were also included on the soundtrack. The Offspring and Rancid also have used the genre in songs such as "What Happened to You", "Don't Pick it Up", and Why Don't You Get A Job by The Offspring and "Roots Radicals", "Time Bomb", and "Bloodclot" by Rancid.