The legendary musician Jay Douglas discusses his life and the new documentary that looks at his storied part in the Toronto music scene, Play It Loud! How Toronto Got Soul, with Joseph Planta.
Text of the introduction by Joseph Planta:
I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.
There’s a new documentary that tells the story of how the music scene in Toronto, predominantly in the genres of Caribbean, Jamaican and reggae took off in the late 1960s and early 1970s: Play It Loud! How Toronto Got Soul. Joining me now is the legendary Jay Douglas, the lead singer of The Cougars, he’s the subject of the film and through his story brings us into this era. Whether it’s the vibrant clubs on Yonge Street in Toronto or finding audiences as they toured small towns through Northern Ontario and Quebec, we see what it’s like for Jamaica-born artists like Douglas, born Clive Pinnock, or other performers of his era: Jackie Mittoo, Leory Sibbles, and Wayne McGhie among others. So even though they all developed a following, the lack of label support or airplay prevented performers like Douglas to make it bigger. The film also narrates the reality of a lot of Canadian artists who seem to get more appreciation outside of the country. As we see in the film, nearly twenty years ago, Seattle label Light in the Attic put out a compilation album that shone a light on the Jamaican music scene with the release of Jamaica to Toronto: Soul Funk & Reggae 1967-1974. Another shining moment that’s recounted in the film is Caribana ‘67, a remarkable event in Toronto during Canada’s centenary which seems a flash point in the music scene in Toronto. I talked to Jay last week, and we talked about this film, his own life story which is not uncommon for a lot of Canadians. Jay was born and grew up in Montego Bay, and he joined his mother, who came to Canada to work when he was a child. You’ll hear in the interview Jay talk about his mother and what his upbringing was like. The film opens Friday, 07 February at the VIFF Centre, with Jay in attendance. The film will have a run there through next week, and then will begin airing across British Columbia on the Knowledge Network, February 27th. The film is funded by TVO among others, so I’m sure it’ll play there as well. The film is directed by Graeme Mathieson, and produced by Andrew Munger. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Jay Douglas; Mr. Douglas, good morning.
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