In this episode, I focus on the incredibly influential and often overlooked role that Eddy Grant has played in merging the sounds of ska, reggae, pop, dance and rock music. I’ve always been a huge fan and consider Grant a musical futurist who has successfully combined the best of James Brown, Jimi Hendrix and Bob Marley into something completely unique. I’ll be taking a look at Grant’s diverse musical career and will also dig into his most well known American hit “Electric Avenue” which went to #2 on the Billboard charts in 1983.Grant is a musical pioneer and trailblazer who has left his mark on ska, reggae, calypso, rock and pop music and deserves credit for combining the best of Black and White music beginning in the mid-60's and up through the mid 80's. Many of Grant's songs always display a lyrical or musical edge of some kind. I’ve always believed he creates protest music you can dance to.Please note: The music clips included in this podcast fall under the “Fair Use Doctrine” as defined by Section 107 of the Copyright Act. The law allows for use of music clips for purposes of criticism, comment, and news reporting.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to 2 Tone Legacy a special 10-part audio documentary series of the Ska Boom podcast that focuses on the stories behind the songs that contribute to the enduring legacy of 2 Tone music and its ongoing impact on popular culture. In each episode, I'll be joined by Paul Williams, author of "You're Wondering Now: The Specials from Conception to Reunion" and lead singer of UK 2-Tone band The Skapones. Paul is a noted 2 Tone expert and he'll be sharing his memories and insights on all the songs covered in this series."Easy Life" by The Bodysnatchers may be one of the most deceptively revolutionary 2 Tone songs of all time. Though it sounds like an upbeat feminist ditty and it is remarkably catchy and danceable, a close read of the lyrics reveals some real layers to the song. “Easy Life” addresses and rejects the pressure and refusal to conform to pre-determined – often media driven – constructs of femininity. Dakkar sings: we are near to an equality/girls and boys with pay parity/we are near to an equality/the law says there is equal opportunity/but still it's a struggle/yes life is still a struggleSka Boom is hosted/produced by Marc Wasserman and co-produced/engineered by Rob George and appears on Pantheon Podcasts. Ska Boom is the audio companion to my book Ska Boom: An American Ska & Reggae Oral History available from DiWulf Publishing and Amazon.  This episode of the Ska Boom podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp.com. For more information visit https://betterhelp.com/skaboomPlease note: The music clips included in this podcast fall under the “Fair Use Doctrine” as defined by Section 107 of the Copyright Act. The law allows for use of music clips for purposes of criticism, comment, and news reporting.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to 2 Tone Legacy a special 10-part audio documentary series of the Ska Boom podcast that focuses on the stories behind the songs that contribute to the enduring legacy of 2 Tone music and its ongoing impact on popular culture. In each episode, I'll be joined by Paul Williams, author of "You're Wondering Now: The Specials from Conception to Reunion" and lead singer of UK 2-Tone band The Skapones. Paul is a noted 2 Tone expert and he'll be sharing his memories and insights on all the songs covered in this series.Dexys Midnight Runners were not a ska band, nor were they ever on the 2 Tone label, but there were interesting connections between their sound, musical approach and philosophy that make them 2 Tone adjacent. Instead of looking to Jamaica for musical inspiration, they turned to American soul and RnB and to the indigenous sound of British soul. That said, the band were part of the very first 2 Tone tour featuring The Specials, The Selecter and Madness and label head Jerry Dammers tried very hard to sign the band but to no avail. Clearly Dammers saw something in the band as their second single "Geno" went to #1 on the UK pop charts. Ska Boom is hosted/produced by Marc Wasserman and co-produced/engineered by Rob George and appears on Pantheon Podcasts. Ska Boom is the audio companion to my book Ska Boom: An American Ska & Reggae Oral History available from DiWulf Publishing and Amazon.  This episode of the Ska Boom podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp.com. For more information visit https://betterhelp.com/skaboomPlease note: The music clips included in this podcast fall under the “Fair Use Doctrine” as defined by Section 107 of the Copyright Act. The law allows for use of music clips for purposes of criticism, comment, and news reporting.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to 2 Tone Legacy a special 10-part audio documentary series of the Ska Boom podcast that focuses on the stories behind the songs that contribute to the enduring legacy of 2 Tone music and its ongoing impact on popular culture. In each episode, I'll be joined by Paul Williams, author of "You're Wondering Now: The Specials from Conception to Reunion" and lead singer of UK 2-Tone band The Skapones. Paul is a noted 2 Tone expert and he'll be sharing his memories and insights on all the songs covered in this series.It's my humble opinion that Mirror In The Bathroom by The Beat is the most distinctive song of the 80s let alone the entire 2 Tone era. This unique sound that drummer Everett Morton and bassist David Steele created together on early songs by The Beat have served as the blueprint for much of the late 80s and early 90s American ska boom that followed. Ska Boom is hosted/produced by Marc Wasserman and co-produced/engineered by Rob George and appears on Pantheon Podcasts. Ska Boom is the audio companion to my book Ska Boom: An American Ska & Reggae Oral History available from DiWulf Publishing and Amazon.  This episode of the Ska Boom podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp.com. For more information visit https://betterhelp.com/skaboomPlease note: The music clips included in this podcast fall under the “Fair Use Doctrine” as defined by Section 107 of the Copyright Act. The law allows for use of music clips for purposes of criticism, comment, and news reporting.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to 2 Tone Legacy a special 10-part audio documentary series of the Ska Boom podcast that focuses on the stories behind the songs that contribute to the enduring legacy of 2 Tone music and its ongoing impact on popular culture. In each episode, I'll be joined by Paul Williams, author of "You're Wondering Now: The Specials from Conception to Reunion" and lead singer of UK 2-Tone band The Skapones. Paul is a noted 2 Tone expert and he'll be sharing his memories and insights on all the songs covered in this series.If you've never heard it, "Madam Medusa" by UB40 is a protest song of the highest caliber that perfectly captures the impact Margaret Thatcher was having on Britain. It is as much a document of its time and place as "Catch a Fire" by Bob Marley and The Wailers is of early 1970s Kingston. And the song -- with lyrics written by noted British folk artist Ian Campbell and father to band members Robin and Ali Campbell -- was the main reason the band was under surveillance by MI5 in England for years.Ska Boom is hosted/produced by Marc Wasserman and co-produced/engineered by Rob George and appears on Pantheon Podcasts. Ska Boom is the audio companion to my book Ska Boom: An American Ska & Reggae Oral History available from DiWulf Publishing and Amazon.  This episode of the Ska Boom podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp.com. For more information visit https://betterhelp.com/skaboomPlease note: The music clips included in this podcast fall under the “Fair Use Doctrine” as defined by Section 107 of the Copyright Act. The law allows for use of music clips for purposes of criticism, comment, and news reporting.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to 2 Tone Legacy a special 10-part audio documentary series of the Ska Boom podcast that focuses on the stories behind the songs that contribute to the enduring legacy of 2 Tone music and its ongoing impact on popular culture. In each episode, I'll be joined by Paul Williams, author of "You're Wondering Now: The Specials from Conception to Reunion" and lead singer of UK 2-Tone band The Skapones. Paul is a noted 2 Tone expert and he'll be sharing his memories and insights on all the songs covered in this series.While Bad Manners is probably best known for their more lighthearted songs like Special Brew, Can Can and Skinhead Love Affair, one of their most memorable songs may actually be Inner London Violence, the dark and mesmerizing song written shortly before the Brixton and Hackney riots of 1981 that convulsed London and led to similar uprisings in cities all across Britain. In this episode I speak with Bad Manners original guitarist Louis Alphonso about the story behind the song, Gangster Fun singer John Bunkley about how the song influenced him. Ska Boom is hosted/produced by Marc Wasserman and co-produced/engineered by Rob George and appears on Pantheon Podcasts. Ska Boom is the audio companion to my book Ska Boom: An American Ska & Reggae Oral History available from DiWulf Publishing and Amazon.  This episode of the Ska Boom podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp.com. For more information visit https://betterhelp.com/skaboomPlease note: The music clips included in this podcast fall under the “Fair Use Doctrine” as defined by Section 107 of the Copyright Act. The law allows for use of music clips for purposes of criticism, comment, and news reporting.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to 2 Tone Legacy a special 10-part audio documentary series of the Ska Boom podcast that focuses on the stories behind the songs that contribute to the enduring legacy of 2 Tone music and its ongoing impact on popular culture. In each episode, I'll be joined by Paul Williams, author of "You're Wondering Now: The Specials from Conception to Reunion" and lead singer of UK 2-Tone band The Skapones. Paul is a noted 2 Tone expert and he'll be sharing his memories and insights on all the songs covered in this series.If pressed to name my favorite album and song of the entire 2-Tone era I would have to say "Celebrate The Bullet" by The Selecter. Surprised? You shouldn't be. In my humble opinion "Celebrate The Bullet" broke the mold and remains the most creative and unique collection of songs to come out of the entire 2-Tone era. The Selecter created a haunting, bluesy iteration of ska that to my knowledge has never been attempted before or since. For that reason, it is a very unique record and it goes against the grain of what 2-Tone fans probably expected when it was released.Notably, it was also one of the few songs to address guns and gun violence in a direct and confrontational way that was sadly misunderstood when it was released around the gun death of John Lennon in December 1980 and the assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan in March 1981.Ska Boom is hosted/produced by Marc Wasserman and co-produced/engineered by Rob George and appears on Pantheon Podcasts. Ska Boom is the audio companion to my book Ska Boom: An American Ska & Reggae Oral History available from DiWulf Publishing and Amazon.  This episode of the Ska Boom podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp.com. For more information visit https://betterhelp.com/skaboomPlease note: The music clips included in this podcast fall under the “Fair Use Doctrine” as defined by Section 107 of the Copyright Act. The law allows for use of music clips for purposes of criticism, comment, and news reporting.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to 2 Tone Legacy a special 10-part audio documentary series of the Ska Boom podcast that focuses on the stories behind the songs that contribute to the enduring legacy of 2 Tone music and its ongoing impact on popular culture. In each episode, I'll be joined by Paul Williams, author of "You're Wondering Now: The Specials from Conception to Reunion" and lead singer of UK 2-Tone band The Skapones. Paul is a noted 2 Tone expert and he'll be sharing his memories and insights on all the songs covered in this series.On their second album Absolutely released in 1980, Madness began to develop and refine what came to be know as the "Nutty Sound." While ska still a large part of their overall approach, they were also tapping all of the musical influences that they loved as music obsessed teens -- late 50s rock and roll, pub rock and pop sounds like Motown. On "Embarrassment" it all comes together in a pure piece of pop that is so listenable that you may not even know they are tackling the sensitive subject of one family's complicated response to their white teenage daughter being pregnant with the child of her Black boyfriend. And while The Specials urged listeners to ditch their racist friends, Madness took another approach that was much more a slice of everyday life but no less 2 Tone in its approach to uncovering the ways that racism impacted everyday life, particularly personal relationships.Ska Boom is hosted/produced by Marc Wasserman and co-produced/engineered by Rob George and appears on Pantheon Podcasts. Ska Boom is the audio companion to my book Ska Boom: An American Ska & Reggae Oral History available from DiWulf Publishing and Amazon.  This episode of the Ska Boom podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp.com. For more information visit https://betterhelp.com/skaboomPlease note: The music clips included in this podcast fall under the “Fair Use Doctrine” as defined by Section 107 of the Copyright Act. The law allows for use of music clips for purposes of criticism, comment, and news reporting.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to 2 Tone Legacy a special 10-part audio documentary series of the Ska Boom podcast that focuses on the stories behind the songs that contribute to the enduring legacy of 2 Tone music and its ongoing impact on popular culture. In each episode, I'll be joined by Paul Williams, author of "You're Wondering Now: The Specials from Conception to Reunion" and lead singer of UK 2-Tone band The Skapones. Paul is a noted 2 Tone expert and he'll be sharing his memories and insights on all the songs covered in this series.Someone once said, "The Boiler is a song that everyone really needs to hear at least once. ... After that, it's your call." The Boiler was written by The Bodysnatchers and later recorded by The Special AKA is a first-person narrative of a "date" rape victim. The song is no less powerful and devastating today as it was when it was recorded more than 40 years ago. If you haven’t heard The Boiler, it is a powerful and important piece of music. It is social commentary of the highest caliber that will doubtless disturb but, hopefully also inspire. It is 2 Tone through and throughSka Boom is hosted/produced by Marc Wasserman and co-produced/engineered by Rob George and appears on Pantheon Podcasts. Ska Boom is the audio companion to my book Ska Boom: An American Ska & Reggae Oral History available from DiWulf Publishing and Amazon.  This episode of the Ska Boom podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp.com. For more information visit https://betterhelp.com/skaboomPlease note: The music clips included in this podcast fall under the “Fair Use Doctrine” as defined by Section 107 of the Copyright Act. The law allows for use of music clips for purposes of criticism, comment, and news reporting.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices