Allen Toussaint: Musician whose songs were covered by The Rolling Stones, The Who, Otis Redding, and The Doors

Allen Toussaint is immortalised in bronze at Bourbon Street Park in New Orleans. Yet the songs he wrote, produced, arranged, played piano on and lent his honey-toned voice to during a career spanning six decades will endure as long as any statue.

Toussaint, who suffered a fatal heart-attack in Spain, aged 77, in the early stages of a European tour, was a master of all the above crafts, helping to keep alive the doo-wop and jazz traditions of the Big Easy while tirelessly exploring new avenues in soul, pop and funk. If he had done nothing else, his writing credits on a raft of rhythm'n'blues classics would have ensured his place in the pantheon alongside Motown triumvirate Holland-Dozier-Holland, Stax's Hayes and Porter, Curtis Mayfield and the Leiber-Stoller partnership.

The Rolling Stones, The Who and The Hollies all recorded Toussaint's "Fortune Teller". Originally an American hit for Benny Spellman in 1962, the song was revived by Robert Plant and Alison Krauss on 2007's Grammy-winning album Raising Sand.

Lee Dorsey took his "Ride Your Pony", "Workin' In the Coal Mine" and "Holy Cow" into the nightclubs and charts on either side of the Atlantic in the 1960s. Otis Redding made his 1963 breakthrough with "Pain In My Heart", penned by Toussaint under his mother's maiden name "N Neville". "Get Out My Life, Woman" was a staple for blues bands from Paul Butterfield half a century ago to Derek Trucks in the post-millennium era.

Glen Campbell even had a No 1 hit in the US national and Country charts in 1977 with "Southern Nights". Toussaint recently cited it as his joint favourite of his own songs (with "Transition", which he gave to Lou Johnson six years earlier). Others who recorded his material included The Doors, Bonnie Raitt, Ringo Starr, Warren Zevon, Jerry Garcia, Frankie Miller, Three Dog Night, The Yardbirds, Devo, Pointer Sisters and his fellow sons of New Orleans, The Meters and Dr John.

His writing was popular with exponents of the genre loosely known as blue-eyed soul. Boz Scaggs recorded "Freedom for the Stallion", a plaintive song with a subtle civil-rights message, and Robert Palmer cut the sultry "Sneakin' Sally Through the Alley" – both covers of Dorsey originals – while Lowell George excelled on his "What Do You Want the Girl To Do?"

Toussaint was born in Gert Town, a working-class neighbourhood in the Louisiana city where pianists are venerated as professors. He was six when his parents, Clarence and Naomi, encouraged him to try the instrument.

As a teenager he played in a band with Snooks Eaglin, a distinctive blues guitarist and singer. Toussaint was also asked to deputise for the indisposed Fats Domino and Huey "Piano" Smith respectively. He made the most of such opportunities, all the time acknowledging the influence of his hero, Professor Longhair, whom he dubbed "the Bach of Rock". His live performances often included Longhair's "Tipitana".

Toussaint's recording debut – as Tousan – came in 1958 with a selection of instrumentals titled The Wild Sound of New Orleans. One track, "Java", became a No 4 hit for trumpeter Al Hirt five years later. Although his piano technique drew on the syncopated blues of the 1940s, he soon revealed his hand in a more contemporary field, combining deft lyricism and storytelling skills with a talent for melody.

He wrote local hits for Irma Thomas and Art Neville but scored nationally in the States with songs for Ernie K-Doe ("Mother-in-Law") and Chris Kenner ("I Like It Like That"). Despite serving in the Army from 1963 to '65, he assembled a band to record "Whipped Cream" under the name The Stokes. Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass promptly took it into the charts.

The 1970s was a productive time for Toussaint. He produced "Lady Marmalade" by Labelle, a US chart-topper and UK No 17, and more significantly, he found his own voice. The albums From A Whisper To A Scream, Love, Life & Faith, Southern Nights and Motion – full of nuggets, some reflecting a burgeoning black consciousness – showcased his smooth upper register. In 1975 he opened for Little Feat on tour but was still ill at ease before an audience.

During the 1980s he was musical director for the off-Broadway play Staggerlee. In 1994 he joined fellow New Orleans artists to record The Ultimate Session as Crescent City Gold, before being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.

The hurricane which devastated his beloved city in 2005 became an unexpected catalyst for renewed creativity by Toussaint. He later quipped that Katrina was "my booking agent", putting his name in the news when his home and studio were flooded. He evacuated to New York but soon returned, the experience seemingly prompting him to delve into his songbook more as a performer.

Up until his death, after a show in Madrid, he had recorded seven albums since the mid-1990s and was happier singing live. He collaborated with Elvis Costello (on The River in Reverse) and Eric Clapton (contributing piano to Clapton), just as he once worked with Paul McCartney (playing on Wings' album Venus and Mars, recorded at his studio) and The Band (horn arrangements on various albums).

While Toussaint received the National Medal for Arts from President Obama at the White House in 2013, he was more comfortable on home turf. In December he and Paul Simon were to have headlined a benefit concert for New Orleans Artists Against Hunger and Homelessness, a charity he co-founded. Resplendent in colourful suits, and driving a Rolls-Royce with the number plate P1AN0, he was almost a tourist attraction.

Toussaint once hailed Dr John as "the best ambassador this city's had since Louis Armstrong". It was an epithet that fitted himself even better.

PHIL SHAW

Allen Toussaint, singer, musician, songwriter, producer and arranger: born New Orleans 14 January 1938; one son, one daughter; died Madrid 10 November 2015.