'He really, truly was great': Canadian classic rock guitarist Jerry Doucette dies in B.C.

Canadian classic rock guitarist and songwriter Jerry Doucette died in hospice Monday, a statement from a family friend confirmed.

Doucette, 70, was known for "Mama Let Him Play," his 1977 hit from the album with the same name, which hit the billboard Top 100. A family friend of Doucette's said in a statement the inspiration for "Mama Let Him Play" came from what his father would say after coming home from work to his son playing guitar. His mother would tell him to be quiet, but Doucette recalled his father saying she should let him keep playing.

He thought that would make a good song title, and said he finished writing the hit in about an hour.

Eric Alper, a music industry expert, says Doucette never hesitated to play the song that made him famous.

"I know a lot of artists who don't like to play the one or two hits that the may be known for around the world because they're tired of them," he tells CTV News.

"Some, like Jerry, loved the fact that he was remembered for that hit. It allows you to keep going because there's always going to be classic rock fans who want to hear the song and most artists like Jerry are happy to put on the clothes, go out on tour, and play it in front of an adoring crowd."

Doucette was born in Montreal in 1952 and grew up in Hamilton, learning to play guitar at age six.

Alper says learning guitar at such a young age gave Doucette an advantage over others who pick up an instrument somewhat later in life.

"When you get good and you become a guitar prodigy like Jerry, which allows you to play in bands when you're a teenager, you start your 10,000 hours worth of practice at a really early age," he said.

In 1972 Doucette moved to Vancouver where he played with bands The Seeds of Time and the Rocket Norton Band before signing with Mushroom Records as a solo artist. In 1979, his band, Doucette, won a Juno for Most Promising Group of the Year.

Between 1977 and 1999 Doucette released five albums as a solo artist and continued playing in small venues in Western Canada until 2018.

"For about five decades. Jerry's music has never gone off of the radio in this country in Canada. And a large part of it has to do with timing, and a large part of it has to do with the talent and the knack for a song like Jerry had," Alper said.

Doucette died of cancer Monday, surrounded by family at Irene Thomas Hospice in Delta, B.C. He is survived by his wife Maggie of 43 years, his five children and 10 grandchildren.

While Alper says there may be younger people who never picked up one of Doucette's albums on vinyl or CD or heard one of his songs on the radio, he thinks there's an opportunity for a new generation to discover the music.

"You don't have to go to the record store and hope that they have a copy of the album. We all have access to the internet, the ability to check out what Jerry was really all about, the countless times that he played that song, the many, many albums that he put out -- that's at our disposal, those will never go away," he said.

"The fact that we get to talk about him and pay tribute to him is enough maybe for that guy or girl out there to pick up the guitar for the first time and want to play music, and check out what made Jerry so great because he really, truly was great."