The Funky Genius of Allen Toussaint

Allen Toussaint, the legendary New Orleans singer-songwriter who counts R&B songs such as “Mother-in-Law” and “Working in the Coal Mine” among the hits he has written, has died while on tour in Europe. Toussaint, however, stopped breathing during the ambulance ride to a hospital and efforts to revive him again were unsuccessful.

Toussaint performed Monday night at Madrid’s Lara Theatre.

“Allen wasn’t a guy who was all for Allen, he wanted to progress and do things for entertainers in New Orleans”, Henry said.

In a career that spanned almost 60 years, Allen Toussaint was one of the most respected names in the music business.

“I wouldn’t have minded being out on the road, as a sideman, not front and stage center, but Minit Records chose me, I didn’t choose it”, he said. In the mid-1960s, Allen opened Sea-Saint Studios in New Orleans, a facility where Paul McCartney and Paul Simon later would record.

Mr. Toussaint eventually began performing more and producing his own albums in the 1970s.

Irma Thomas, who was a friend for 50 years, told WVUE-TV in New Orleans, “the one uplifting side of anything like this is the fact that he died doing what he loved and that’s playing music”. Toussaint’s songs have also been covered by other artists, like Grateful Dead guitarist Jerry Garcia’s cover of “I’ll Take A Melody”, Bonnie Raitt’s recording of “What is Success” and the Rolling Stones’ rendition of “Fortune Teller”, according to Rolling Stone.

“I mean, this was a man who drove a Rolls Royce, who sometimes went out to dinner wearing a huge diamond-encrusted medallion, who had all of the accoutrements of material success – but who was always looking for an opportunity to help a stranger”, she says.

There’s no doubt about it. Toussaint touched the lives of many people. “(His death) was very unexpected”, Thomas said.

US President Barack Obama hailed Toussaint for returning to New Orleans when he presented him in 2013 with the National Medal of the Arts. His song “Southern Nights” was covered by country star Glen Campbell, and hip-hop artists in the ’80s and ’90s often sampled from his songs.

I was fortunate enough to have two close encounters with Toussaint, neither of which he would’ve remembered, but both of which affected me greatly.

Toussaint was in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina.

The other time I ran into him was September 7, 2005, when Hootie was filming The Late Show With David Letterman. – Allen Toussaint in 2007 Toussaint’s piano felt heavy – there’s the dense bass on “Get Out My Life Woman” – and could roll as easily as it bounced, a powerfully funky set of moves adapting Professor Longhair for any mood and artist.

Mr. Toussaint was born in 1938 in Gert Town, a humble, working-class neighborhood of New Orleans, where he taught himself piano.

As Executive Director of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, it was a privilege to have Allen appear as a soloist with our musicians in one memorable special concert.