King Tubby and Producer Bunny ‘Striker’ Lee are intertwined in the birth of Dub Music.
After discovering a mistake that made a ‘serious joke’ (more of which later...) they went
on to release the first pressings of this new musical genre namely ‘Dub Music’. Tubby’s
vast knowledge of electronics and Bunny’s vast catalogue of rhythms would lay the
foundations of what today is taken as a standard... the Remix / Version cuts to an existing
vocal tune.
Osbourne ‘King Tubby’ Ruddock was born in Kingston, Jamaica on 28th January 1941
and grew up in the High Holborn Street area of downtown Kingston. He studied electronics
at Kingston’s National Technical College and also on two correspondence courses from
the U.S.A... When he had qualified Tubby began repairing radios and other electrical
appliances in a shack in the back yard of his mother’s home. His work in the early days
included winding transformers and building amplifiers for Kingston’s Sound Systems.
Tubby built his first Sound System in 1957 playing jazz and Rhythm & Blues at local
weddings and birthday parties. His reputation as a man who knew and understood both
electronics and music grew steadily and as the sixties drew to a close. Tubby purchased
his own basic two track equipment. He installed this alongside his dub cutting machine,
a home made mixing console and his impressive collection of Jazz albums in the back
bedroom of his home at 18 Dromilly Avenue which he christened his music room.
Tubby and Striker were at Treasure Isle Studio’s one day while Ruddy from Spanish Town
was working with the engineer Byron Smith....
“Tubby and myself was talking when Ruddy was cutting some dub but Smithy (engineer)
made a mistake through we were talking and forgot to put in the voice. It was two track
recording in those days. Ruddy said ‘No Man! Make it stay! and so they cut the rhythm.
When I went over to Ruddy’s that Saturday night a dance was in progress and when they
played the vocal to the tune... then he said we’re going to play ‘Part Two’. They never
called it ‘Version’..and then he played the rhythm track. The song was a catchy song and
everybody started to sing along and the deejay started to toast so everything went down
well. On Monday morning I went up and I said ‘Tubbs the mistake we made was a serious
joke. It mash up Spanish Town! The people went wild. So you have to start to do that now
‘cause when the man put on the ‘Part Two’ everyone start singing this song. It played
about twenty times. I said you try Tubbs!’...Well the next Saturday night now when Tubby
strung up down the farm U Roy said he’s going to play ‘Part Two’ but Tubby did it different
now. He started with the voice then dropped it out and let the rhythm run and then he
brought in the voice in the middle and from there Tubby started to get really popular.’’
Bunny ‘Striker’ Lee
Dynamic Sounds upgraded to sixteen track recording in 1972 and Tubby purchased,
again with the help of a deal brokered by Bunny Lee. The old four track equipment and
the MCI console from their Studio B. The four tracks now gave him far wider scope to
work with and he began to create a new musical form where the bass and drum parts
were brought up while the faders allowed Tubby to ease the vocal and rhythm in and
out of the mix. It was only a matter of time before Tubby’s dub plate experiments began
to make it on to vinyl and the first ever long playing King Tubby releases would feature
a collection of his mixes to a selection of Strikers rhythms. So please sit back and enjoy
this historic set of sounds, mixed by King Tubby and Mr Prince Phillip Smart and another
set of scorcher Bunny Lee rhythms.
CD Track Listing
1. Creation of Dub
Source: Creation Rebel / Johnny Clarke
2 Swinging Dub
Source: Put It On / Johnny Clarke
3. Ten Thousand Tons of Dub
Source: 10 To One / Johnny Clarke
4. Jamaican Roots Dub
Source: Jamaican Fruits Of African Roots/Sheila Records
5. A Pressuring Dub
Source: Press Along Natty/Cornell Campbell
6. An Inspiring Dub
Source: Soul and Inspiration/Johnny Clarke
7. This Boss of Dub
Source: So Jah Say/Jackie Edwards
8. A Good Good Dub
Source: No Good Girl / Cornell Campbell
9. Dub This Sound
Source: Watch This Sound/Cornell Campbell
10. A Hard Hard Dub
Source: Get Ready/Delroy Wilson
11. Rub This Dub
Source; You Must Believe Me/Delroy Wilson
12. Skanking Dub
Source: You Have Long Long Dreadlocks/ Linval Thompson
13 Don’t Cut Off Your Dub Locks
Source: Don’t Cut Off Your Dreadlocks/Linval Thompson
14 Give Me Dub
Source: Give Me Love/Johnny Clarke
15 Guiding Angel Dub*
Source: You Are My Angel/Horace Andy
16 Tree Of Life Dub*
Source: Thats Life/Ronnie Davis
•CD Bonus Track
Vinyl Track Listing
Side 1
1. Creation of Dub
2 Swinging Dub
3. Ten Thousand Tons of Dub
4. Jamaican Roots Dub
5. A Pressuring Dub
6. An Inspiring Dub
7. This Boss of Dub
Side 2
1. A Good Good Dub
2. Dub This Sound
3. A Hard Hard Dub
4. Rub This Dub
5. Skanking Dub
6 Don’t Cut Off Your Dub Locks
7 Give Me Dub
Musicians Include:
Robbie Shakespeare: Bass
Carlton Davis: Drums
Earl Smith: Lead Guitar
Ansel Collins: Piano
Bernard Harvey: Organ
Tony Chin: Rhythm Guitar
Bobby Ellis: Trumpet
Tommy McCook: Tenor Sax
Lennox Brown: Alto Sax
Vin Gordon: Trombone
Mixed by: King Tubby & Prince Phillip Smart
Mixed at: King Tubby’s Studio
18 Dromilly Avenue, Kingston 11
Produced By: Bunny Lee
All Tracks Arranged by: Bunny Lee
Album Design: Shirley Chang
Manufactured Under Licence from: E .Lee