New York, NY (May 26, 2026)—Legendary engineer, producer and mixer Jimmy Douglass has teamed with Wax Poetics to auction off a vintage microphone used by Aretha Franklin, reels from classic hip-hop hits, unreleased music and more from his personal archives.
A pair of auctions, dubbed The Jimmy Douglass Hip-Hop and Jazz Archive, are being hosted online by WaxPoetics. Items going up for bid include a Neumann U 47 microphone Aretha Franklin used to record “I Say a Little Prayer;” original reels and master tapes from Jay-Z, Dr. Dre, Aaliyah, Justin Timberlake, Destiny’s Child and Nas; handwritten lyrics from Missy Elliott; unreleased recordings from Foreigner and Dr. John; and more.
Across his multifaceted career as a top engineer, producer and mixer, Jimmy Douglass has worked with everyone from Aretha Franklin and Led Zeppelin to Justin Timberlake and Jay-Z. It’s a career that has resulted in five Grammy Awards, but also a personal archive that deftly illustrates the progression of popular music—hip-hop, R&B, rock and more—from the 1970s to today.
Given the span of genres and decades, the auction will be divided into two sections—a Jazz, Funk, and Soul collection now live through June 21, 2026, and a Hip-Hop and R&B collection that will be live June 8-28, 2026.
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In the opening auction, items currently available include the Aretha Franklin Neumann U 47 microphone as well as a variety of cassettes with unreleased music, including an Ann Peebles demo tape, a pair of demo tapes from Dr. John, and an unreleased King Curtis Montreux Jazz Festival recording from 1971. Numerous master tapes are also up for bid, featuring various tracks by Chaka Kahn, Les McCann, Dr. John, Slave, and Junior Walker and Howlin’ Wolf.
The second auction, concentrating on Hip-Hop and R&B, will feature a variety of original studio reels, vocal tapes and digital masters. Of particular note are an original 1/2-inch vocal studio reel for “Forgot About Dre” by Dr. Dre; a reel for Aaliyah’s “Try Again;” instrumental reels for Justin Timberlake recordings such as “Cry Me a River,” “Ride 4 Me” and “Take Me Now;” and more.
Additional tapes, paperwork and items from working with Jay-Z, Nas, Peter Gabriel, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Dave Mason, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and others will also be included in the second auction.
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“I’m excited to give people access to my history through these items,” said Douglass in a statement. “Some of them are tied to some of my biggest pieces of work and I’m looking forward to them finding a new home.”
