Grammy award-winning engineer Jimmy Douglass discusses Missy Elliott working on Aaliyah’s “4 Page Letter,” why Ginuwine’s “Pony” was never fully mixed, and how record labels have contaminated the music-making process. For “Studios Sessions,” we delve into the stories behind the long hours in the studio and all that goes into making an album by talking with artists, producers, engineers, photographers, and more who are intimately connected to the recording process with some of the biggest artists in the world.
These are the stories that rarely leave the booth. Jimmy Douglass has been an accomplished engineer for more than 40 years, who’s helped Timbaland, Aretha Franklin, Slave, JAY-Z, Aaliyah, Ginuwine and a Hall of Fame list of others do more than just make great music. “I actually got the deal for Ginuwine. I took ‘Pony’ to Sony and was also taking Timbaland’s work around because no one had ever heard of him,” Douglass told REVOLT.
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You worked extensively on Ginuwine’s first album, ‘Ginuwine...The Bachelor.’ What was your working relationship like with the young star in 1996?
I had been with Ginuwine for two years up until that point. I was hanging with him in Rochester with Timbaland. We were just making demos. Missy [Elliott] and Static [Major] was up there with us. We were a melting house and Ginuwine was part of it. He was out there trying to be his own entity. I think he had a deal with Elektra, but nothing really happened. We worked together all of the time and laughed, laughed, and laughed.
The most iconic song of Ginuwine’s career, to me, is “Pony.”
“Pony” was recorded up in Rochester. We had “Pony” ready for about a year. Actually, the “Pony” you listen to is a rough mix from that session that night. We didn’t get a chance to mix it again.
Did you all know it was going to be big after that session?
It’s interesting that you’re asking that. At that time, Timbaland was on fire for two years. He was making tracks like that every day. The stuff were going nowhere. We cut about 300 songs in two years. He had Missy, Static, and Playa writing stuff over it. For “Pony,” Tim had done the crazy beat, Static started writing, and Ginuwine went, “I have to have this, Static.” That night, we went downstairs and did it. Then, we put it away because it was just another demo.
What was your role in those sessions?
I was the main engineer. We were using tape, so you needed a guy who could f**king keep up. I had to keep track of where the tapes were. We were locking a digital 48-track with an analog 24-track. I was using the analog tracks for Tim’s tracks in order to get that fire, and I was using the digital ones for all the vocals. You had to lock them together. We had so much stuff going on that you needed someone who knew what the hell they were doing.
Those sessions became Ginuwine’s debut album.
Timbaland and I left Rochester, but Ginuwine didn’t. I actually got the deal for Ginuwine. I took “Pony” to Sony and was also taking Timbaland’s work around because no one had ever heard of him. Now, we’re back in the world, and people asked me what I had been doing for the last two years. I would say, “Yo, you don’t even know. I’ve been doing some s**t the world ain’t really heard yet.” And they would go, “Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Then, Ginuwine, Timbaland, and I went to this place in Ithaca, NY for a month and started recording. Tim would do beats and Ginuwine would write on it or they would write together. I even wrote on some of it. We worked until it was completed. We worked really hard to get the songs we needed.
How did that process differ from making Ginuwine’s second album, 100% Ginuwine?
On the second album, Static came back. He wasn’t with us in Ithaca when we were making the first album. He helped the heavy lifting of the writing and changed the whole concept. Aaliyah was also on the record.
As you mentioned earlier, you worked closely with Aaliyah. Are there any special memories you have about working on a song of hers?
I have an interesting story about the making of “4 Page Letter.” I remember when Missy was singing the song, I got chills. She writes and does it right there. Missy doesn’t let anyone in the studio when she’s doing vocals. She’s always been that way. She won’t let anyone in, but the engineer. That’s a unique experience. We did “4 Page Letter” up in Ithaca and my daughter was getting ready to interview at Cornell University to go to college. I told her, “Hey, I’m in Ithaca. I can see you when you finish your interview.” We’re in the studio and Missy was cool with her. She’s sitting in the control room and Missy says, “Go ahead Jimmy, run the tape.” I didn’t tell my daughter to leave, so she sat there as Missy did the whole song in the studio. That’s never happened before or since.
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