Skammentary: "Monkey Man" is a seminal ska song, written & recorded by Toots & the Maytals in 1969 & introduced to a broader audience through this cover version by The Specials from 1979. Many other bands & singers have subsequently covered The Specials' cover. I discovered ska in 1997, & thus the ska-punk of the 1990s remains closest to my heart, but SKApril celebrates all ska, across time & space, from original Jamaican roots ska (1960s) to 2-Tone (1970s-1980s) to third-wave ska-punk (1990s-2000s) to the supposed fourth wave that has yet to crest.
"Monkey Man" is an insult a jilted boy hurls at the new boyfriend of his ex-girlfriend. Tell me again, smug & scolding ska S.J.W., that ska has always & everywhere been only political.
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