Terry Hall, longtime lead singer for the Specials, has died at age 63. The Specials were at the forefront of the British ska-revival genre known as 2-Tone, a term coined by Specials keyboardist Jerry Dammers. The 2 Tone ska revival of the late 1970s in Britain fused Jamaican ska rhythms and melodies with the faster tempos and harder edge of punk rock, forming ska-punk. The Specials weren’t a punk band, but they sang about the same go-nowhere working-class youth identity that animated the first wave of British punk bands.

Music historians typically divide the history of ska into three periods: the original Jamaican scene of the 1960s; the 2 Tone ska revival of the late 1970s; and third wave ska, which involved bands from a wide range of countries around the world, in the late 1980s and 1990s. Let’s honor Terry Hall and his contribution to the ska revolution. For today’s 9:30 Coffee Break, what ska songs do you want to hear?

Respond with your song ideas in the comments below.

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Songs Played:
The Specials – Gangsters
Toots and The Maytals – Monkey Man
Madness – One Step Beyond
Prince Buster – Madness
Fishbone – Skankin’ to the Beat
Desmond Dekker – Israelites
The English Beat – Twist And Crawl
The Selecter – Too Much Pressure
Reel Big Fish – Sell Out
The Specials – A Message to You, Rudy (Bonus Track!)