Allen Toussaint & 20 Feet from Stardom

Allen Toussaint is a singer, songwriter, producer and all around musical legend. The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer joins us this week to talk about his 60+ year career in music and how New Orleans is in everything he does. Jim and Greg also talk with Morgan Neville, the now Oscar winning director of "20 Feet from Stardom."

Allen Toussaint
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Who can forget Darlene Love  belting out her acceptance speech for 20 Feet from Stardom at last week's Academy Awards ceremony? But, of course, the Oscar really went home with the film's director, Morgan Neville. Jim and Greg talk to Morgan about why he wanted to unearth these backup singers' untold stories and why these talented women never became full blown divas. He hopes the film will continue to give Love, Lisa Fischer, Merry Clayton and the rest of the vocalists the acclaim they deserve (without all the pitfalls of fame).

Allen Toussaint

Allen Toussaint is a flat-out musical legend. The New Orleans native has been playing music since the age of 7 and has collaborated with a who's who of the New Orleans scene: Dr. John, Huey Smith, Irma Thomas, Earl King & many more. The piano man has also written songs for Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, DEVO, Warren Zevon, and Patti Labelle. Allen joined Jim and Greg in the studio after the release of his latest album Songbook, a live recording that documents his career via a series of solo piano shows at Joe’s Pub in New York City. Allen talks about about the origins of his most popular songs, like "Fortune Teller" and "Working in a Coal Mine," as well as "Whipped Cream," which became the theme for The Dating Game.

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