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NY Times, TVWeek

Famed New Orleans Musician Dead at 77

Nov 10, 2015  •  Post A Comment

A musician, songwriter and producer who has been a fixture of the New Orleans music scene for decades has died. The New York Times reports that Allen Toussaint died Monday after a concert in Madrid. He was 77.

Toussaint’s daughter, Alison Toussaint-LeBeaux, said her father apparently died from a heart attack. He reportedly collapsed at his hotel and was transported to a hospital.

“He had been keeping a busy schedule, appearing in the United States and in Europe in recent weeks, with plans to perform in Belgium and Britain after his appearance in Spain,” The Times reports. “On Monday evening, fans who attended the performance at the Teatro Lara in Madrid posted video of Mr. Toussaint as he sat at a piano and sang.” (You can watch a clip of the performance below.)

Toussaint wrote a string of distinctive songs that became hits for other artists, including “Working in the Coal Mine,” recorded by Lee Dorsey; “Mother-in-Law,” a 1961 hit for Ernie K-Doe”; and Fortune Teller,” covered by the Rolling Stones and many others.

Here’s a clip from his concert Monday in Spain:

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