Rest In Peace Allen Toussaint

Heaven just got a new composer.

Legendary New Orleans musician and composer Allen Toussaint has died after suffering a heart attack following a concert he performed Monday night at Madrid's Lara Theater.

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

In 1998, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He's also a member of the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame. In 2013 he was awarded the National Humanities Medal by President Barack Obama at a ceremony in Washington DC.

He was one of NOLA's most influential, beloved and iconic musicians, having composed songs like "Working in the Coal Mine," "Mother-in-Law," "Fortune Teller," "Southern Nights," "Sneakin' Sally Through the Alley," "Get Out of My Life, Woman" and dozens more. Toussaint's songs were recorded by Jerry Garcia, Ringo Starr, Little Feat, Robert Palmer, the Yardbirds, Glen Campbell, Bonnie Raitt, the Band, Warren Zevon, the Rolling Stones and many more.

From Jan Ramsey, Offbeat Magazine:
Allen was not just a friend. He was an extraordinary human being, and he touched my life personally in so many ways.
Obviously, his influence on New Orleans music and musicians, and his influence on the rest of the world was profound. Of any local musician and performer, Allen was probably the king and certainly one of the New Orleans-born musicians who actually made a damn good living from his music, specifically from songwriting/publishing (His gold Rolls-Royce’s license plate read “SONGS.”)
Furthermore, he was a prince among men. I never met anyone else in the music business that was so kind, humble, soft-spoken, and such the ultimate gentleman, with never a bad word to say about anyone.
I always told Allen that he should write his autobiography, or a memoir because he’d had such a very interesting life, but I don’t think he wanted to; maybe he didn’t think what he’d accomplished was so very important to the world (see what I mean about humble?). At one point (pre-Katrina) he told me that he had kept a daily journal almost all of his life (which was sort of exciting to hear). But that was lost during Katrina, along with everything else he owned and had worked on musically that was in his home and personal studio.
It’s hard to believe that I’ll never get to talk to him again, hear his mellifluous voice, listen to his stories, or see him again, in his beautiful tailored suits, expensive sandals with socks. Goofy. So Allen.  Read more on offbeat.com

Thanks for your positive influence and of course, the music. Rest in peace Allen Toussaint.