2005 Best Of The Beat:
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Few people have left as deep a footprint on the history of New Orleans music as Allen Toussaint. Toussaint’s unfathomable talents recall such multidimensional giants as Jelly Roll Morton and Louis Armstrong. He is a performer so versatile he ghosted for Huey “Piano” Smith and Fats Domino in his early days on the scene. He is also a songwriter on a talent level with Lennon/McCartney. Perhaps most importantly, Toussaint is a producer who almost single-handedly turned New Orleans into a hit factory that rivaled anything New York, Los Angeles, Nashville or Detroit could muster at a turning point in popular music history at the dawn of the 1960s.
Toussaint is also a raconteur of note, a popular speaker at conferences and seminars because of his wise observations and his sanguine and often humorous anecdotes about his career. Talking about his many different roles to an audience at the Cutting Edge Conference a few years ago, he said: “At ten in the morning I’m a songwriter. Around noon I’m a producer. At five o’clock I’m a piano player. At six I’m none of the above. At seven I wonder which one I really am.”
Toussaint’s magic touch as a producer was central to the careers of such New Orleans legends as Ernie K-Doe, the Showmen, and Jessie Hill. He recognized the power and creativity of the Meters as a medium to create a sound that would influence both Motown and Memphis, and tapped the group as both his go-to house band and an instrumental force in its own right. In the studio he nurtured talents ranging from the boundless creativity of Irma Thomas and Aaron Neville to the carefully crafted simplicity of Lee Dorsey.
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Born in New Orleans on January 14, 1938, Toussaint was already playing piano at seven. By the time he was in his teens and playing in the Flamingoes with guitarist Snooks Eaglin, he had mastered the range of New Orleans keyboard styles from Jelly Roll Morton to Professor Longhair. He subbed for Huey “Piano” Smith in Earl King’s band at 17 and went on to be the go-to session pianist for another legendary producer, Dave Bartholomew, who used Toussaint to cover for Fats Domino and Smiley Lewis. His first big arrangement credit came on “Walkin’ With Mr. Lee,” the signature hit for saxophonist Lee Allen. As “Al Tousan” Toussaint went on to record a 1958 solo album for RCA, The Wild Sound of New Orleans, which included the catchy instrumental “Java,” later an enormous hit for trumpeter Al Hirt.
From 1960 until he was drafted in 1963 Toussaint created a treasure trove of classic New Orleans R&B, beginning with Jessie Hill’s huge hit “Ooh Poo Pah Doo.” Ernie K-Doe’s “Mother-in-Law,” written and produced by Toussaint, went to Number One on both the pop and R&B charts. Other high points included the Showmen’s “It Will Stand”; “Fortune Teller” and “Lipstick Traces (On a Cigarette)” both written by Toussaint under his mother’s name, Naomi Neville, for Benny Spellman; Chris Kenner’s “I Like It Like That” and “Land of 1000 Dances”; “Ruler of My Heart” and “It’s Raining,” both written for Irma Thomas; and the Lee Dorsey blockbuster “Ya Ya.”
The prolific Toussaint managed to continue recording during his military stint, most notably the instrumental “Whipped Cream,” cut with his backing band, the Stokes. That tune went on to become a hit for Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass and became the theme music for “The Dating Game.”
In 1965 Toussaint returned to civilian life and formed his own label, Sansu Records, with partner Marshall Sehorn. With the Meters as his killer house band, the hottest gun in town resumed his studio magic, writing and producing a series of hits including the Lee Dorsey masterpieces “Working in a Coal Mine,” “Get Out of My Life Woman” and “Ride Your Pony.”
Even after the scene he had fashioned was washed away by the ever-changing fortunes of the music business in the 1970s, his Sea-Saint studios continued to churn out hits and classic albums from the Meters, Dr. John and the Wild Tchoupitoulas; sparked the classic sound of old school disco with the Pointer Sisters; and created his own solo albums, highlighted by the masterpiece “Southern Nights,” a moment when all of Toussaint’s vast talents coalesced into one breathtaking package. The biggest names in the music business beat a path to his door to have Toussaint put his stamp on their recordings. His arrangements for the Band’s Rock of Ages album added a new dimension to one of the greatest song catalogs in rock history.
In 1996 Toussaint co-founded NYNO records to define a new generation of New Orleans music, overseeing projects by Amadee Castenell, New Birth Brass Band, James Andrews, Wallace Johnson, Larry Hamilton, Raymond Myles, Oliver Morgan, Grace Darling and Cool Riddims and Sista Teedy. Last year Toussaint released an outstanding instrumental album on NYNO, “Connected,” that brings him full circle to his roots as a genius composer and performer of instrumentals.
In 1998 Toussaint was accorded his rightful place among rock’s luminaries in the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame.
It’s hard to say what Toussaint will be best remembered for because his accomplishments are so varied and so important, but it’s safe to say that his songwriting will stand the test of time. His explanation of the process behind writing “Mother-in-Law,” a song that changed the way the world heard rhythm and blues, provides a key to understanding his genius.
“‘Mother-in-Law’ was the central topic of comedian jokes before Lenny Bruce came along,” he once told an audience at a songwriting seminar. “Most of the memorable hits have the genius of simplicity. It’s almost like going around the world to find the girl next door. You hear a Mozart melody and it’s like you’ve heard it already. If I asked everybody out there to sing me a piece of Beethoven I’m going to get the same thing from everybody.” The audience obliged by all singing the four note phrase at the heart of the Fifth Symphony. Toussaint pointed out that such simplicity doesn’t come easily before revealing the secret of his success: “Never give up, and keep on doing it, and keep on doing it.”
Irma Thomas
“I don’t really do songs too much that don’t have stories”
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Irma Thomas, the Soul Queen of New Orleans, may well be the greatest woman R&B vocalist ever. The only thing that separates her from Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Gladys Knight, Tina Turner, or any other candidates for the honor is the absence of the kind of music industry promotional push it takes to create national hit singles.
Most of her priceless recorded moments—a catalog of excellence which stretches over more than 40 years—were made under the auspices of independent labels that lacked the distribution and clout to create such a hit. Her 1964 emotional flamethrower of a ballad “Time is On My Side” never got the promotion it deserved because it was released on Imperial only as a B-side, yet it became a blockbuster when Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones paid Thomas and producer Allen Toussaint the ultimate compliment of recording what amounted to a cover band version of the song.
Thomas has a rich, expressive alto voice that can handle an impressive technical range, but unlike so many other soul divas she doesn’t treat her voice as a monumental celebrity in its own right. Thomas manages to inhabit the songs she sings like a great actor, always finding the emotional center of the piece and telling a compelling story. She is, as a result, very careful about choosing the right material. But once she’s behind a song she uses her voice as the subtle instrument it is, working the melody for every nuance. Her sense of pacing and rhythmic inventive is the essence of soul. She can always find a surprising way to phrase against the pulse of the rhythm section, and the sheer emotional impact of her technique stamps her as a true product of the New Orleans music world.
“I don’t really do songs too much that don’t have stories,” said Thomas. “They are all, to various degrees, about being in love and out of love. That’s the ability of the artist—to be able to put themselves in any predicament that they need to do to get the job done.”
Born on February 18, 1941 in Ponchatoula, Louisiana, Irma Lee moved to New Orleans as a child and got her standard vocal training in the choir of the local Baptist church, auditioned for Specialty records at 13, became a mother at 14, then married, had another child, divorced and was married again by age 17. Irma had two more children with second husband Andrew Thomas but the marriage didn’t last and at age 20 she was raising four kids by working as a waitress at New Orleans’ Pimlico Club. She sat in with the house band led by Tommy Ridgley and promptly lost her waitress job, but Ridgley arranged for Thomas to get a recording deal with the Joe Ruffino-owned local label Ron records, which released the single “You Can Have My Husband (But Don’t Mess with My Man).” The song has been identified with Irma ever since. Thomas was already a fully-matured talent and the record made it to 22 on the Billboard R&B chart.
Allen Toussaint recruited Thomas for Minit Records, where she clicked immediately with a saucy rendition of Ernie K-Doe’s “I Done Got Over It.” Toussaint wrote and produced material tailored to Irma’s talents, including the enduring tearjerker “It’s Raining,” which became a popular cover tune and was used in the soundtrack to the Jim Jarmusch film Down By Law; and the great “Ruler of My Heart,” which was adapted at Stax/Volt to create Otis Redding’s “Pain In My Heart,” once again identifying a Thomas classic with another performer.
Minit’s successes drew the attention of the Los Angeles-based Imperial Records, which picked up Thomas’ contract when it acquired the label. She wrote and recorded the dramatic “Wish Someone Would Care,” which became her first national hit, charting in the pop Top 20. The flip side, “Breakaway,” was a New Orleans favorite that saturated local radio airplay in 1964. Thomas reached to the bottom of her deep well of emotion on the heartbreaking “Anyone Who Knows What Love Is (Will Understand),” the A-side of “Time Is on My Side.”
Imperial tried other producer/songwriter combos attempting to cash in on Thomas’ prodigious talent. She recorded a pair of Van McCoy Tunes, “Times Have Changed” and “He’s My Guy,”; cut “I’m Gonna Cry Till My Tears Run Dry” and “The Hurt’s All Gone” with Jerry Ragovoy and even tried a James Brown-produced answer song to “It’s A Man’s World,” “It’s A Man’s-Woman’s World” before leaving the label in 1966.
Thomas went on to record “Cheater Man” for Chess Records in 1967 in Muscle Shoals at Rick Hall’s Fame studio and followed with “A Woman Will Do Wrong” and Otis Redding’s “Good to Me,” which hit the R&B charts in 1968. Hurricane Camille forced Thomas to relocate her family to California in 1969. She recorded for several labels before returning to New Orleans in 1976, where she made a few records before opening her own club, the Lion’s Den.
Irma’s home cooking and intimate live performances at the Lion’s Den revived her legendary status in New Orleans in between tours of Europe, where her popularity never waned.
Thomas’ career enjoyed a revival in the United States in 1986 with the release of a great album on the independent Rounder records label, The New Rules, which emphasized her vocal strengths by presenting her in classic, straight ahead R&B settings. Another strong record, The Way I Feel, followed in 1988, and by the time the galvanic Live! Simply The Best came out in 1991 Thomas had regained her reputation as a soul music diva. The album earned Thomas a Grammy nomination and Rounder quickly followed it up with another studio set, True Believer, then a return to her gospel roots with Walk Around Heaven.
Thomas continued to record for Rounder, releasing the outstanding The Story of My Life before combining with two of her most accomplished acolytes, Marcia Ball and Tracy Nelson, for the magnificent Sing It! When she was making The Story of My Life songwriter/producer Dan Penn dropped by and ended up writing several songs on the album. Thomas and producer Scott Billington decided that her next project would be a recording of four Penn classics including “I’m Your Puppet” and nine new Penn songs written for Irma, including a collaboration, “Irma’s Song.”
Irma is a genius in the studio, but her live performances are unforgettable. She is in total control of the band onstage, even to the point of calling unrehearsed numbers and directing head arrangements on the spot. Her annual Jazz Fest sets are legendary. When she tells her fans to “put your backfield in motion” it never fails to ignite a brushfire of excitement. “In New Orleans, we celebrate everything,” she says, but Irma Thomas brings the celebration wherever she goes.
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