# The Wailers — Simmer Down

The Wailers’s Simmer Down (1963) is No. 1 in our Ska ranking. The full verdict, and where to hear it.

- **Released:** 1963
- **Label:** Studio One
- **On one list:** Ska
- **Updated:** 2026-08-30
- **Artist:** [The Wailers](https://waxonia.com/artist/the-wailers/)
- **Canonical page:** https://waxonia.com/track/the-wailers--simmer-down/

## What we say

### No. 1 in [Ska](https://waxonia.com/genre/ska/)

Marley at eighteen, telling the rude boys to calm down over the Skatalites. A number one in Jamaica, and the first evidence that this group could write as well as sing.

## Analysis

3 sections, the first drop at 0:14, 9% of the way in.

- **Tempo:** 136 BPM — holds throughout
- **Key:** G minor
- **Dynamic range:** 2.6 dB — compressed hard — very little between the quiet and the loud
- **Length:** 2:38

- `0:00` A · **intro**, instrumental — opens the record below its own average energy
- `0:13` B · **peak** (bar 8), sung — sits at the top of this record's range — playing: drums, bass, vocals, other
- `2:12` C · **outro** (bar 75), sung — the closing fall — playing: drums, bass, vocals, other

**Drop** at 0:14 (bar 8). A drop is a moment, not a stretch.

**What is playing.** Separated into parts by a source-separation model, so each lane is the instrument it names.

- **drums:** the drum kit, separated from the mix
- **bass:** the bass part, separated from the mix
- **vocals:** the voice, separated from the mix
- **other:** everything else — synths, guitars, keys, strings

Measured from the YouTube master on 2026-08-29. Section labels describe how the energy
moves, not musical form. Anything we were not confident enough to state is omitted
rather than hedged.

## Listen

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/The%20Wailers%20Simmer%20Down) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=Ja8UxtUu30k)

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Hand-curated by Waxonia. We host no audio; all links point to streaming platforms.