Play It Loud! How Toronto Got Soul (2024)

Early 1960's Toronto was a mostly white, Anglo-centric city. Beneath this veneer of Conservative respectability, an exciting underground music scene emerged, created by a Jamaican diaspora including newcomers like Jackie Mittoo, Wayne McGhie and a teenage Jay Douglas. Battling racism and indifference, they made an indelible, but little appreciated mark on Canadian music and culture. Six decades later, Jay Douglas is still carrying the torch for Jamaican music, and enjoying the recognition and respect he has long craved. 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 a social and cultural migration that made Canada a mecca for Jamaican music, 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. Born as Clive Pinnock, in rural Jamaica to a single mother, Douglas began performing professionally at 17 and has never stopped. Today, nearly 60 years later, he's more popular than ever.