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 is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

on 9 September 1951. His family relocated to

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a 2021 Canadian census, population of 569,353 (2021), and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which encompasses ...

, 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 ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

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) 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 Servilius Caepio Brutus, which was reta ...

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 cit ...

, 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, M ...

and Rocket Norton, both of whom later joined

Prism PRISM is a code name for a program under which the United States National Security Agency (NSA) collects internet communications from various U.S. internet companies. The program is also known by the SIGAD . PRISM collects stored internet ...

, and Alexis Radlin. After the Seeds of Time, Doucette joined Rocket Norton in ''The Rocket Norton Band'', along with Rick Enns and John Hall. He wrote the B-side, "Donkey Chain", for the band's first single. 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 ...

, 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 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 music genre that encompasses pop music, pop-oriented styles from the 1970s through the 1980s. It is considered a lighter and more melodic "broadening of Punk subculture, punk culture". It was originally used as a catch-all fo ...

, 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.

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, Okanagan Valley in the British Columbia Interior, southern interior of British Columbia, Canada. It serves as the head office of the Regional District of Central Okanagan. The name Kelowna ...

. 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, and part of Greater Vancouver. Located on the Fraser Lowland south of Fraser River's south distributary, arm, it is bordered by the city of Richmond, British Columbia, R ...

, aged 70.

Awards and honours

* 1979:

Juno Award The Juno Awards (stylized as JUNOS), or simply known as the Junos, are awards presented by Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to recognize outstanding achievements in Canada's mu ...

, Most Promising Group of the Year

Discography

Albums

* 1977: '' Mama Let Him Play'' (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 Canadian rock guitarists Canadian male guitarists Canadian male singer-songwriters Canadian singer-songwriters Musicians from Hamilton, Ontario Singers from Ontario Musicians from Montreal Canadian rock singers Canadian male singers Mushroom Records artists 20th-century Canadian male musicians