Paul Carrubba

Austin

Copywriter, vinyl collector, Clash fanatic and KUTX DJ. Tune in for Uptown Saturday Night every week from 7-10pm and Sundays 10am-2pm.

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Articles

Welcome to the Boogie: Celebrating 100 episodes of The Groove Temple with host DJ Shani

1 week ago | kutx.org | Paul Carrubba

How did you discover House Music and DJing? It was the night of my 17th birthday. My best friend, who’s still my best friend, threw his first party, a.k.a rave. I begged my mom to go and I’m like, “It’s on my birthday.” Back and forth, back and forth and then she was like, “Okay, fine.” And I walked into this warehouse in Chicago and I was like, “This feels like a circus, but it’s like a special kind of circus. It’s like Cirque du Soleil and this is all very new to me. And I had the best time.
Uptown Crucial 45 - Carl Carlton

May 3, 2024 | kutx.org | Paul Carrubba

In the last post, I mentioned how Rufus Thomas’s answer to “Hound Dog” almost bankrupted Sun Records thanks to a big ol’ lawsuit from Don Robey, the track’s original “credited” songwriter. I’ll explain why I caveated that in just a bit. I mention this here because Robey ran one of my absolute favorite Texas labels: Back Beat.
Uptown Crucial 45 - Rufus Thomas

Apr 27, 2024 | kutx.org | Paul Carrubba

Last week, we talked Smokey Robinson and Motown. This week, we’re heading down south to McLemore Avenue in Memphis, deep in the heart of Soulsville USA: Stax Records. Uptown Saturday NightApril 20th, 2024Today’s track is “The Breakdown,” an early 70s entry from Stax’s first hitmaker, Rufus Thomas. What’s “funky” or “groovy” is obviously a sort of a subjective you-know-when-you-know kind of thing.
Uptown Crucial 45 - Smokey Robinson & The Miracles

Apr 19, 2024 | kutx.org | Paul Carrubba

You know the artist. You may even know the song. But I picked Smokey Robinson & The Miracles’ 1968 single “If You Can Want” for this week’s Crucial Soul 45 because (a) it slaps (b) so I could talk about Tamla vis-a-vis its bigger (and also younger!) sibling, Motown. Uptown Saturday NightApril 13th, 2024Trust me, there’s a lot of history to get through, so I’ll give you the short version.
Uptown Crucial 45 - Syl Johnson

Apr 5, 2024 | kutx.org | Paul Carrubba

This week’s Crucial Soul 45, “One Way Ticket to Nowhere,” comes care of one of the greats of Chicago soul and blues: Syl Johnson. Uptown Saturday NightMarch 30, 2024Born in Mississippi, a teenage Johnson moved to Chicago with his family around 1950. During the 50s, Johnson steeped himself in the burgeoning Chicago blues scene—playing with the likes of Howlin’ Wolf, Billy Boy Arnold and Magic Sam (who happened to be his next door neighbor).
Uptown Crucial 45 - Seven Seas

Mar 29, 2024 | kutx.org | Paul Carrubba

Surf’s up! We’re heading down to sunny Florida for this week’s Crucial Soul 45 with Seven Seas’ and their proto-disco track “Super JAWS!!” While I am excited to talk about this one, those exclamation points are in the title. Uptown Saturday NightMarch 23rd, 2024Released on Miami, Florida’s Glades label in 1975, the same year as the film that made you afraid to go into the water.
Uptown Crucial 45 - The Dynamics

Mar 15, 2024 | kutx.org | Paul Carrubba

Out of Detroit, Michigan, this week I have for you The Dynamics with “Ain’t No Love at All, and it’s a toe-tapper of the highest order.
Uptown Crucial 45 - René y René

Mar 8, 2024 | kutx.org | Paul Carrubba

Okay, so on Uptown this last Saturday, I said I was going to feature Larry Houston’s “I Know We Can Make It,” a fun and funky tune in its own right. HOWEVER, I woke up in a cold sweat that night and realized my mistake. I should have hipped you to another track I played that evening: “I’m Not the Only One” a.k.a. “No Soy El Unico” by Laredo duo René y René. Uptown Saturday NightMarch 2nd, 2024Why the late-night panic? Well, insomnia, for one.
Uptown Crucial 45 - Cliff Nobles & Co.

Mar 1, 2024 | kutx.org | Paul Carrubba

For regular Uptown listeners, this one won’t be a surprise. “The Horse,” by Cliff Nobles & Co. is one of the jewels in my collection—in fact, I have a few different versions of it. This one, though, sporting the yellow Phil-L.A. Of Soul label is my favorite. Why? It’s not because it’s particularly valuable (monetarily, at least) or rare (it was a hit after all). It’s because when this single was released in 1968, it took on a life of its own.
Uptown Crucial 45

Feb 23, 2024 | kutx.org | Paul Carrubba

Welcome to the inaugural Uptown Saturday Night Crucial Soul 45! Every week (or mostly every week), I’ll be picking a 45rpm single from the most recent Uptown set to hip you to a classic track on wax that you need to know about. This week, it’s “Don’t You Just Know it” b/w “Dynamite” by Jimmy Jones from 1966. Uptown Saturday Night – 02/17/24I spun Jone’s version of “Don’t You Just Know It” on Saturday as a part of my annual celebration of New Orleans ahead of Fat Tuesday this week.