Latest news with #JayDouglas
CBC
27-02-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
Jay Douglas shares the story of Toronto's almost forgotten Jamaican music scene
Jay Douglas is a Canadian reggae legend who was instrumental in the development of Canada's Jamaican music scene. Now, a new documentary, Play It Loud! How Toronto Got Soul, tells Douglas's story — and the story of the nearly forgotten Jamaican and Caribbean music scene in Toronto. Douglas came to Canada from Jamaica when he was 15, but he was singing, auditioning and winning talent contests well before that. His early musical pursuits even led him to audition at the iconic Studio One in Jamaica on the same day that Bob Marley and The Wailers came in and got their big break. In the '60s, Douglas became the frontman of The Cougars, one of Toronto's first reggae bands. In an interview with Q 's Tom Power, Douglas says the group "played just about every little venue in Toronto," becoming especially popular in Caribbean nightclubs, but their goal was to perform on Yonge Street in Toronto, which at the time was known for its vibrant live music scene. It happened by fluke that The Cougars finally got to play their music at a club on Yonge Street during a Saturday matinee show. "We only [had] about 20 minutes to create an impression," Douglas recalls, "We were ready [and the place] went crazy." But The Cougars weren't always welcomed into venues with open arms. Ironically, Toronto was a safe haven from discrimination and segregation for Black American musicians, but not so much for Black artists based in Canada. Many of these clubs exclusively booked American artists. "One of the toughest places for you to make it as an artist is Toronto," Douglas says, "You mess up in New York, they'll tell you. Toronto, you mess up, your phone don't ring." Eventually, The Cougars were featured on a Toronto reggae, ska and soul compilation album called Jamaica to Toronto. Douglas says he didn't make much money off of it, but he gained something "worth more than money," which was a boost in global name recognition. He thinks if the album had been recorded and promoted abroad, like in the U.K., it would have been celebrated on a grander scale. Nonetheless, Douglas persevered in the face of what many artists fear: becoming irrelevant. After The Cougars split up in the '70s, he began a solo career traveling globally to gigs. Today, he remains a strong pillar in the reggae, funk and soul music scene with his influence reaching far beyond Canada. Even though he didn't become as big as Canadian hip-hop and R&B artists like Drake or The Weeknd, Douglas is content with what he's achieved and the impact he's had on the Canadian music industry. "The ego is always seeking to get," he says. "The soul seeks to give."
CBC
23-02-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
New documentary highlights impact of Jamaican artists on Canadian music
A new documentary is highlighting how Jamaican music became a pivotal and unexpected part of Canadian culture. Play It Loud! How Toronto Got Soul documents the tremendous impact immigrants from Jamaica had on the Canadian music scene in the '60s and '70s, and the barriers many of the musicians faced. The documentary follows the story of Jamaican Canadian singer Jay Douglas — who has been performing for six decades. Douglas is now recognized globally despite initially going largely unnoticed in the Toronto music scene. The film exposes some of those struggles, but Douglas is most excited about sharing the history with young people. "Thank God we're starting to document in Canada and Toronto, because in the early years we didn't do enough," Douglas told CBC Toronto. "Working together, we're sharing all the great artists that came from Jamaica and helped Toronto get soul and I'm so grateful for this." Everton "Pablo" Paul worked alongside Douglas as a drummer and founded the band The Cougars. He says many of the artists who came to Toronto from Jamaica in the '60s and '70s paved the way for today's Black Canadian music stars. "The history of Jamaican artists in Toronto wasn't appreciated. Let's put it that way," he said. "We had a hard time getting recording deals, but we persevered." Play It Loud! How Toronto Got Soul is now streaming on TVO and is also playing March 1 at Hot Docs Cinema.
CBC
12-02-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
Jamaican Canadian musician Jay Douglas finally gets his flowers in Play It Loud!
Play It Loud! is a new film that charts how Jamaican music became a big part of Canadian culture. The documentary centres on the influence of Jamaican Canadian singer Jay Douglas, who has been performing for almost 60 years. His life story parallels the emergence of Jamaican popular music both in Jamaica and Canada, and follows not only the birth of ska and reggae but also the origins of this country's unique Black music culture Today on Commotion, culture critics Danae Peart and Dalton Higgins join guest host Rad Simonpillai to discuss Play It Loud!, which will be available to stream on all TVO digital platforms starting this Friday. listen and follow Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud on your favourite podcast player. WATCH | Official trailer for Play It Loud!: Rad: Dalton, educate us. Where do Jay Douglas's contributions to reggae and soul music sit within the larger history of musical genres in Canada? Dalton: Jay Douglas is a very interesting figure in Canadian music history in that he never really won any major awards, and he's never necessarily even had a hit record. So he's not really known like that in the commercial music realm. But what he did do for decades, since the '60s to today, he became a really strong ambassador for reggae music and soul music. And he is someone when you see him play live, he always puts on a fantastic live show that would, honestly, put a lot of artists today to shame. I would say that Jay's shining moment is, he was attached to this project called Jamaica to Toronto: Soul, Funk & Reggae 1967-1974. It was an album put out by this American record label called Light in the Attic. I actually ended up producing the show down at the Harbourfront Centre way back in 2006…. That, to this day, is one of the largest concerts that venue has ever produced. So that goes to tell you the resonance of the tracks. He and all of these artists that had been performing from the '60s and '70s in Toronto, they came here from Jamaica: The Mighty Pope, Wayne McGhie, Jackie Mittoo — the type of influence and impact they had on Canadian music, you know? Rad: I love how just recalling that show, all of a sudden a surge of electricity just went through you, you know? Drawing on that energy, Danae, how did you feel about the doc's take on Jay Douglas's musical legacy? Danae: So, I loved it. Obviously, I have a little bit of bias. I know Jay. I've known him in the scene. I worked in radio, played his music, so I love Jay. And what it made me do is appreciate Jay as a legend in the music. The fact that Jay Douglas and his band performed at the first Caribana ever, the fact that he performed at Le Coq d'Or, which if anybody knows the history of that tavern, you'll know that not a lot of Black acts got in there, and when they did, it was usually from the States. So Jay Douglas has always been making history, and has always been making an impact in the music. But it was good to see a documentary film portray his full body of work and full impact. Now, Jay Douglas as protagonist, we are watching the development of music in Canada, Black music and the impact of Black music through his lens. And as a protagonist, he allows us to see what is this journey like? What has been this uphill battle? What has been the challenges as an artist trying to make it? And some of the fears that come with not growing in a certain way, and some of the triumphs that come with, even if you don't get an award, guess what? He is still performing. Living legend, still performing to this day. And the fact that persons looking on, younger artists can pick up on that and realize this journey is not new. Somebody else has been here. Somebody else has felt this challenge, but here's how he's gone through it. So I appreciate it as a body of work, as capturing the story of Black music in Canada whether it is reggae or soul, and the fact that it is now here for you to look at as a waymaker, as a blueprint, if you wish, for doing it.
