RUDOLPH 'RUDDY' REDWOOD
Did you know this about RUDOLPH REDWOOD?
Rudolph' Ruddy' Redwood was born in Kingston and then moved to Spanish Town, St Catherine, aged 16. Here he became a popular Sound System owner and businessman.
His first business was as a jeweler, slowly developing his sound system over a few years, mainly working on the weekends.
He began playing at small parties and minimal equipment (a couple of 100- watt amps that he would double up for maximum effect), but this gradually grew into a successful and popular Sound System.
He opened the first record shop in Spanish Town in 1956/7, and while running this during the week, his growing Sound System performed at parties and competitions at the weekends.
He began to be known as 'Mr. Midnight' as people could expect to hear his music late at night.
Redwood had a good relationship with legendary producer Duke Reid of the Treasure Isle Studio and often got his hands on the latest recordings hot from the studio to play on his sound system. Consequently, his sound system became one of the most popular around.
He is often cited as the first man to discover 'dub.' This stems from when he received a pre-release of a Paragons song produced by Reid on which the vocals were missing. The engineer had accidentally neglected to put them on!
It is worth remembering here that reggae B-sides, rather than being different songs as they were in the UK and US, were instrumental tracks of the A-side known as 'versions.'
While the songs with vocals were the ones that were usually played by the sound systems, 'versions' were sometimes favored as they allowed the selectors to talk over the track without crashing the vocals.
On this occasion, rather than wait for the vocal version, Redwood insisted that they play the instrument. It was a massive success with the crowd and allowed them to sing along without interfering with the original vocals.
Following this, 'versions' increased in popularity with crowds and record producers alike. 'Versions' then began to be manipulated by sound engineers and producers to create what is now known as 'dub.'
Redwood began to experiment with manipulating sounds on his sound system, often focusing on the treble and how it could change the sound of a song.
As sound systems became redundant, he opened his club called 'Big Daddy' and became the self-styled King of Music in Spanish Town.
He also helped launch several Jamaican DJs and selectors' careers, including the famous 'Likkle Wicked,' who started his career with Redwood and later formed his sound system, ' Wicked Machine.'
Although he could be considered one of the lesser-known figures in the development of the genre, there is no doubt that Redwood played an integral part in both the initial discovery and ongoing popularity of dub in both the Jamaican and worldwide music industries.