Jimmy Douglass facts for kids

Jimmy Douglass, also known as "The Senator", is a super talented American recording engineer and record producer. He helps make music sound amazing! Since the 1970s, he has worked on many hit songs and albums. He's especially known for working with artists like Missy Elliott and Timbaland.

Making Music Magic: Jimmy Douglass's Career

Starting Out at Atlantic Records

In the early 1970s, Jimmy started his music journey in New York City. He was still in high school but worked part-time at Atlantic Records studios. His first job was copying music tapes.

At the studio, Jimmy learned a lot. He learned how to use a special 16-channel sound board. He also watched and learned from famous engineers, producers, and music bosses. These included Tom Dowd, Arif Mardin, Jerry Wexler, and Ahmet Ertegun.

One day, Jerry Wexler encouraged Jimmy to try engineering a recording session. This was for a new band's demo song. After that, Jimmy worked with many Atlantic Records artists. Some of these big names were Aretha Franklin, Hall & Oates, Roberta Flack, Foreigner, Led Zeppelin, and AC/DC.

Becoming a Producer in the 1980s

During the 1980s, Jimmy kept getting better at engineering. He also started taking on the role of a producer. A producer helps guide the making of a song or album.

He engineered and produced music for many well-known artists. These included The Rolling Stones, Elkie Brooks, Slave, Odyssey, Roxy Music, Genesis, and Gang of Four.

Working with Hip Hop and R&B in the 1990s

In the first half of the 1990s, Jimmy mainly worked on jingles and post-production. Jingles are short songs used in commercials. Post-production is the final stage of making a recording. This work taught him to be very efficient and capture the right "vibe" or feeling in music.

In 1994, he began working with a new contemporary R&B and hip hop duo called Timbaland & Magoo. Jimmy became their main engineer for over ten years. They worked together on many classic projects. These included albums for artists like Aaliyah, Playa, Missy Elliott, Ginuwine, and Jay-Z.

Success in the New Millennium

As the new millennium began, Jimmy continued to engineer and mix projects produced by Timbaland. He worked on music for Snoop Dogg and Björk. He also worked on Grammy-winning albums for Justin Timberlake.

Jimmy also mixed songs for many other popular artists. These include Rob Thomas, Sean Paul, John Legend & The Roots, Kanye West, Ludacris, Al Green, and Duran Duran.

Jimmy Douglass now lives in California.