Jerry Victor Doucette (9 September 1951 – 18 April 2022) was a Canadian guitarist and singer-songwriter. He was noted for his hit single "Mama Let Him Play", which made the ''Billboard'' Top 100. His band, Doucette, won the Juno Award for Most Promising Group of the Year in 1979.

Early life

Doucette was born in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

on 9 September 1951. His family relocated to

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Hamilton has a population of 569,353, and its census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington and Grimsby, has a population of 785,184. The city is approximately southwest of T ...

, when he was four. Two years later, he started playing the guitar after his father purchased one for him. Doucette joined numerous bands prior to his solo career, starting with The Reefers at the age of 11. He later migrated to

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

by the time he was twenty years old, and played in Buxton Kastle and the final incarnation of

Brutus Marcus Junius Brutus (; ; 85 BC – 23 October 42 BC), often referred to simply as Brutus, was a Roman politician, orator, and the most famous of the assassins of Julius Caesar. After being adopted by a relative, he used the name Quintus Serv ...

Career

Doucette moved to

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, British Columbia, in 1972 and joined the Seeds of Time, and worked with

Lindsay Mitchell Lindsay Christopher Mitchell (born 28 May 1949) is an English-born Canadian musician and songwriter who achieved success as the guitarist and founder of the Canadian rock band Prism. Early life Born on May 28, 1949 in North London, England, Mitch ...

and Rocket Norton, both of whom later joined

Prism Prism usually refers to: * Prism (optics), a transparent optical component with flat surfaces that refract light * Prism (geometry), a kind of polyhedron Prism may also refer to: Science and mathematics * Prism (geology), a type of sedimentary ...

, and

Alexis Radlin Alexis may refer to: People Mononym * Alexis (poet) ( – ), a Greek comic poet * Alexis (sculptor), an ancient Greek artist who lived around the 3rd or 4th century BC * Alexis (singer) (born 1968), German pop singer * Alexis (comics) (1946–1977 ...

. After the Seeds of Time, Doucette joined Rocket Norton in ''The Rocket Norton Band'', along with Rick Enns and John Hall. He contributed one song on the band's first single, titled ''Donkey Chain''. He subsequently signed a solo recording deal with

Mushroom Records Mushroom Records was an Australian flagship record label, founded in 1972 in Melbourne. It published and distributed many successful Australian artists and expanded internationally, until it was merged with Festival Records in 1998. Festival Mu ...

, and commenced recording under his surname only. "Mama Let Him Play", the single from the first Doucette album release of the same name in the fall of 1977, earned platinum status (sales of 100,000 units) in Canada having reached #46 on the charts, plus substantial publicity and tour promotion. The single and record were not successful to the same degree in the United States, though the single charted in the ''Billboard'' Top 100 and the album in the ''Billboard'' 200. The recording band for the single and album was composed of

Duris Maxwell Duris Maxwell (15 June 1946 – 25 November 2020), also known as Ted Lewis, was a Canadian drummer who had played with many bands, including Bobby Taylor & the Vancouvers, Powder Blues Band, Doucette, The Temptations, Jefferson Airplane, and Sk ...

on drums, Brent Shindell on guitar, Don Cummings on bass, and Robbie King on keyboards. The following year's release, ''The Douce is Loose'', was less successful, although it earned gold status (50,000 units sold, #27 on the charts) in Canada, and produced the popular single "Nobody" co-written with Maxwell.(#18 Can.).

eventually succumbed to financial problems in 1980. This left Doucette to find a new label for his third album, ''Coming up Roses'', which was eventually released by Rio Records. This, plus the emergence of

new wave music New wave is a loosely defined music genre that encompasses pop-oriented styles from the late 1970s and the 1980s. It was originally used as a catch-all for the various styles of music that emerged after punk rock, including punk itself. La ...

, were blamed for Doucette's lack of follow-up success in the music industry. After a fifteen-year hiatus, he made a comeback with ''Price Of An Education'' in 1995. Both of Doucette's Mushroom Records albums, ''Mama Let Him Play'' and ''The Douce Is Loose'', were re-released on compact disc and digital formats for the first time in 2013 through Hamilton, Ontario-based independent record label

Linus Entertainment Linus Entertainment is a music company operating as an independent record label, distributor and music publisher. While founded in Mississauga, Ontario, Linus spent many years in Burlington, Ontario before recently moving operations to Waterdown, O ...

Personal life

Doucette was married to Maggie for 43 years until his death. Together, they had five children. He resided in

Ladner, British Columbia Ladner is a part of the City of Delta, British Columbia, Canada, and a suburb of Vancouver, British Columbia. It was created as a fishing village on the banks of the Fraser River. Named for Thomas and William Ladner, who came to the area in 1868 ...

, and

Tsawwassen Tsawwassen ( ) is a suburban, mostly residential community on a peninsula in the southwestern corner of the City of Delta in British Columbia, Canada. It provides the only road access to the American territory on the southern tip of the peninsul ...

during his later years. In August 2016, Doucette collapsed while performing at the Rock the Lake Festival in

Kelowna Kelowna ( ) is a city on Okanagan Lake in the Okanagan Valley in the southern interior of British Columbia, Canada. It serves as the head office of the Regional District of Central Okanagan. The name Kelowna derives from the Okanagan word ''ki� ...

. He retired from music two years later due to his declining health. He died of cancer on 18 April 2022, at the Irene Thomas Hospice in

Delta, British Columbia Delta is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada, as part of Greater Vancouver. Located on the Fraser Lowland south of Fraser River's south arm, it is bordered by the city of Richmond on the Lulu Island to the north, N ...

, aged 70.

Awards and honours

* 1979:

Juno Award The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of ...

, Most Promising Group of the Year

Discography

Albums

* 1977: ''

Mama Let Him Play ''Mama Let Him Play'' is the first album by the Canadian singer, songwriter and guitarist, Jerry Doucette, backed by his band, Doucette. The album was certified Platinum in Canada (in excess of 100,000 copies sold) in 1978. It reached #43 on the C ...

'' (Mushroom, reissued 1995 on Reluctant) (#43 Can.) * 1979: ''The Douce is Loose'' (Mushroom) (#27 Can.) * 1981: ''Coming up Roses'' (Rio) * 1995: ''Price of an Education'' (Reluctant)

Singles

* ''Down the Road'' (1977) (#71 Can.) * ''Mama Let Him Play'' (1977) (#46 Can. ) * ''All I Wanna Do'' (1977) (#56 Can. ) * ''Nobody'' (1979) (#18 Can. ) * ''Someday'' (1979) * ''Run Buddy Run'' (1979) (#83 Can. ) * ''It Only Hurts the First Time'' (1980) * ''It Doesn't Matter'' (1981) * ''How Strong'' (1994) (#41 Can. )

References

External links

Official Website for Jerry Doucette

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Doucette, Jerry 1951 births 2022 deaths Deaths from cancer in British Columbia French Quebecers Canadian rock guitarists Canadian male guitarists Canadian male singer-songwriters Canadian singer-songwriters Musicians from Hamilton, Ontario Musicians from Montreal Canadian rock singers Canadian male singers Mushroom Records artists 20th-century Canadian male musicians Articles lacking sources from September 2012