Definitions

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Any of various styles of Jamaican music, popular in the United Kingdom in the 1960s.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

blue +‎ beat, named after Blue Beat Records.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word bluebeat.

Examples

  • There were plenty of '80s flashbacks Friday: An ever-snide Johnny Lydon with the reunited Public Image Limited appeared late into the night while Jay-Z was still on; earlier, Echo and the Bunnymen's enduring melancholy, including "The Killing Moon," had the faithful swaying at Outdoor Stage; and the ska and bluebeat of the Specials fired up the main stage during the early evening.

    Latest News - Yahoo!7 News 2010

  • It was rocksteady and bluebeat, and people with Bibles under their arms.

    Life and style | guardian.co.uk 2010

  • There were plenty of '80s flashbacks Friday: An ever-snide Johnny Lydon with the reunited Public Image Limited appeared late into the night while Jay-Z was still on; earlier, Echo and the Bunnymen's enduring melancholy, including "The Killing Moon," had the faithful swaying at Outdoor Stage; and the ska and bluebeat of the Specials fired up the main stage during the early evening.

    Latest News - Yahoo!7 News 2010

  • There were plenty of '80s flashbacks Friday: An ever-snide Johnny Lydon with the reunited Public Image Limited appeared late into the night while Jay-Z was still on; earlier, Echo and the Bunnymen's enduring melancholy, including "The Killing Moon," had the faithful swaying at Outdoor Stage; and the ska and bluebeat of the Specials fired up the main stage during the early evening.

    Latest News - Yahoo!7 News 2010

  • There were plenty of '80s flashbacks Friday: An ever-snide Johnny Lydon with the reunited Public Image Limited appeared late into the night while Jay-Z was still on; earlier, Echo and the Bunnymen's enduring melancholy, including "The Killing Moon," had the faithful swaying at Outdoor Stage; and the ska and bluebeat of the Specials fired up the main stage during the early evening.

    Latest News - Yahoo!7 News 2010

  • While this event and his subsequent tours of the US and Canada cemented Lee's status as an ambassador of Jamaican music, he was less an originator than an entertainer adept at playing whatever style was popular at the time and moving seamlessly through mento, calypso, bluebeat, ska, rock steady, reggae, soca, dancehall and even easy listening.

    The Independent - Frontpage RSS Feed 2008

  • Skinheads = f**kheads unless you're talking about the original bluebeat / ska crowd, which consisted of black Jamaicans and white working-class UK kids both.

    Toytown Germany - Germany feed Mr Pasta 2008

  • In 1959, Byron Lee and the Dragonaires released their debut single, "Dumplins", on the Dragon's Breath label, and were in at the birth of the bluebeat and ska genres which eventually evolved into reggae.

    The Independent - Frontpage RSS Feed 2008

  • The singers on those bluebeat MP3’s could be the brothers of the voice on your GPS, rather than John and Paul.

    The Volokh Conspiracy » Yeah, That’s A Good One: 2009

  • I’ll save Billy K23 the trouble of pointing out that it is bluebeat, not ska, but still intruiging enough for my 13 year old ears that the chorus is still with me.

    Firedoglake » Late Nite FDL: Desmond Dekker, RIP 2006

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.