YES, thank you!
The band Orleans was named for Allen Toussaint and the Meters, our favorite music at the time.
Johanna Hall
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Hey Bob,
I just have to wade in here and mention that the man many of us associate early Allen Toussaint with, and the man who originally put out "Workin In A Coal Mine", Sneakin Sally Through The Alley", and "Yes I can", not to mention "Everything I Do Gonna Be Funky From Now On", was the late great Lee Dorsey.
As a kid in high school playing in all the local bands you had to play (and gladly) "Workin In A Coal Mine". It was mandatory and something of a hit on the radio in the central valley in the middle sixties.
All the bands that made up the "New Orleans Sound" back in that period, from Ernie K-Doe and Lee Dorsey to the The Meters and Dr John used Allen's unique horn lines and background vocal stylings.
I was talking with Bill Payne (a student of Professor Longhair of New Orleans fame) yesterday about his experiences with Allen and how the Feat were influenced greatly by the man. And of all the artists you mentioned, for me, Lowell George and Little Feat, Robert Palmer, and the Pointers really nailed what Allen Toussaint was all about.
But when you mention the tunes listed above, Lee Dorsey was his original messenger!
Tom Johnston
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Wexler pointed out to me that Toussaint's music was untouched by outside trends. That you could follow his work from the rock and roll era through the Beatles and past disco and never know any of that happened. Ironic, as you note, that people will discover only what they lost.
Cheers (babe).
Joel Selvin
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BOB: Kudos to you on some of these Allen Toussaint covers. Several I did not know about and I am a massive fan who was lucky to meet him several times. I started collecting his music back on those Minit sides in the '60s.
I recall the Herman Hermit's "Mother In Law" but can't quite place it in my memory bank. I have their albumjs here so I will check them.
I hope you are well.
Larry LeBlanc
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Thank you for this. As a New Orleanian, we have been blessed to have known and appreciated Allen as a friend. Not only was he a musical hero, he was the ultimate gentleman.
Suzette Toledano
Toledano Entertainment & Arts Law
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These songs, as well as a slew of others just as brilliant, are the reason we inducted Allen into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2011. Boz Scaggs performed in his honor and did his induction remarks.
Cheers,
Linda Moran
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On tour with Nicolette in Chicago she gave me Dixie chicken. Put it in the car player and drive to our next gig in St. Louis. By the time I got there I was hooked. Played it the entire tour and ended up dueting with Nickie on two trains. Fantastic band little feat and did not know til tonight toussaint wrote on your way down. Sounded like Lowell to me.
James Lee Stanley
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He played a bar here about 6 months ago...Charley's in Paia....20 bucks...I didn't go.....kicking myself..
Tom Clark
Maui
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Ohh man - Phish has been killing "SNEAKIN' SALLY THROUGH THE ALLEY" the last few years!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8hCA9LSA4I&feature=youtu.be&t=2m25s
Josh Dorf
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Wonderful musical journey through the masters life. He was one of a kind ,thanks Bob.
Lionel Conway
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Great songbook. Saw Allen every year for years in New Orleans at JazzFest alongside tens of thousands And here you could see him at the Lyric Theater Crazy
Mike Briller
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Thanks for this Bob
New Orleans is going to give him a royal jazz funeral
Besides the music what was amazing about Allen was that he was still in the mix. You would see him gassing up his rolls Royce or with the people walking around at a neighborhood festival and he was there, present and curious, Linking the history of nola to its present, With the most amazing classy style and of course socks and sandals.
I love that same song on your way down and discovered it when trombone shorty coveted it.
Also you know Here come the girls yes? Ernie k doe
Best always
Travis Laurendine
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Hi Bob,
I've had the good fortune of seeing Allen Toussaint perform on the various trips I've made to New Orleans - most recently this past May when he performed at the farewell tribute concert for The Neville Brothers. I also enjoyed his collaboration with Elvis Costello on the "River in Reverse" album.
Check out this exquisite performance of "Southern Nights"...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EihE9a_mEE&list=RD8zC65J2W_0o&index=4
and this one of "It's Raining"...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMetcpbMN2w&list=RD8zC65J2W_0o&index=2
Truly, one of the greats.
Phil Stanley
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Dear Bob, thanks for these great recommendations. Despite being born in New Orleans, I have been slow to discover just how great Allen Toussaint really was.
You should not sleep on Allen Toussaint's wonderful jazz piano album from a few back, The Bright Mississippi -- can't say enough good things about that one, a real demonstration of the breadth of his skills.
best,
Andrew Baston
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You desperately need to listen to the Lee Dorsey album Yes We Can from which sprang the originals for such oft-covered Toussaint gems as Sneaking Sally Through the Alley (backed by the Meters who also did the Palmer record--but a completely different arrangement), Yes We Can [Can], Occapella, Riverboat, Freedom for the Stallion and On Your Way Down. And pay special attention to "Tears, Tears and More Tears" which is a smash hit that never happened. Dorsey was Toussaint's favorite artist to write for. Just look at the huge number of classics they did together. Also the CD Yes We Can's liner notes include Toussaint remarks about that collaboration.
Harmony--michael tearson
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Thank you for the Allen Toussaint cover list. I am really depressed that he is gone. I was supposed to see him in a week or so in London. At least he died in the saddle...
I think you missed some great ones:
Lee Dorsey - Working in a Coal Mine
Van Dyke Parks - Riverboat and Acapella (both on the excellent Dioscover America Album)
And many others. One of the greatest songwriters, performers and producers ever. At least Heaven will be more fun and funky from now on.
Jorg Mohaupt
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Good read Bob.
Above all Allen Toussaint was a gentleman; the brilliance of his talent just seemed to come along with the man.
I had the honor of meeting he and his then wild man manager/partner, the colorful Marshall Sehorn in 1970 when he recorded a "From A Whisper To a Scream" for my boss and second career employer Charlie Greene and his Tiffany label. Allen Toussaint opened the door and introduced me to a musical world and culture I knew little about then… the real culture of New Orleans.
I remember him as being shy snd gentle. Imagine as he, Tammy Tyrell, Bob Krasnow and myself were tossed into the back of Charlie Greene's mink lined stretch Lincoln Limo and whisked away to the Baldwin Hills home of Ike and Tina Turner to ring in the New Year. Allen made an immediate b-line to Ike's white Steinway Grand (white metal flake I think) and entertained us all and until we sang "Auld Lang Syne."
It was sweet to see how embarrassed he got and pretended not to hear when a jet fueled Bob Krasnow turned to Ike and screamed, "Hey man, I didn't think it was possible to spend $10,000 at Woolworths to furnish a house". I thought Allen was going to fall off the piano bench. When we got back into the limo he busted out laughing and then led us all in song till our next stop. Thanks Allen Toussaint for the music and that night.
Bruce Garfield
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Good one. You are correct about enjoying them while they're here. I was aware of Allen Toussaint and generally what he had done.
About five years ago, my wife and I were in the Aspen area for summer vacation. There was an ad in the paper that I saw by accident, a free concert in Glenwood Springs featuring Toussaint.
Free? Cool!
It was a Beautiful weekday evening, in an outdoor park. We got there reasonably early and found a good parking spot. Got a beer and wandered right up to the stage. He was playing in one of these proscenium arch kind of things. It with him on piano, bass player, drummer and sax player. A quartet. He was the main instrument.
They come out and do a lot of his early stuff that were not big hits unless you lived in New Orleans. He wore a pastel colored suit that was conservative but natty at the same time.
Played about an hour and then took a break. Hanging around behind the stage and we wandered back. Said hello and told him we enjoyed him, and he was delightfully friendly.
We went back and got another beer and wandered up to the stage again and he kicked it in for the second set. This time he was dressed in a very slick looking black contemporary outfit that I have trouble describing. It was cool. He did newer stuff and a lot of the big hits and told a bunch of entertaining stories. I was immensely impressed, I thought he was the goods.
He was. And the price was right.
Got to see a legend in a little local park. It was quite a unique experience and I'll never forget it. Especially now that he's gone. Sad.
Thanks,
Rik Shafer
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I began my conscious journey with Allen's music with Little Feat's "On Your Way Down", having already heard the hits by Ernie K-Doe and Lee Dorsey, not knowing anything about Allen Toussaint (or "Naomi Neville"). And and I was fortunate enough to have become a friend of Allen's over the years and to have had the great privilege of producing, Songbook, Allen's 2013 CD/DVD which was released by Rounder.
One of the things that has always fascinated me about Allen's work is the fact that he wrote so many great songs that were sung by such a vast number of artists that there is a treasure trove of hidden gems that are hardly ever mentioned.
In 1972 Allen produced an album on a Canadian blues singer and harp player named King Biscuit Boy. The self-titled album featured the Meters and includes re-imagined versions of some of Allen's greatest songs that are among the best things that were ever cut at Sea-Saint. Standouts include: "Riverboat" (a brilliant song from Lee Dorsey's masterpiece, Yes We Can album, from 1970 ), "Mind Over Matter", "Lovers and Leapers, "I'm Gone" and "The Greatest Love" (the original Lee Dorsey 1966 version is not to be believed. When I interviewed Allen for the Songbook DVD i asked him to sing this song and told that it was one of his favorites. It's always been one of mine, as well.)
Another unsung masterpiece, also recorded in 1972, was Van Dyke Parks' Discover America album. Van Dyke, an American treasure himself, covered "Riverboat" and "Occapella", also from, Yes We Can.
In 2012 New Orleans' brilliant piano player and singer, Jon Cleary, put out an album of all Allen Toussaint material that included a wonderful, reggae version of an early song that Allen himself had released, called "Poor Boy's Got to Move", and a soulful version of one of my favorite Toussaint compositions, "When the Party's Over", from Allen's Motion album, which was produced by Jerry Wexler for Warner Bros. in 1978, was largely ignored at the time, but has come to be appreciated over the years, for it's genius.
The world won't be the same without Allen Toussaint.
Best,
Paul Siegel
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Thank you for remembering Lowell's one and only solo album. Weirdly, I had it in my player when I learned of Toussaint's passing.
Paul Walker
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Thanks so much, Bob, for the blog post and the playlist. I'm here in my house, about 100 yards from the Sea of Cortes at 4 in the morning, crying my eyes out. Bow your head, everybody. I don't what you believe or don't believe. Bow your damn head. He's gone.
Ray Staar
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Hey Bob---wanted to bring a very special album to your attention if you don't already know it. Lee Dorsey's "Yes We Can" album from 1970 with many of your favorite songs and produced by Toussaint and with the Meters + Toussaint as backup band. I read in an article that Toussaint wrote these songs specifically for Dorsey and this album.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_2_10?url=search-alias%3Dpopular&field-keywords=lee+dorsey+yes+we+can&sprefix=lee+dorsey%2Cpopular%2C138
Tom Principato
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He was truly an American musical legion. I was fortunate to see him last spring with the Preservation Hall Band. Let's not forget Southern Nights, Mother-in -law, I like It Like That.....................
Robert J. Levatino CPA
____________________________________________
thought you might enjoy this version of on your way down.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPncVXZMEhc
Felice Ecker
____________________________________________
didn't you leave out Glen Campbell's Southern Nights?
Dennis Atchison
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Two weeks ago my husband and I were on the 25th Blues Cruise.
Later for that.
Allen Toussaint was one of the headliners (along with buddy guy and lots more). He did 4 shows- we went to see him the first night as we'd never seen him perform, and that way we could see him again if we wanted to.
We had a pleasant little conversation with him and his wife in the elevator after lunch. Chit chat.
Later that evening (much later), His set was magnificent-not just for the great band and his white and silver sequined jacket and pants but because the hub and I kept saying to each other "wow, he wrote that? "
We knew the Toussaint standards, but I had no idea he wrote one of my totally fave "uh, what I thought" was a Robert Palmer song!!!
And we must have named 4 different British covers of Fortune Teller.
Did I know he wrote Southern Nights? No! No way!! The hub knew. Neither of us knew he wrote Yes We Can Can ( we knew it as one of the Pointer Sister's greatest hits!)
When we ran into him againin the elevator, I told him that I thought when the real history of American pop music and rock and roll of the late fifties through the seventies is written, he is clearly on a par with Leiber and Stoller for he brought the sound of NOLA to the world and kept it in the forefront. He really liked my comments. I passed them along to one of the learned experts on the ship and at first he was hesitant to agree, but then after I added a bit to my "thesis " he couldn't disagree.
And just like Leiber and Stoller, he kept his publishing.
And like so many songwriters. Inside us a great performer just waiting to bust out.
Great piece, great personal obit thanks for it.
Glad we got to see him.
Regards
Amy Krakow
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Just to show you the power of a song, listen to the Mother in Law cover by Los Straitjackets. Even in Spanish, the song is a great one. They're also fun to see in LA if you like your surf music in suits and Mexican wrestling masks.
http://youtu.be/0YtRzx3ifvg
I do like the Stones version of Fortune Teller, but two versions I prefer - The Who's version from Live at Leeds/Hull era, and Robert Plant and Alison Kraus cover. Goes to show that for a great song, you can cover it multiple ways.
Regards,
Ned Ward
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If I remember correctly?..........
'What Do You Want The Girl' was recorded by Bonnie Raitt, Boz Scaggs, and Lowell George......individually, all in a two year period. The three of them recognized Allen T's greatness in songwriting!
Every time I saw Allen perform, I felt I was in the presence of someone special. A kind and wise soul.
Steve Chrismar
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Bob, you've probably never heard Jerry Garcia's magnificent cover of Allen's I'll Take A Melody from '75's Reflections, but not only does it feature a great vocal & arrangement, but also JG's most beautiful studio guitar solo.
This track belongs on any A.T. list and would be quite unique on this one. Do yourself a favor and check it out - the outro solo will blow your mind.
Rob Wolfson
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Forgot this one? My favorite.
https://open.spotify.com/track/027gUK945JpipqZR8nJ41d.
Frank van Hoorn
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Allen Toussaint - a national treasure!
I love this from Questlove (on Instagram):
https://www.instagram.com/p/96H1V7Qa_p/?taken-by=questlove
Liz Penta
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Jon Cleary's "Occapella" release has brilliant versions of "What to You Want the Girl To Do"...and "Southern Nights". If you haven't already, check 'em out!
Cheers,
Lynne Tattersall
____________________________________________
My favorite Toussaint lyric might be from "Who's Gonna Help Brother Get Further" (recorded by Lee Dorsey, but I love his own rendition with Elvis Costello):
"What happened to the Liberty Bell, I heard so much about? / Did it really ding dong? / It must've dinged wrong / It didn't ding long"
Rob Maurer
____________________________________________
Hi Bob,
Thanks for a superb list, albeit one that only scratches the surface of the genius that was Allen Toussaint as songwriter, arranger, producer, recording artist, and more. Allen touched my life in many unique ways, but one of the most unusual was towards the end of a three-week 1993 songwriters-in-the-round tour that I helped produce and manage across the country (AT along with Guy Clark, Joe Ely, Michelle Shocked and Sonny Landreth).
At our next to last stop at the Birchmere in Alexandria, VA, I asked Allen to check the piano level for me during soundcheck while I was at the mixing board. He suddenly launched into "Ya' Got trouble" from the brilliant Broadway classic The Music Man, and I grabbed the talkback mic and called the lyrics back to him. Allen stopped and said "who's that?", and that began a new and deeper level of shared musical passion. Who imagined that Allen knew and loved the songs and music from that great cornball Broadway show and film, but Allen Toussaint really is Professor Harold Hill.
AT was one-of-a-kind, in his fashionable suits and sandals, peerless gentlemanly manner, extraordinary sense of humor, rhythm, and melody, and clearly an incredibly rich inner life. It's already a much lesser world without him.
Best,
Danny Kapilian
____________________________________________
Thx.
I have not played Fortune Teller is some time. First heard it on the first Stones live LP, "Got Live If You Want It" (need to check if its on Spotify or iTunes but I still have the vinyl).
Not sure if I ever knew he wrote What Do You Want The Girl To Do and never knew Java by its title — just recall I know it and heard it many times growing up.
When I tweeted the NY Times obit I also included this link to AT playing on Proud Mary with John Fogerty at Jazzfest last year:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmYoYWkxiLY&feature=youtu.be&t=1h31m51s
Corey Bearak
____________________________________________
New Orleans is a small town and its music community even smaller. When I was teaching choral and vocal music at Metairie Park Country Day School Country in Metairie, LA and singing at St. Louis Cathedral, I was lucky enough to network with musicians from many genres in New Orleans. One of those musicians was the legendary Allen Toussaint who, at the behest of a mutual friend, was gracious enough to spend time with me at his studio to see if I really had any chops for jazz. A classically trained lyric soprano, Mr. Toussaint spent a couple of hours with me, rehearsing, jamming, and listening in an effort to guide the ambition of an eager 25 year old. Mr. Toussaint's honesty - that my high soprano approach to the genre was a bit off putting and inconsistent with the style lending itself most effectively to the vocal jazz repertoire - was a turning point for me as a singer. Although he was complimentary of my style, my instrument, and my potential, in a short time he helped me to
realize that my instrument was most beautifully suited for the music for which I had trained, mostly the sacred and secular vocal and choral repertoire. I dabbled a bit in sort of new agey jazz after that session with Mr. Toussaint and did a summer at Berklee in vocal jazz on a grant, but these were asides to my real work singing in church and conducting choirs and pursuing the academics of music. I always remember how kind, gentle, unassuming, and deferential this southern gentlemen was and I was grateful to be able to have an personal audience with him at no charge. In the early 80s when I met Allen Toussaint, I was aware of his legendary status. He was still relevant at that time and we all knew that he would always be relevant, especially in New Orleans. Sadly, America loses another national treasure in Allen Toussaint. New Orleans no doubt will celebrate in throwing a big jazz funeral in his honor!
Patti Jones
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AT doing You Will Not Lose
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvLv20NMcUc
R. Emmett McAuliffe
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