Genre Research Project 88/1362: Third Wave Ska

The Third Wave of Ska Revival emerged in the late '80s, when certain members of the American punk underground began returning to the sounds of British ska revival and infusing it with a hardcore punk attack. During the early '80s, this third wave continued to grow -- more bands continued to pop up across the country, but many of the most popular were based in California. As time wore on, the hardcore influences eventually mutated into heavy metal, much like hardcore punk itself. Eventually, the third wave of ska revivalists broke into the American mainstream, thanks to the success of fellow Californian punk revivalists Green Day and the Offspring. The first third wave band to break big was Rancid, but they were quickly followed by groups like No Doubt, Goldfinger, Sublime, and Dancehall Crashers; the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, who were one of the leading figures of the scene in the early '90s, just missed the commercial bandwagon. Most of the bands that followed Rancid into the charts emphasized metal over ska, but some -- like No Doubt -- drew from new wave pop roots as well, while Rancid themselves managed to stay true to both ska revival and punk. During 1996, the third wave of ska revival became one of the most popular forms of alternative music in the United States.