Allen Toussaint

Allen Toussaint, born Allen Richard Toussaint on January 14, 1938, in New Orleans, Louisiana, was an American musician, songwriter, arranger, record producer, and Broadway performer. He died on November 10, 2015. Raised in the Gert Town neighborhood of New Orleans, he was the youngest of three children. His mother, Naomi Neville, regularly welcomed musicians into their home, and his father, Clarence, worked on the railway and played trumpet. Toussaint was raised Catholic and learned piano as a child, receiving informal instruction from a neighbor named Ernest Pinn. A formative influence on his playing was the syncopated second-line piano style of Professor Longhair. As a teenager, Toussaint performed in a band called the Flamingos alongside guitarist Snooks Eaglin before leaving school.

At seventeen, Toussaint substituted for Huey "Piano" Smith at a performance with Earl King's band in Prichard, Alabama, an opportunity that led to his introduction to a circle of musicians led by Dave Bartholomew, who performed regularly at the Dew Drop Inn in Uptown New Orleans. His first recording came in 1957, when he played piano as a stand-in for Fats Domino on Domino's record "I Want You to Know," with Domino later overdubbing his vocals. That same year, Toussaint achieved his first success as a producer with Lee Allen's "Walking with Mr. Lee." He subsequently recorded with Fats Domino, Smiley Lewis, Lee Allen, and other prominent New Orleans performers. After being noticed by A&R man Danny Kessler, he recorded for RCA Records under the name Al Tousan. In early 1958, he recorded an album of instrumentals titled The Wild Sound of New Orleans, featuring musicians including Alvin "Red" Tyler, Frank Fields, and Charles "Hungry" Williams. That session included "Java," a composition by Toussaint and Tyler that first charted for Floyd Cramer in 1962 and reached number four on the pop charts for Al Hirt in 1964.

In 1960, Joe Banashak of Minit Records hired Toussaint as an A&R man and record producer, and Toussaint also did freelance work for labels such as Fury. During the early and mid-1960s, he wrote, arranged, and produced hits for New Orleans rhythm and blues artists including Ernie K-Doe, Chris Kenner, Irma Thomas, Art and Aaron Neville, The Showmen, and Lee Dorsey, whose first hit "Ya Ya" Toussaint produced in 1961. Among the notable works from this period are Jessie Hill's "Ooh Poo Pah Doo," Ernie K-Doe's "Mother-in-Law," and Chris Kenner's "I Like It Like That." A 1962 two-sided hit by Benny Spellman included "Lipstick Traces (on a Cigarette)" and "Fortune Teller," the latter covered by The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Hollies, and others. Toussaint wrote a number of songs under the pseudonym Naomi Neville, his mother's name, crediting approximately twenty compositions to his parents. One such song, "Ruler of My Heart," was first recorded by Irma Thomas in 1963 and later adapted by Otis Redding as "Pain in My Heart," prompting Toussaint to file a lawsuit against Redding and his label, Stax, which was settled out of court with songwriting credit awarded to Naomi Neville.

Toussaint was drafted into the United States Army in 1963 but continued recording while on leave. After his discharge in 1965, he partnered with Marshall Sehorn to establish Sansu Enterprises, which operated a record label under several names including Tou-Sea, Deesu, and Kansu. The label recorded Lee Dorsey, Chris Kenner, Betty Harris, and others. Dorsey scored hits with several Toussaint compositions during this period, including "Ride Your Pony" in 1965, "Working in the Coal Mine" in 1966, and "Holy Cow" in 1966. The rhythm section on many Sansu recordings consisted of Art Neville on keyboards, Leo Nocentelli on guitar, George Porter Jr. on bass, and Zigaboo Modeliste on drums — musicians who later became known as The Meters. Toussaint continued producing The Meters when they began releasing records under their own name in 1969.

Through the 1970s, Toussaint expanded his work beyond New Orleans, collaborating with artists including B.J. Thomas, Robert Palmer, Willy DeVille, Sandy Denny, Elkie Brooks, Solomon Burke, and Frankie Miller. He arranged horn parts for The Band's albums Cahoots in 1971 and Rock of Ages in 1972, and contributed to the documentary film The Last Waltz in 1978. Among his best-known productions from this era is Dr. John's 1973 album In the Right Place, which contained the hit "Right Place, Wrong Time," and "Lady Marmalade," recorded by Labelle. Boz Scaggs recorded Toussaint's "Freedom for the Stallion" on his 1972 album My Time and "What Do You Want the Girl to Do?" on his 1976 album Silk Degrees, which reached number two on the U.S. pop albums chart. Bonnie Raitt also recorded the latter song for her 1975 album Home Plate.

In 1992, Toussaint brought his talents to the Broadway stage, appearing in The High Rollers Social and Pleasure Club, a production rooted in the New Orleans musical tradition that had defined his career.