Episode 5: Jay Double You! [P-FUNK]
/JIM WRIGHT (now Jay Double You!) was just 12 years old when his big sister Debbie Wright’s bandmates—George Clinton, Bootsy, and the rest of Parliament-Funkadelic—started hanging out at his mother’s house in Detroit. In fact, Tiki Fulwood gave little Jim his first pair of drumsticks. And by the time he was in his late teens, he was already making a good living as a session player for legendary producer Don Davis at the local funk lab, United Sound.
But it was Parliament OG-vocalist Fuzzy Haskins who officially gave Wright his big break with the P. Fuzzy told the kid he had just two takes to make it in—Wright killed it in one, performing with no less than Glenn Goins, Garry Shider, and Boogie Mosson. By the late 70s, young Jim was not only the drummer for his sister Deb’s vocal trio PARLET, but also the original leader of the band. On top of all that, he played on tracks that became part of Bernie Worrell’s classic solo debut, All the Woo in the World.
But just as Clinton (or “G” as Jay Dub sometimes calls him) was about to propel the Wright siblings’ careers to the next level, tragedy befell the sister—causing a series of events that affected her brother deeply. So Jim returned to work with Davis, under whom he studied the art of songwriting and producing. Soon he had learned so much that he went independent, reinventing himself as Jay Double You! and putting out a string of his own funktastic albums.
In this awe-inspiring but laughter-filled interview, Jay Dub spits deep game about playing in the pocket, gives numerous fly-on-the-wall accounts of the creation of such funk staples as “Flashlight,” and shares personal anecdotes involving Eddie Hazel, Gary “Mudbone” Cooper, and many other big-time funkateers. But that’s not all. Dub also waxes poetic on the cold realties of the music biz, drum machines vs. the human soul, and the importance of positive messages.
Produced & Hosted by Ace Alan
Cohosted by Jay Stone
w/ Content Produced by Nat Collins
Website & Art by 3chards
Engineered by Nick “Waes” Carden at The Blue Room in Oakland, CA.
…but we couldn’t have done it without Mawnstr
Intro & Outro tracks by the Funkanauts, “I Can Never Be” & “Fully Mentalized” respectively, both from the brand new album, Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth.
Get it now on Amazon, iTunes, CD Baby—wherever music is sold.
This episode is dedicated with much love to Debbie Wright.
Psst! Editor’s Notes: At certain parts of this episode, Ace refers to the guest as an “alumni,” when actually the correct word is alumnus. Ace should have known that because he used to be an English teacher. Otherwise, he’s perfect. So there!
Behind-the-scenes P-Funk pics
from the personal scrapbook of Jay Double You!
Jay Double You! has somethin else special for ya – Flash yo flashlight on these…
Yup. You guessed it. These are the very same boots featured on the cover of the hit Parliament album, Funkentelechy vs. the Placebo Syndrome (1977)! They are signed by George Clinton himself.
In fact, Dr. Funkenstein PERFORMED in these as well, and he gifted them to Jay Dub’s sister, singer Debbie Wright, immediately after performing live one night because they were hurting his feet. Decades later, Jay Dub got George to sign them. (Listen to this episode for the full story).
Private bidding for these iconic artifunks starts at six figures. Email the owner using the button below. It’s the most amazing opportunity under the sun, under the sun, under the sun!
