Hey there, it's Kathy. I just wanted to let you know that you can listen to History of the 90s

early and ad-free on Amazon music included with Prime.

It was pouring rain when the headliner band took the stage at the Chicago stop of the 1997

Vans Warp Tour. But nothing could slow down the group's lead singer.

Backed up by a lively horn section, Dickie Barrett roared through the band's pumped-up hits

with his usual frenetic pace and gravelly voice.

The Mighty, Mighty Boss Tones were riding the wave of a Skaw revival

that had young people combing thrift stores for vintage clothes

and skanking along to the dozens of Skaw-influenced bands that burst onto the scene.

And Skaw wasn't the only retro music with horns making a comeback at the time.

There was also the big band sound of retro swing.

Life was good in the 90s, and the music reflected it.

The fun, upbeat sounds of Skaw and Swing were the perfect fit for the time.

Grab your pork pie hats and dancing shoes, because on this episode, we're looking back at

the rise of 90s ska and swing.

Third wave ska hit North America with full force in 1997.

But as the name would suggest, ska music had been around long before kids in the U.S. and Canada began skanking to rancid and the mighty, mighty boss tones.

So before we get into third wave, let's take a look back at the first and second waves.

Skaw music was born in the late 1950s in Jamaica and is actually the grandfather to reggae music.

Ken Partridge is the author of Hell of a Hat, a book about the rise of 90s ska and swing.

He says First Wave ska combined the Caribbean sounds of Mento and Calypso with American R&B music.

So there's all kinds of stories about, you know, people in Jamaica would be picking up, you know, radio signals out in New Orleans and stuff.

...