A musical genre that was most popular in Jamaica between 1966 and 1968.

The term comes from a dance style that was mentioned in the Alton Ellis song Rock Steady. The rocksteady dance was more relaxed than the earlier ska dancing, and came about when ska musicians mixed in new ideas from gospel and soul. A successor to ska, and a precursor to reggae, rocksteady was performed by Jamaican vocal harmony groups such as the Gaylads and Toots and the Maytals.

Rocksteady differs from ska in that the tempo is slower and more relaxed, and the walking bass line is heavier and more prominent. Guitars and piano replaced trumpets and saxophones from the ska era. Repeated riffs were played using just a few chords, and the lyrics were often about poverty and social problems. The ska-style back beat carried over into rocksteady.

Rocksteady arose at a time when young people from the Jamaican countryside were flooding into the urban ghettos of Kingston - in neighborhoods such as Trenchtown. Though much of the country was optimistic in the immediate post-independence climate, these poverty-stricken youths did not share this sentiment. Many of them became delinquents who exuded a certain coolness and style and became known as rude boys. The rude boy phenomenon had existed in the ska period, but was expressed more obviously during the rocksteady era in songs such as Don't Be A Rude Boy by the Rulers.

Rocksteady singers sometimes covered American soul recordings.

Musicians who were crucial in creating the music included keyboard player Jackie Mittoo and saxophonist Tommy McCook.

As a musical style, rocksteady was shortlived, and existed only for about two years. For this reason original recordings in this genre are often harder to find than those from the ska and reggae era. In contrast to rocksteady, the ska trend lasted several years, and classic reggae lasted for over a decade.