ALL HAIL THE KING OF SRA GUITAR!
OVERLOOKED, UNDERRATED, SIDELINED AND DOWNPLAYED SIXTIES GUITAR HEROES PART 3: ERNEST RANGLIN
LEGEND HAS IT THAT THE GENRE NAME “SKA” — JAMAICA’S MID-SIXTIES PRECURSOR TO REGGAE — WAS COINED TO DESCRIBE THE SOUND OF ERNEST RANGLIN’S GUITAR. WHEN I INTERVIEWED THE SEMINAL JAMAICAN GUITARIST IN 1997, HE HAD THIS TO SAY ON THE MATTER:
“I invented the music, but not the word. And even reggae — I didn’t invent that word either, but I invented the music.”
To someone unaware of Ranglin’s immense contribution to the history of Jamaican music, this statement might seem boastful. But if you dive deep into the island’s formidable musical legacy, you’ll find the compelling rhythmic skank and muted-string poetry of Ranglin’s guitar on countless landmark tracks. He has worked with many of the greats — Bob Marley, Bunny Wailer, Toots and the Maytals, Burning Spear, Jimmy Cliff, Desmond Dekker, the Melodians, the Gladiators and numerous others. He was the first-call session guitarist and arranger for all the key producers who shaped Jamaica’s trifecta of popular music genres — ska, rock steady and reggae — Clement “Sir Coxsone” Dodd, Prince Buster, Lee “Scratch” Perry and Island Records chief Chris Blackwell.
When you consider the numerous ska revivals that have taken place worldwide since the Sixties, and also factor in reggae’s tremendous influence on rock music, it’s an inevitable conclusion that a legion of guitarists owe a stylistic debt of gratitude to Ranglin. The Specials, the Selector, Madness, the Clash, the Police, the Slits, the Ruts, Rancid, No Doubt, the Slackers, Hep Cat,
