Toussaint, a superlative songwriter, producer, pianist and arranger (and a fine singer, too), was a New Orleans native who helped spread the music-rich city’s inimitable sound across the world. But Toussaint stopped breathing during the ambulance ride to a hospital and efforts to revive him again were unsuccessful, the spokesman told the AP. The Associated Press reported that Toussaint suffered a heart attack and died following a concert in Madrid.Īn emergency services spokesman in the Spanish city told the AP that rescue workers revived Toussaint at his hotel early Monday morning. This mural of Toussaint was produced through the NOLA Mural Project and painted by the New York-based artist Brendon Palmer-Angell in 2018.New Orleans R&B legend Allen Toussaint, whose songwriting and studio work made him one of the most important and influential figures on the fertile Crescent City music scene, has died at the age of 77.

He was on tour in Spain when he passed away unexpectedly at age 77 in 2015. Shortly after Hurricane Katrina he recorded “The River in Reverse,” a collaboration with Elvis Costello, and began performing more frequently.

They served him well as his compositions, from the instrumental “Java” to the Lee Dorsey classic “Working in the Coal Mine,” permeated popular culture decades after they were written. Known for his elegant manner–he seemed always to be wearing a suit and his trademark socks and sandals–Toussaint was one of the few producers and writers of his era to secure his intellectual property rights. Washington High School, Toussaint began his recording career at Cosimo Recording Studios in the late 1950s, continued at Jazz City Studio in the late 1960s, and moved into his own Sea-Saint Studio in 1973. He was also a fixture at the Dew Drop Inn, the music venue and community hub, where he scouted talent.

John’s acclaimed “Right Place, Wrong Time” album, and wrote LaBelle’s smash “Lady Marmalade.”Ī graduate of Booker T. 1 hit “Mother-in-Law,” Jessie Hill’s “Ooh Poo Pah Doo,” and Chris Kenner’s “I Like it Like That.” He assembled the Meters as a a studio band, produced Dr.

Toussaint was the man behind Ernie K-Doe’s No. He used his immense talents as a producer, composer, arranger, writer, and pianist to generate hit records–usually for other artists–from the late 1950s through the mid-1970s. Allen Toussaint (1938 – 2015), an inductee in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame, was one of the most important figures in postwar New Orleans music.

Allen toussaint songs