ROOTS | King Tubby - Dub Master

Photography By: Beth Lesser/UrbanImage

Meet King Tubby, the Dub inventor who reshaped Jamaica’s musical landscape in the late ’60s. Born Osbourne Ruddock on January 28, 1941, in Kingston, Jamaica, the Jamaican sound engineer greatly influenced the development of DUB in the 1960s and 1970s.

IRIE presents some fascinating Facts an ‘Tings about the musical legend, King Tubby.

Facts an’ T’ings

As Ruddock, King Tubby spend his youth working as a radio repairman, repairing Selector’s sound systems. He even built his own Sound System, which he called King Tubby’s Home Town Hi Fi (1968).
King Tubby earned his nickname from his mastery of equalizers, condensers, circuitry, and transformers in audio engineering and his expertise with tube amplifiers and radio valves. His nickname ‘Tubby’ also stems from his mother’s surname, Tubman.
King Tubby created dub music by playing his mixing desk like an instrument, using a variety of effects connected to his mixer to bring instruments and artist vocals in and out of the mix.