Famed New Orleans Singer/Songwriter/Producer Allen Toussaint Dead at 77

Toussaint was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998 and the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame in 2009.

Even in his seventies, Toussaint was still making music that has the power to touch deep places. As co-founder and President of NolaVie, it was a joy to have Allen participate in a very special NolaVie/Prospect 3 art and technology presentation at the Historic New Orleans Collection, produced by MIT Media Lab artist Xiao Xiao, another New Orleans artist. Toussaint was displaced from New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina and eventually resettled in NY, before returning to his home town.

New Orleans musical legend Allen Toussaint died Tuesday after a coronary heart assault in Spain.

In 1960, Toussaint was hired by Joe Banashak’s Minit record label and masterminded numerous company’s biggest hits – including Irma Thomas’s Ruler of My Heart (later recorded by Otis Redding as Pain in My Heart) and Benny Spellman’s Lipstick Traces (On A Cigarette). Toussaint’s best-known studio work commenced during the golden age of New Orleans rhythm and blues as he lent his production skills to hits like Jessie Hill’s “Ooh Poo Pah Do” and “Ya Ya” by Lee Dorsey. However, Toussaint began to receive worldwide recognition when the Rolling Stone and the Who recorded “Fortune Teller”, one of his songs.

His most successful collaborations were with singer Lee Dorsey, who recorded Toussaint’s compositions Ride Your Pony, Get Out of My Life Woman, Working in a Coalmine and Everything I Do Gon’ Be Funky. In addition to penning this jam, Toussaint contributed piano, backing vocals and arrangements to the album, which also features the Meters behind Dr. John.

He once said that he tries “to remain as open as I can for inspiration all the time”, but he preferred late-night composing.

Allen Toussaint performs on stage at Bluesfest 2013 – Day 4 on March 31, 2013 in Byron Bay, Australia. In 2012, Toussaint received a National Medal of Arts and Humanities from President Barack Obama for Toussaint’s “contributions as a composer, producer and performer”. The storm’s aftermath led to a new chapter in Mr. Toussaint’s career: He became a touring musical act, something he really had not done before. “The city’s soul is alive and well in New Orleans, and I just love that”.

“His music was so New Orleans, but it also so national and so worldwide”, Ronnie Kole, a friend and fellow pianist, said.

One of the things most precious about living in New Orleans is the daily exposure to our myriad, brilliant, native-born musicians.

He drove a Rolls Royce but otherwise lived a modest life in New Orleans, said Walker.

Survivors include a son, Clarence “Reginald” Toussaint, who often performed as a percussionist in his father’s band; a daughter, Alison Toussaint LeBeaux, who helped manage her father’s career; and several grandchildren.