Jump to content

Dance hall (Jamaican): Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Content deleted Content added
Addbot (talk | contribs)
m Bot: Migrating 1 interwiki links, now provided by Wikidata on d:q3701456
 
(13 intermediate revisions by 13 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{refimprove|article|date=May 2010}}
{{refimprove|date=May 2010}}
{{About|the Jamaican locations||Dance hall (disambiguation)}}
The '''dance halls''' of [[Jamaica]] in the 1950s and 1960s were home to public dances usually targeted at younger patrons. [[Sound system (Jamaican)|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.
The '''dance halls''' of [[Jamaica]] in the 1950s and 1960s were home to public dances usually targeted at younger patrons. [[Sound system (Jamaican)|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.


==History==
==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 boy]]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 (Jamaican)|sound system]] operators like [[Duke Reid]], and [[Coxsone Dodd]]. It was in the dance halls that [[Skank (dance)|ska dancing]] first originated.
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 boy]]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 (Jamaican)|sound system]] operators like [[Duke Reid]], and [[Coxsone Dodd]]. It was in the dance halls that [[Skank (dance)|ska dancing]] originated.


Jamaican dance halls of today still bear strong resemblance to the days when Dodd was spinning the latest release out of [[Studio One (record label)|Studio One]]. Dance halls of today often serve as competition grounds for [[DJ]]s, just like they did in the early days, though today's competitions end less often in the dance being broken up by rude boys.
Jamaican dance halls of today still bear strong resemblance to the days when Dodd was spinning the latest release out of [[Studio One (record label)|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==
==Notable early DJs==
[[Coxsone Dodd]] 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, [[Phonograph|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]].
[[Coxsone Dodd]] was born on January 26 1932 in Kingston, Jamaica. He began at a young age playing [[bebop]] and [[jazz]] records in his parents' 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, [[Phonograph|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]].

===Influence on hip hop===
According to many music historians, hip hop began with [[DJ Kool Herc]], 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 (Jamaican)|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.<ref>Barrow, Steve and Peter Dalton, Reggae: The Rough Guide. Rough Guides. (1997) ISBN 1-85828-247-0</ref>


==Notes==
==Notes==
Line 17: Line 15:


==References==
==References==
* Stolzoff, Norman C. Wake the Town and Tell the People: Dancehall Culture in Jamaica. ISBN 0-8223-2514-4
* Stolzoff, Norman C. Wake the Town and Tell the People: Dancehall Culture in Jamaica. {{ISBN|0-8223-2514-4}}
*Chang, Jeff (2005). Can't Stop, Won't Stop: A History of the Hip Hop Generation. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-30143-X.
* Chang, Jeff (2005). Can't Stop, Won't Stop: A History of the Hip Hop Generation. St. Martin's Press. {{ISBN|0-312-30143-X}}.
*Barrow, Steve and Peter Dalton, Reggae: The Rough Guide. Rough Guides. (1997) ISBN 1-85828-247-0.
* Barrow, Steve and Peter Dalton, Reggae: The Rough Guide. Rough Guides. (1997) {{ISBN|1-85828-247-0}}.


==External links==
==External links==
*[http://www.daveyd.com/interviewkoolherc89.html Kool Herc interview]
* [http://www.daveyd.com/interviewkoolherc89.html Kool Herc interview]
*[http://www.bigupradio.com/artistDetail.jsp?aid=2872 Profile of Prince Buster]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070407052036/http://www.bigupradio.com/artistDetail.jsp?aid=2872 Profile of Prince Buster]
*[http://www.bigupradio.com/artistDetail.jsp?aid=2504 Profile of Coxsone Dodd]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070928011155/http://www.bigupradio.com/artistDetail.jsp?aid=2504 Profile of Coxsone Dodd]


{{reggae}}
{{reggae}}


[[Category:Dance venues]]
[[Category:Dance venues]]
[[Category:Jamaican music]]
[[Category:Music of Jamaica]]
[[Category:Reggae culture]]
[[Category:Reggae culture]]

Latest revision as of 20:30, 4 April 2024

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.

History

[edit]

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 boys 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 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

[edit]

Coxsone Dodd was born on January 26 1932 in Kingston, Jamaica. He began at a young age playing bebop and jazz records in his parents' 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.

Notes

[edit]

References

[edit]
  • Stolzoff, Norman C. Wake the Town and Tell the People: Dancehall Culture in Jamaica. ISBN 0-8223-2514-4
  • Chang, Jeff (2005). Can't Stop, Won't Stop: A History of the Hip Hop Generation. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-30143-X.
  • Barrow, Steve and Peter Dalton, Reggae: The Rough Guide. Rough Guides. (1997) ISBN 1-85828-247-0.
[edit]