As the supply of previously unheard tunes in the jump blues and more traditional R&B genre began to dry up in the late 1950s, Jamaican producers began recording their own version of the genres with local artists. These recordings were initially made to be played on "Soft Wax" (a lacquer on metal disc acetate later to become known as a "Dub Plate"), but as demand for them grew eventually some time in the second half of 1959 (Believed by most to be in the last quarter) producers such as Coxsone Dodd and  Duke Reid  began to issue these recording on 45 RPM 7 inch discs. At this point the style was a direct copy of the American "Shuffle Blues" style, but with two-three years this had morphed into the more familiar Ska style with the off beat guitar chop that could be heard in some of the more up tempo late 1950s American Rhythm & Blues recordings such as Fats Domino's "Be My Guest" and Barbie Gaye's "My boy Lollipop" (both hugely popular records on Jamaican Sound Systems of the late 1950s).

This 'classic' Ska style was of bars made up of four triplets but was characterized by a guitar chop on the off beat - known as an upstroke or skank - with horns taking the lead and often following the off beat skank and piano emphasising the bass line and, again, playing the skank. Drums kept 4 / time and the bass drum was accented on the third beat of each 4 - triplet phrase. The snare would play side stick and accent the third beat of each 4 - triplet phrase. The up stroke sound can also be found in other Caribbean forms of music, such as mento and calypso.

                                                                                        One theory about the origin of ska is that Prince Buster created it                                                                                                  during the inaugural recording session for his new record label                                                                                                       Wild Bells . The session was financed by Duke Reid, who was                                                                                                    supposed to get half of the songs to release. The guitar began                                                                                                      emphasizing the second and fourth beats in the bar, giving rise to the                                                                                          new sound. The drums were taken from traditional Jamaican                                                                                                        drumming and marching styles.

                                                                                        To create the ska beat, Prince Buster essentially flipped the R&B                                                                                                  shuffle beat, stressing the off beats with the help of the guitar. Prince                                                                                            Buster has explicitly cited American rhythm & blues as the origin of                                                                                              ska, specifically Willis Jackson's song " Later for the Gator " which                                                                                                was Coxsone Dodd's number one selection and Duke Reid's number                                                                                          one spin "Hey Hey Mr. Berry", to this day by an unidentified artist and                                                                                          with this given title (The Northern Soul DJs used to cover up the          identity of records to prevent other DJs from finding copies), the joke  amongst surviving Jamaican Sound men who were there at the time being that "This is the one the Duke took to the grave with him".

The first ska recordings were created at facilities such as Studio One and WIRL Records in Kingston, Jamaica with producers such as Dodd, Reid, Prince Buster, and Edward Seaga. The ska sound coincided with the celebratory feelings surrounding Jamaica's independence from the UK in 1962; an event commemorated by songs such as Derrick Morgan's "Forward March" and "The Skatalites' "Freedom Sound" .

Newly independent Jamaica ratified the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works in 1994. Until then the country didn't honour international music copyright protection. This created a large number of cover songs and reinterpretations. One such cover was   Millie Small's  version of the R&B/ shuffle tune, "My Boy Lolly pop" first recorded in New York in 1956 by 14 year old Barbie Gaye. Smalls' rhythmically similar version, released in 1964, was Jamaica's first commercially successful international hit. With over seven million copies sold, it remains one of the best selling reggae/ska songs of all time.

Many other Jamaican artists would have success recording instrumental ska versions of popular American and British music, such as Beatles songs,  Motown and Atlantic soul hits , movie theme songs and surf rock instrumentals. The Wailers covered The Beatles' "And I Love Her", and radically reinterpreted Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone". They also created their own versions of Latin-influenced music from artists such as Mongo Santa Maria.

Byron Lee & the Dragonaires performed ska with Prince Buster, Eric "Monty" Morris, and Jimmy Cliff at the 1964 New York World's Fair. As music changed in the United States, so did ska. In 1965 and 1966, when American soul music became slower and smoother, ska changed its sound accordingly and evolved into  rocksteady . However, rocksteady's heyday was brief, peaking in 1967. By 1968, ska evolved again into reggae.

The 2 Tone genre, which began in the late 1970s in Coventry, England, and was a fusion of Jamaican ska rhythms and melodies with punk rock's more aggressive guitar chords and lyrics. Compared to 1960s ska, 2 Tone music had faster tempos, fuller instrumentation and a harder edge. The genre was named after 2 Tone Records, a record label founded by  Jerry Dammers  of The Specials. In many cases, the reworking of classic ska songs turned the originals into hits again in the United Kingdom.

The 2 Tone movement promoted racial unity at a time when racial tensions were high in the UK. There were many Specials songs that raised awareness of the issues of racism, fighting and friendship issues. Riots in British cities were a feature during the summer that The Specials song " Ghost Town " was a hit, although this work was in a slower, Reggae beat. Most of the 2 Tone bands had multiracial line ups, such as The Beat (known as The English Beat in North America and the British Beat in Australia), The Specials, and The Selecter. Although only on the 2 Tone label for one single, Madness was one of the most effective bands at bringing the 2 Tone genre into the mainstream. The music of this era resonated with white working class youth and West Indian immigrants who experienced the struggles addressed it in the lyrics.