Earl “Paul” Douglas (born c. 1950) is a Jamaican

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

-winning drummer and percussionist, best known for his work as the drummer, percussionist and bandleader of

Toots and the Maytals The Maytals, known from 1972 to 2020 as Toots and the Maytals, are a Jamaican musical group, one of the best known ska and rocksteady vocal groups. The Maytals were formed in the early 1960s and were key figures in popularizing reggae music. ...

. His career spans more than five decades as one of

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

's most recorded drummers. Music journalist and reggae historian David Katz wrote, “dependable drummer Paul Douglas played on countless reggae hits." Douglas has worked with artists including

Bob Marley and the Wailers Bob Marley and the Wailers (previously known as The Wailers, and prior to that The Wailing Rudeboys, The Wailing Wailers and The Teenagers) were a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae band. The founding members, in 1963, were Bob Marley (Robert ...

, Bonnie Raitt, and Eric Gale. Douglas has also toured with artists including

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album '' Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of '' Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and '' Stardust'' (1 ...

Dave Matthews Band Dave Matthews Band (also known by the initials DMB) is an American rock band formed in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 1991. The band's founding members were singer-songwriter and guitarist Dave Matthews, bassist Stefan Lessard, drummer and bac ...

The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

, Eagles and Sheryl Crow. Toots and the Maytals

Early life

Paul Douglas was born in St. Ann, Jamaica. His career as a professional musician began in 1965 at the age of 15.

Influences

Douglas’ musical influences include

Lloyd Knibb Lloyd Knibb OD (8 March 1931 – 12 May 2011) was a Jamaican drummer who is considered Jamaica's most important and influential modern drummer. A master percussionist, he contributed to every style of this nation's popular and not so popular mus ...

Steve Gadd Stephen Kendall Gadd (born April 9, 1945) is an American drummer, percussionist, and session musician. Gadd is one of the best-known and highly regarded session and studio drummers in the industry, recognized by his induction into the '' Modern ...

, Harvey Mason,

Sonny Emory Sonny is a common nickname and occasional given name. Often it can be a derivative of the English word "Son", a name derived from the Ancient Germanic element *sunn meaning "sun", a nickname derived from the Italian name Salvatore (especially in N ...

Elvin Jones Elvin Ray Jones (September 9, 1927 – May 18, 2004) was an American jazz drummer of the post-bop era. Most famously a member of John Coltrane's quartet, with whom he recorded from late 1960 to late 1965, Jones appeared on such widely celebrate ...

, William Kennedy, Carlos Santana,

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements o ...

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Born and raise ...

, Sam Cooke, George Duke,

Boris Gardiner Boris Gardiner (born 13 January 1943) is a Jamaican singer, songwriter and bass guitarist. He was a member of several groups during the 1960s before recording as a solo artist and having hit singles with " Elizabethan Reggae" (in 1970), " I Wann ...

The Skatalites The Skatalites are a ska band from Jamaica. They played initially between 1963 and 1965, and recorded many of their best known songs in the period, including " Guns of Navarone." They also played on records by Prince Buster and backed many othe ...

, Eric Gale, Leslie Butler,

George Benson George Washington Benson (born March 22, 1943) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He began his professional career at the age of 19 as a jazz guitarist. A former child prodigy, Benson first came to prominence in the 1960s, play ...

, Marvin Gaye, David Garibaldi, and

David Sanborn David William Sanborn (born July 30, 1945) is an American alto saxophonist. Though Sanborn has worked in many genres, his solo recordings typically blend jazz with instrumental pop and R&B. He released his first solo album ''Taking Off'' in 19 ...

Affiliated groups

While Douglas has maintained an active career as a studio musician for

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

, and funk artists since 1965, he has also been a member of several notable musical groups.

Toots and the Maytals

In 1969 Douglas joined

as a founding member of the band as it is known today, which up to that time had consisted of a vocal trio. Douglas has been the group's drummer, percussionist and bandleader from 1985 to the present day. Excerpt from "The Rise of Reggae and the influence of Toots and the Maytals" by Matthew Sherman:

"...Reggae was born. Toots (Toots Hibbert) heralded the new sound with the seminal, complex groove monster " Do the Reggay"...Toots could do no wrong recording for
Leslie Kong Leslie Kong (20 December 1933 – 9 August 1971) was an influential Chinese-Jamaican reggae producer. Career Leslie and his two older brothers Cecil and Lloyd ran a restaurant, ice cream parlour and record shop called Beverley's in Orange Stre ...
. With the consistent nucleus of musicians, the
Beverley's Beverley's was a Jamaican record label (1961–1971) owned by the Chinese Jamaican record producer Leslie Kong. Beverley's was essential to the development of ska and rocksteady into reggae. The label launched the careers of Jimmy Cliff ...
All-Stars (
Jackie Jackson Sigmund Esco "Jackie" Jackson (born May 4, 1951) is an American singer best known as a founding member of the Jackson 5, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997. Jackson is the second child of the Jackson family, a ...
, Winston Wright, Hux Brown, Rad Bryan, Paul Douglas and Winston Grennan) and the Maytals’ brilliant harmonizing..."

Reggae is listed in the dictionary as:

''reggae'' eg-ey(noun) - a style of Jamaican popular music blending blues, calypso, and rock-'n'-roll, characterized by a strong syncopated rhythm and lyrics of social protest. Origin of reggae: Jamaican English, respelling of reggay (introduced in the song “ Do the Reggay” (1968) by Frederick “Toots” Hibbert).

Accompanied by Paul Douglas and Radcliffe "Dougie" Bryan in studio, Jackie Jackson explained the formation of the group in a radio interview for Kool 97 FM Jamaica:

“We’re all original members of Toots and the Maytals band. First it was Toots and the Maytals, three guys: Toots, Raleigh, and Jerry. …And then they were signed to Island Records, Chris Blackwell. And we were their recording band. One day we were summoned to Chris’ house. And he says, “Alright gentleman, I think it’s time. Toots and the Maytals looks like it’s going to be a big thing”. By this time he had already signed Bob (Marley). So in his camp, Island Records, there was Toots and the Maytals / Bob Marley; we were talking about reggae is going international now. We kept on meeting and he (Blackwell) decided that the backing band that back all of the songs, the recording band, should be the Maytals band. So everything came under Toots and the Maytals. So we became Maytals also. And then we hit the road in 1975...we were the opening act for the Eagles,
Linda Ronstadt Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is a retired American singer who performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin. She has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three American ...
, and Jackson Browne. We were the opening act for
The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...
for about two weeks.”

Paul Douglas, Jackie Jackson and Radcliffe ‘Dougie’ Bryan are recognized as founding members who, along with frontman

Toots Hibbert Frederick Nathaniel Hibbert, (8 December 1942 – 11 September 2020), better known as Toots Hibbert, was a Jamaican singer and songwriter who was the lead vocalist for the reggae and ska band Toots and the Maytals. A reggae pioneer, he perfor ...

, continue to perform in the group to the present day. The first Toots and the Maytals album released and distributed by Chris Blackwell's Island Records was ''

Funky Kingston ''Funky Kingston'' is the name of two albums by Jamaican reggae group Toots and the Maytals. The first was issued in Jamaica and the United Kingdom in 1973 on Dragon Records, a subsidiary label of Island Records, owned by Chris Blackwell. A differe ...

.'' Music critic

Lester Bangs Leslie Conway "Lester" Bangs (December 14, 1948 – April 30, 1982) was an American music journalist, critic, author, and musician. He wrote for '' Creem'' and ''Rolling Stone'' magazines, and was known for his leading influence in rock music ...

described the album in

Stereo Review ''Sound & Vision'' is an American magazine, purchased by AVTech Media Ltd. (UK) in March 2018, covering home theater, audio, video and multimedia consumer products. Before 2000, it had been published for most of its history as ''Stereo Review''. ...

as “perfection, the most exciting and diversified set of reggae tunes by a single artist yet released.”Toots and the Maytals
. ''Contemporary Musicians''. Encyclopedia.com. October 6, 2016. As Chris Blackwell says, “The Maytals were unlike anything else...sensational, raw and dynamic.” Blackwell had a strong commitment to Toots and the Maytals, saying “I’ve known Toots longer than anybody – much longer than Bob (Marley). Toots is one of the purest human beings I’ve met in my life, pure almost to a fault.” On 1 October 1975, Toots and the Maytals were broadcast live on KMET-FM as they performed at

The Roxy Theatre The Roxy Theatre (often just the Roxy) is a nightclub on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, California, owned by Lou Adler and his son, Nic. History The Roxy was opened on September 23, 1973, by Elmer Valentine and Lou Adler, along wi ...

in Los Angeles. This broadcast was re-mastered and released as an album entitled “Sailin’ On” via Klondike Records. President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

was quoted as appreciating the reggae music of

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listed the song “54-46 Was My Number” by Toots and the Maytals as one of their “15 Roots Reggae Songs You Should Know”; and in an interview with Patricia Chin of VP Records, Vogue listed the group as part of an abbreviated list of early “reggae royalty” that recorded at Studio 17 in Kingston, which included

, Peter Tosh,

Gregory Isaacs Gregory Anthony Isaacs OD (15 July 1951 – 25 October 2010)Thompson, p. 127. was a Jamaican reggae musician. Milo Miles, writing in ''The New York Times'', described Isaacs as "the most exquisite vocalist in reggae".Miles, Milo (1992),RECORDI ...

Dennis Brown Dennis Emmanuel Brown CD (1 February 1957 – 1 July 1999) was a Jamaican reggae singer. During his prolific career, which began in the late 1960s when he was aged eleven, he recorded more than 75 albums and was one of the major stars of lo ...

Burning Spear Winston Rodney OD (born 1 March 1945), better known by the stage name Burning Spear, is a Jamaican roots reggae singer-songwriter, vocalist and musician. Burning Spear is a Rastafarian and one of the most influential and long-standing roots ...

, The Heptones, and

Bunny Wailer Neville O'Riley Livingston (10 April 1947 – 2 March 2021), known professionally as Bunny Wailer, was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and percussionist. He was an original member of reggae group The Wailers along with Bob Marley and Peter Tosh. ...

. In 2017, Toots and the Maytals became the second reggae-based group to ever perform at the Coachella festival, after

Chronixx Jamar Rolando McNaughton (born 10 October 1992), popularly known as Chronixx, is a Jamaican reggae artist. His stage name replaced the name "Little Chronicle" which he was given because of his father, the singer "Chronicle".Jackson, Kevin (2014) ...

in 2016.

Bob Marley and the Wailers

Douglas contributed to several of Bob Marley's albums, including '' Small Axe'' and ''Soul Shakedown Party'' which were released on the

Beverley's Beverley's was a Jamaican record label (1961–1971) owned by the Chinese Jamaican record producer Leslie Kong. Beverley's was essential to the development of ska and rocksteady into reggae. The label launched the careers of Jimmy Cliff ...

label, and performed live with

in the early 70s. The Wailers worked with reggae producer

Leslie Kong Leslie Kong (20 December 1933 – 9 August 1971) was an influential Chinese-Jamaican reggae producer. Career Leslie and his two older brothers Cecil and Lloyd ran a restaurant, ice cream parlour and record shop called Beverley's in Orange Stre ...

, who used his studio musicians called

All-Stars (Jackie Jackson, Paul Douglas, Gladstone Anderson, Winston Wright, Rad Bryan, Hux Brown) to record the songs that would be released as an album entitled “ The Best of The Wailers”. The tracks included “Soul Shakedown Party,” “Stop That Train,” “Caution,” “Go Tell It on the Mountain,” “Soon Come,” “Can’t You See,” “Soul Captives,” “Cheer Up,” “Back Out,” and “Do It Twice”. Excerpt from an interview of

Winston Grennan Winston Grennan (16 September 1944 – 27 October 2000) was a Jamaican drummer, famous for session work from 1962 to 1973 in Jamaica as well as later in New York City through the 1970s and 1980s. Biography Career Grennan's career spanne ...

by Carter Van Pelt:

"...Chris Blackwell say, 'Yeah, Yeah, Yeah. I give them the money to make this record.' But at that time they was forming the band. Bob (Marley]) came to me, figure it was me, Gladdy, Winston Wright, Jackie and Hux to be the band. That was the band that Bob did really want, but those guys didn't want to get involved. You know that the situation around Bob was pretty hectic...They turned it down. So right away, I couldn't get involved, because I didn't want to leave the guys. We was doing all the sessions.

Robin Kenyatta came to Jamaica, we played for him.
Garland Jeffreys Garland Jeffreys (born June 29, 1943) is an American singer and songwriter in rock and roll, reggae, blues, and soul music. Career Jeffreys is from Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, of African American and Puerto Rican heritage. He majored in art hist ...
, Paul Simon,
Peter, Paul and Mary Peter, Paul and Mary was an American folk group formed in New York City in 1961 during the American folk music revival phenomenon. The trio consisted of tenor Peter Yarrow, baritone Paul Stookey, and contralto Mary Travers. The group's reper ...
we play for them.
The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...
came down we played for them. We were the guys... we could read music. If I leave, I feel it would be a bad vibes. When Hugh Malcolm joined the group, he couldn't keep up, so they got rid of him. A little later on a drummer came along name Paul Douglas, every so often we would bring him in, because I couldn't play on a session. Paul was about the only guy, that these other guys would trust to really come and play amongst them."

“The Perfect Beat" is a song on the album ''Eardrum'' from

Talib Kweli Talib Kweli Greene (; born October 3, 1975) is an American rapper. He earned recognition early on through his collaboration with fellow Brooklyn rapper Mos Def in 1997, when they formed the group Black Star. Kweli's musical career continued with ...

that sampled a song from

called, “Do It Twice”, which is a drum beat from Paul Douglas. Paul Douglas Grenoble France 1

Lee "Scratch" Perry and Leslie Kong

Excerpt from the book “People Funny Boy - The Genius Of

Lee "Scratch" Perry Lee "Scratch" Perry (born Rainford Hugh Perry; 20 March 1936 – 29 August 2021) was a Jamaican record producer, composer and singer noted for his innovative studio techniques and production style. Perry was a pioneer in the 1970s development o ...

by David Katz:

"On the instrumental front, Perry (
Lee "Scratch" Perry Lee "Scratch" Perry (born Rainford Hugh Perry; 20 March 1936 – 29 August 2021) was a Jamaican record producer, composer and singer noted for his innovative studio techniques and production style. Perry was a pioneer in the 1970s development o ...
) began more serious experimentation, exploring diverse influences and styles with a range of musicians. ...Perry also started working with Paul Douglas, an occasional Supersonics member and mainstay of
Leslie Kong Leslie Kong (20 December 1933 – 9 August 1971) was an influential Chinese-Jamaican reggae producer. Career Leslie and his two older brothers Cecil and Lloyd ran a restaurant, ice cream parlour and record shop called Beverley's in Orange Stre ...
's productions."

Alton Ellis

Douglas is credited as the drummer on Alton Ellis' "Girl I've Got A Date". "Girl I've Got A Date" is recognized as one of the first songs to define the rocksteady genre.

Tommy McCook & The Supersonics

Douglas was a member of

Tommy McCook Tommy McCook (3 March 1927 – 5 May 1998) was a Jamaican saxophonist. A founding member of The Skatalites, he also directed The Supersonics for Duke Reid, and backed many sessions for Bunny Lee or with The Revolutionaries at Channel One ...

& The Supersonics from 1968 - 1969, during which time the group released three LP's.

The Boris Gardiner Happening

Between 1970 - 1973 Douglas was the drummer for ''The Boris Gardiner Happening'', completing five LP's with the group. ''The Boris Gardiner Happening'' recorded a version of "

Ain't No Sunshine "Ain't No Sunshine" is a song by Bill Withers from his 1971 album '' Just As I Am,'' produced by Booker T. Jones. The record featured musicians Donald "Duck" Dunn on bass guitar, Al Jackson Jr. on drums and Stephen Stills on guitar. String arran ...

" in 1973 with Paul Douglas singing lead, and

playing

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

, for the album ''Is What's Happening''.

Leroy Sibbles

Douglas worked as a bandleader for the

Leroy Sibbles Leroy Sibbles (born Leroy Sibblies, 29 January 1949) is a Jamaican reggae musician and producer. He was the lead singer for The Heptones in the 1960s and 1970s. In addition to his work with The Heptones, Sibbles was a session bassist and arr ...

band.

John Holt, The Pioneers, Eddy Grant

Douglas toured the UK with

John Holt (singer) John Kenneth Holt CD (11 July 1947 – 19 October 2014) was a Jamaican reggae singer who first found fame as a member of The Paragons, before establishing himself as a solo artist. Early life Holt was born in the Greenwich Farm area of King ...

in 1974. This was the first major reggae tour that was accompanied by a major orchestra, a 15-piece orchestra out of England. The members of this tour included six veteran session musicians: Hux Brown (Guitar), Jackie Jackson ( Bass), Paul Douglas (Drums), Rad Bryan (Guitar), Winston Wright ( Organ), and Gladstone Anderson (Piano). Douglas also joined and played with The Pioneers band which featured Eddy Grant from The Equals that same year in England.

Byron Lee and the Dragonaires

In 1975 Douglas joined

Byron Lee and the Dragonaires Byron Lee and the Dragonaires (known as Byron Lee's Dragonaires after Lee's death and now The Dragonaires) are a Jamaican ska, calypso and soca band. The band played a crucial pioneering role in bringing Caribbean music to the world. Byron ...

as a session musician, and later became a band member, as the group's drummer on the Sparrow Dragon Again LP.

Touring

Douglas has toured with many artists over the course of his career, including: *

* Jackson Browne *

Linda Ronstadt Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is a retired American singer who performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin. She has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three American ...

* Eagles *

* The J. Geils Band * Carlos Santana * The Roots * Sheryl Crow * James Blunt On June 24, 2017 at the Glastonbury Festival, reggae group Toots and the Maytals were slotted for 17:30 with BBC Four scheduled to show highlights from their set. When they did not show it was suspected they missed their time slot, and

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

Early life

Influences

Affiliated groups

Toots and the Maytals

Bob Marley and the Wailers

Lee "Scratch" Perry and Leslie Kong

Alton Ellis

Tommy McCook & The Supersonics

The Boris Gardiner Happening

Leroy Sibbles

John Holt, The Pioneers, Eddy Grant

Byron Lee and the Dragonaires

Touring

Studio work

Notable televised performances

Film

Awards and recognition

Interviews

Museums and expositions

Discography

Instruments and sponsorships

References