For much of the late 1960s and early 1970s, the Caribbean, Jamaican and reggae music scene in Toronto was almost unrivaled in North America in terms of quality and performers. Jay Douglas, lead singer of The Cougars and one of the biggest and brightest talents of that time, is the subject of a fantastic new TVO Original documentary entitled Play It Loud! — How Toronto Got Soul. The documentary, directed by Graeme Mathieson, produced by Andrew Munger (Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band), and Executive Produced by Clement Virgo (Brother, The Wire) will have its official premiere on December 4 and December 7 at the Hot Doc Cinema, 506 Bloor St W, Toronto. Tickets are now available to the public here.
The Wednesday, December 4 screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Graeme Mathieson, musician Jay Douglas and producer Andrew Munger. The Saturday, December 7 screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Graeme Mathieson. Both sessions will be moderated by Heather Haynes, Hot Docs’ Director of Programming.
Play It Loud! — How Toronto Got Soul traces Douglas’ life from a young boy in Jamaica to immigrating to Canada in his teenage years and residing in Toronto with a host of other Jamaica-born artists such as Jackie Mittoo, Leroy Sibbles and Wayne McGhie among others. With Toronto becoming a hotbed of Jamaican music, Douglas established himself as the lead singer of The Cougars, a fabulous group who performed a collage of genres (reggae/Caribbean/soul/ska/funk) wherever and whenever they could.
Whether it was the vibrant clubs on Toronto’s Yonge Street during that era or performing in smaller towns in Northern Ontario or Quebec, the group dazzled fans despite little to no airplay or label support aside from appearing on one album entitled Caribana ’67.
Douglas (born Clive Pinnock), described by legendary reggae producer Sly Dunbar as “the Lou Rawls of Jamaican music,” maintained a music career performing on cruise ships, banquets, and clubs long after The Cougars’ heyday. In 2006, after influential hip-hop artists discovered a drum break from McGhie’s song “Dirty Funk,” that time and place in Canadian musical history was resurrected thanks to Jamaica To Toronto: Soul Funk & Reggae 1967-1974, a now legendary compilation issued by Seattle label Light In The Attic which shone the spotlight on the blazing Jamaican music scene, Douglas (a three-time Juno Award nominee), and this magical era. Play It Loud — How Toronto Got Soul takes the journey with Douglas through the highs and lows, in a way akin to the 2012 critically acclaimed documentary Searching For Sugar Man about the rather obscure musician Rodriguez and one man’s search for the artist.
Featuring interviews with Dunbar, vocalist Jackie Richardson, Cadence Weapon (Rollie Pemberton), former MuchMusic host Michael Williams and many others, and the music of Bob Marley, Bo Diddley, James Brown, The Cougars, Wayne McGhie.
Play It Loud — How Toronto Got Soul will also have a Toronto screening Feb. 6, 2025 at the Nia Centre for The Arts (524 Oakwood Avenue) and makes its broadcast and digital premiere later that month on TVO and British Columbia’s Knowledge Network. The film was funded by TVO, Canada Media Fund, Telefilm, Ontario Creates, Rogers Documentary Fund, Knowledge Network BC and the Hot Docs–Slaight Family Fund.
So for an intriguing, intimate look at an incredibly underrated and then underappreciated era in Canadian music, Play It Loud — How Toronto Got Soul will stir your soul to seek out these artists and this incredible sound while shedding light on one of Canada’s most revered musicians.
