Jay Douglas Never Stopped Making Music; It Just Took the World a While to Take Notice

BY SIMONE J. SMITH

His life mirrors the emergence of Jamaican popular music, both in its birthplace, and in Canada. He is a witness and participant to the birth of: ska and reggae, and the flowering of a uniquely Canadian black music culture.

He was part of a cohort of Jamaican expatriates, mainly from the music hotbed of Montego Bay: Jackie Mittoo, Leroy Sibbles and his friend Wayne McGhie, who brought Caribbean vibes and rhythm to their new home. Shut out of the Canadian mainstream, they struggled to create a vibrant  musical culture through basement recording studios, independently owned record stores, house parties, and gathering places like: Club Jamaica, The West Indian Federation Club, and Club Trinidad.

Born as Clive Pinnock, in rural Jamaica to a single mother, Jay Douglas is one of the most: respected, loved, honoured and busiest performers in Canada, and is considered the unofficial “godfather” of Jamaican-Canadian music. He’s a multiple Juno award nominee, and the living embodiment of a musical and cultural movement.

I finally had a chance to watch Play it Loud on Friday, February 21st, 2025 at the Jamaican Canadian Association. The room pulsed with a vibrant energy, a sea of faces etched with stories from decades past, all seemingly lightyears beyond my own. Yet, an unexpected sense of belonging washed over me. I watched as they reminisced and moved to the rhythms of their youth, a time when they bravely forged a place for their culture. It was a tangible piece of history unfolding before me, and I felt a profound gratitude to be a witness, to be a part of this living testament to Jamaican’s  enduring spirit.

“What is sad is that even though their music was making waves across Canada, their records weren’t being played on radio, or sold in record stores.”

Play it Loud is a feature documentary that tells the little known story of how Jamaican music became a critical and unlikely part of Canadian culture. The film reveals that Canada was a mecca for Jamaican music, where the artists were recognized around the world, but little heralded at home. This story is told through the life, music, struggles and triumphs of beloved Jamaican Canadian singer Jay Douglas.

It was while watching the film Douglas began performing professionally at 17 Jay performed a popular doo wop song, “You’re My Angel,” and from then, word of his talent spreads through the community, and he was recruited into The Cougars, a popular band of Jamaican expatriates. Soon, The Cougars, with Douglas as their front man, were headlining Le Coq D’Or, Toronto’s premiere nightclub. They’re only the second Canadian band, and first Jamaicans ever to play the storied club.

Jay Douglas and the Cougars toured across Canada, and headlined shows in their hometown. They made National TV appearances and opened for popular American acts like: Cissy Houston’s Sweet Inspirations, Arthur Conley  and Joe Tex.

What is sad is that even though their music was making waves across Canada, their records weren’t being  played on radio, or sold in record stores. The gigs begin to dry up. Bandmates had to find nine to fives. Some returned to Jamaica, but not Jay Douglas. He continued to reinvent himself as a solo performer playing: weddings, banquets, and hotel lounges. He tapped into the cruise ship circuit, performing for well-fed tourists on board and in exotic locales like Singapore and Hong Kong. No matter how large, or small the audience, Jay never seemed to lose his love of performing.

Some readers will remember that it was in the early 2000s, that American hip hop DJs and producers began sampling and remixing “rare grooves” from long forgotten records by Toronto’s Jamaican musicians. Fun fact (without giving away too much of the documentary), Everton Pablo Paul’s drumming on Wayne McGhhie’s “Dirty Funk,” has been sampled by top producers like Q-Tip and DJ Supreme La Rock. It was Vancouver musicologist and crate digger Kevin “Sipreano” Howes who teamed up with Matt Sullivan, of Seattle record label, Light in the Attic, and in that brief interaction, history was cemented.

Sullivan dug deeper into this Jamaican musical treasure chest, resulting in the release of Jamaica to Toronto, a compilation featuring Jay Douglas and his band The Cougars. Jamaica to Toronto is a critical success and breathes new life into the careers of Jay and his contemporaries. Five more full length reissued albums recorded by Jamaican Canadian artists follow. Jay becomes the unofficial Jamaica to Toronto ambassador and introduces  the music to new and receptive audiences across the country. Overnight he goes from playing weddings and banquets to packed concert halls and festivals.

Play it Loud! features appearances by: legendary producer Sly Dunbar (of Sly & Robbie fame) , rapper Cadence Weapon (Rollie Pemberton), singer Jackie Richardson, Everton “Pablo Paul”, reggae stars Adrian Miller and Carlene Davis, former Much Music host Michael Williams, and many others.

Following more than four decades in music, Jay became an “overnight sensation.” You know what they say; it takes at least 10 years to become an overnight success.