Ernest Ranglin – All Hall The King Of Ska Guitar

The life and times of jamaican guitar legend ernest ranglin

- By Alan Di Perna. Photography by Darren Coleman/Photoshot/ Getty Images

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.