Allen Toussaint, who passed away in 2015 at the age of 77, did just about everything exceptionally well: performer, player, producer, arranger. You can get so carried away with his multi-talented exploits that you almost forget that he was an ace songwriter as well. In fact, there are fewer artists with a background in R&B whose songs are beloved by the rock community, artists who saw in Toussaint’s rhythmic ease and lyrical cleverness the perfect fodder for cover material. Here are songs from five wildly disparate rock artists who took their own crack at the songs of Allen Toussaint.
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1. “Sneakin’ Sally Thru the Alley” by Robert Palmer (from the 1973 album Sneakin’ Sally Through the Alley)
Before he became known as the lead singer for The Power Station and for glossy ’80s singles like “Addicted to Love” and “Simply Irresistible,” Palmer rambled through the ’70s with a series of acclaimed solo albums, where he would often combine originals with some well-chosen covers. And he clearly took a shine to Toussaint’s writing, as Palmer covered two of the New Orleans legend’s songs on his ’73 debut. Palmer captured the funky vibe of the Lee Dorsey original (Dorsey, as you’ll see as we go through this list, was the first performer for many of Toussaint’s songs.) The slide guitar comes courtesy of Little Feat legend Lowell George. The song is one where Toussaint displays his knack for portraying a humorous situation, as a cheater tries to hide his girlfriend from his wife. His futile attempts to explain the situation (and his wife’s no-bull reactions) provide the comedy. So does Toussaint’s winning one-liner: “Trying to talk double talk, get myself in trouble talk.”
2. “Holy Cow” by The Band (from the 1973 album Moondog Matinee)
The Band’s relationship with Toussaint produced some wonderful moments in the band’s catalog. Toussaint wrote the horn charts for the ’72 Band single “Life is a Carnival.” The quintet enjoyed the collaboration so much that they had Toussaint add some horns to some of their classic songs, which resulted in the brilliant live album, Rock of Ages, later that year. (Many of the arrangements would stay in use for the memorable goodbye concert and film, The Last Waltz.) Thus, it makes sense that the group would gravitate to one of Toussaint’s classics when they decided they would do a cover album. Moondog Matinee features “Holy Cow,” another former hit for Lee Dorsey. “Holy Cow” is a straightforward lament about a lost love, but Toussaint’s slangy approach lends some humor to the affair. I can’t wheel, I can’t deal/Since you walked on me and Holy smoke, well it ain’t no joke gives you an example. Featuring Garth Hudson’s playful organ and Rick Danko’s aggrieved lead vocal, The Band’s version does their old friend great justice.
3. “Southern Nights” by Glen Campbell (from the 1977 album Southern Nights)
Toussaint’s 1975 album named Southern Nights was a kind of concept record and features some of his most memorable solo songs. (“What Do You Want the Girl to Do,” from this record, was later covered by Bonnie Raitt and Boz Scaggs.) The title track was based on the songwriter’s recollections of life growing up in Louisiana, and the lyrics beautifully capture that lived-in feeling. So much so that Campbell, after being played the song by Jimmy Webb, heard in it echoes of his Arkansas youth. Toussaint’s version has an eeriness to it, mainly because of the effects used on his main vocal. Campbell made it more of a feel-good anthem, even adding some lyrics about unity to seal the deal. The result was a massive No. 1 hit for him in 1977 (the second in his career after “Rhinestone Cowboy.”)
4. “A Certain Girl” by Warren Zevon (from the 1980 album Bad Luck Streak in Dancing School)
Besides Lee Dorsey, the other main conduit for Toussaint’s songwriting work was Ernie K-Doe, who gave the songwriter his first No.1 with “Mother-In-Law.” K-Doe never matched that success again, but “A Certain Girl,” first released in 1961, enjoyed a long and interesting shelf life. The Yardbirds, when they still featured Eric Clapton as one of their members, took a shot at the song, and it appeared on their debut album, For Your Love, in 1965. Fifteen years later, Warren Zevon did his own version, and he thought enough of it to release it as a single from his 1980 album, Bad Luck Streak in Dancing School. Waddy Wachtel played a rollicking lead guitar on the track, and Zevon delivers a gleefully unhinged vocal performance that has to be heard to be believed. Perhaps the main component that makes this such a popular cover choice is the call-and-response format. What’s her name? the chorus asks. I can’t tell you, the lead sings back. To which the chorus lets out a dejected Ah. We never find out why the name has to remain a secret, which lends some fun mystery to this gem.
5. “Working in the Coal Mine” by Devo (released as a single in 1981)
“We were pushing to go that direction with beats and bass lines and to think of the music like Devo robots doing R&B with futuristic overtones,” Devo’s Gerald Casale told American Songwriter about the band’s 1980 album, Freedom of Choice, which contained the massive hit “Whip it.” “Nobody understood that was our theoretical construct or our inspiration when they were listening to that music, because it’s so mutated from the inspiration.” Just a year later, Devo took another R&B classic in “Working in the Coal Mine” and added their robotic spin on it. Believe it or not, it’s the second highest-charting song the band ever managed (No. 43 in 1981.) Listeners at the time may or may not have realized that the song was once a Top 10 smash by Lee Dorsey, or that it was written by Allen Toussaint. In either case, thanks to Toussaint’s way with a groove, it’s still the happiest song about work drudgery that we’ve ever heard.
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