Allen Toussaint
March 11, 2014 at 11:55 PM by Dr. Drang
Although I don’t listen every show, I always check out what Greg Kot and Jim DeRogatis are doing on the Sound Opinions podcast because they produce gems several times a year. Last week’s show had a fun interview with Cynthia Robinson and Jerry Martini of Sly & the Family Stone,1 and this week’s has a wonderful interview with Allen Toussaint in which he tells stories of his long career and sings and plays.
Even if you don’t know his name, you definitely know his music, especially the covers.
I think the Yardbirds did the first cover of this one, but I’m partial to Warren Zevon’s.
Somehow, when Devo lip syncs, you don’t mind.
The Who did “Fortune Teller,” but I prefer the faster Stones version
A classic song of the 60s, and possibly the greatest album cover ever.
Until I heard the interview, I didn’t know Toussaint wrote “Java”—I didn’t even know it was a song. I thought of it more as a natural phenomenon, a sound created when the Earth coalesced.
Toussaint’s didn’t write either of these last two songs, but he did produce them, and I couldn’t stop myself from including them here. They’re so 70s. First, Dr. John.
And finally, the even more sedately dressed LaBelle.
Gitchi gitchi ya ya da da.
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You know: Cynthia and Jerry got a message that says “All the squares go home!” ↩
