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Famed New Orleans musician Allen Toussaint dies at 77

Dominic Massa
WWL-TV, New Orleans
In this file photo dated Saturday, May 7, 2011, Allen Toussaint performs at the†New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in New Orleans. Legendary New Orleans musician Toussaint died after suffering a heart attack after a concert he performed in the Spanish capital, Madrid, after emergency services were called Monday Nov. 9, 2015, to his hotel.

NEW ORLEANS — Allen Toussaint, the legendary songwriter, producer, arranger and performer hailed by the Grammys, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and musicians and fans worldwide as one of the most influential figures in New Orleans music, died Monday while on tour in Europe, his family confirmed. He was 77.

Toussaint was on tour in Spain and died after performing Monday. Having performed frequently in his hometown over the past several weeks, Toussaint left Thursday on a tour that was to include stops in Madrid, Belgium and London, according to his Facebook page.

An Associated Press report said Toussaint died after suffering a heart attack after a concert where he performed in the Spanish capital at the Lara Theater.

"Madrid emergency services spokesman Javier Ayuso says rescue workers were called to Toussaint's hotel early Monday morning and managed to revive him after he suffered a heart attack." Toussaint, however, stopped breathing during the ambulance ride to a hospital and efforts to revive him again were unsuccessful.

Legendary 'New Orleans Sound' maker Cosimo Matassa dies

Just last week, it was announced that Toussaint and longtime friend Paul Simon would perform at a Dec. 8 benefit for New Orleans Artists Against Hunger and Homelessness, a charity he helped create.

Though always soft-spoken, humble and most often preferring to stay behind the scenes, the list of those who benefited from Toussaint's touch as a producer and arranger is staggering. It ranges from the 1950s to the present day: from Irma Thomas, Aaron Neville, Art Neville, Dr. John, the Meters, Paul McCartney, Joe Cocker and Glen Campbell to the late Ernie K-Doe, Chris Kenner, Lee Dorsey, Jessie Hill, Benny Spellman and Al Hirt, to name but a few.

"His greatest contribution was in not allowing the city's old-school R&B traditions to die out but by keeping pace with developments in the rapidly evolving worlds of soul and funk. In addition, he brought the New Orleans sound to the national stage, and it remains a vital and ongoing part of our musical heritage to this day," proclaimed the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which inducted Toussaint as a member in 1998.

Many of Toussaint's songs became familiar not just for their original versions, but by cover versions as well, including Ruler of My HeartWorking in the Coal MineRide Your PonyFortune TellerSouthern NightsGet Out of My Life, WomanSneaking Sally Through the Alley and Mother-in-Law. The diverse list of artists who covered Toussaint songs, all the while holding him in high regard, runs the gamut from The Rolling Stones, The Who, Jerry Garcia, Robert Palmer and Warren Zevon to The Doors, Ringo Starr, The Pointer Sisters and Little Feat.

Elvis Costello and Allen Toussaint perform at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival on April 30, 2006.

Touring and performing onstage himself was a relatively new facet of Toussaint's career, mostly a result of his newfound success after Hurricane Katrina, which devastated his New Orleans home and studio. His stepping into the spotlight represented a change for the music legend.

"I prefer writing for artists than writing for myself. I get more inspiration from artists, from other people, than I do myself," he said in a 1998 WWL-TV interview with Hoda Kotb, the year he was honored by the Hall of Fame.

But after relocating to New York after Katrina, while the piano genius collaborated with other musicians (notably Elvis Costello and Eric Clapton), he released CDs of his original work, performed a solo act frequently and even wrote a ballet. He was nominated for a Grammy award and in 2013, was honored with the National Medal of Arts, the highest honor given to an American artist.

"After his hometown was battered by Katrina and Allen was forced to evacuate, he did something even more important for his city — he went back," said President Obama at the award ceremony. "And since then, Allen has devoted his musical talent to lifting up and building up a city. And today, he's taking the stage all over the world, with all kinds of incredible talent, doing everything he can to revive the legendary soul of the Big Easy."

Born in 1938 and raised in New Orleans' Gert Town neighborhood, Toussaint had early musical encouragement from his father and mother, Clarence Toussaint and Naomi Neville (whose name he later used as a songwriting pseudonym). He first touched a piano at the age of 6, he recalled.

"I walked over reluctantly and touched it, from a slight distance, I don't know whether I thought it would bite or not, but I must say I got such a pleasant sound," he told Bill Capo in a 2013 WWL-TV interview. He said he soon began mimicking songs he heard on the radio, before his sister taught him how to read music and then he began performing with neighborhood bands.

Toussaint caught a couple of breaks as a teenager — joining a local R&B band that also featured guitarist Snooks Eaglin; sitting in for Huey "Piano" Smith with Earl King; and laying down piano parts at a Fats Domino session that the Imperial Records star could not make. As a teenager he performed as a session musician at the legendary Cosimo Matassa's recording studio.

He dropped out of high school in favor of a music career and in 1958, songs by "Tousan," as he called himself, were being recorded by Al Hirt, including 1958's Java, which became a Grammy-winning hit for the New Orleans trumpeter.

Toussaint came into his own as a studio auteur for the Minit and Instant record labels beginning in 1960. He produced, arranged and wrote a string of classic sides for a host of New Orleans rhythm and blues artists. Many of the songs feature his unmistakable New Orleans piano stylings, in the mold of one of his greatest influences, Professor Longhair.

Toussaint's successful streak was interrupted by a stint in the U.S. Army from 1963 to 1965. When he returned home, he formed Sansu, a production company, with partner Marshall Sehorn. A new string of soul/R&B singles followed, including Dorsey's Ride Your PonyWorking in the Coal Mine and Holy Cow. Even listed among his 1960s songs is Whipped Cream, the snappy instrumental that, when recorded by Herb Alpert, became the theme song for TV's The Dating Game.

Toussaint also groomed a quartet of New Orleans musicians known as the Meters, who served as the Sansu house band while releasing funky instrumentals under their own name and going on to worldwide fame. In 1973, Toussaint and Sehorn built their own Sea-Saint studio, which attracted local musicians such as Dr. John and the Neville Brothers, as well as established stars such as Paul McCartney, Paul Simon and Robert Palmer. Labelle recorded their 1975 chart-topper Lady Marmalade at Sea-Saint with Toussaint.

Though he earned rave reviews as a songwriter, arranger and producer, Toussaint was rarely interested in performing, at least not in the early days.

"I was always a little reluctant about the audience thing. When I think about it, I guess whatever 'shy' means, it covers a part of me," Toussaint had said. That changed after Katrina, as he developed his own act, which included not only performing but weaving stories from his New Orleans childhood and musical career.

He was always writing, and said in a 2006 interview that he found inspiration nearly everywhere he looked.

"Everyday life is inspirational, if you're just open to it and enjoy the scenes and the interaction of people as they interact with each other. There are new things being performed every day if you just look around and enjoy what's happening, you'll never run out of inspiration," he said in a WWL-TV interview.

Toussaint performed at the White House four times and though he never won a Grammy, he was nominated six times and presented with a Grammy Trustees Award in 2009. In 2013, he was named an honorary doctor of fine arts by Tulane University, alongside Dr. John and the Dalai Lama. He also was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Blues Hall of Fame and the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame. He performed annually at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and was the artist featured on the festival poster in 2009.

Toussaint is survived by his two children, his son Clarence, known as Reginald, and his daughter, Alison, both of whom managed his career in recent years. He also is survived by several grandchildren.

Funeral arrangements are pending.

Contributing: The Associated Press. Follow Dominic Massa on Twitter: @DMassaWWL

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