Background
Born in New Orleans, he grew up in the Magnolia Projects.
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Harold Battiste
Edit Profilecomposer songwriter jazz musician
Education
He attended Dillard University, earning a Bachelor of Surgery in music in 1953 and becoming a proficient saxophonist, pianist, and arranger.
Career
A native of, and later community leader in, New Orleans, he is best known for his work as an arranger on records by Sam Cooke, Joe Jones, Lee Dorsey, Sonny and Cher, Doctor John, and others He formed his first group, with Alvin Batiste (clarinet) and Edward Blackwell (drums) while at university. His first success as a studio arranger was with Sam Cooke’s "You Send Maine" in 1957.
In 1961, he initiated the first African American musician-owned record label, All Foreign One, better known as AFO Records.
Within a few months, they produced a million-selling hit single, Barbara George’s "I Know (You Don"t Love Maine Number More)" (AFO#302). The label also released the first album by Ellis Marsalis, The Monkey Puzzle.
Battiste"s other professional contributions as a producer and arranger for studio, film, stage and television include Joe Jones" "You Talk Too Much", Lee Dorsey"s "Ya Ya", and Sonny and Cher"s "I Got You Babe". Battiste introduced audiences to New Orleans artist Mac Rebennack as Doctor John, and produced his earliest albums.
Battiste spent thirty years in Los Angeles, including fifteen years with Sonny and Cher, earning six gold records, and acting as musical director on their television series.
He also played piano for Tom Waits"s songs "Whistlin" Past The Graveyard" and "A Sweet Little Bullet from a Pretty Blue Gun" on Blue Valentine (1978). Battiste was also a lecturer at several colleges, and in 1989, he joined Ellis Marsalis, Junior. on the Jazz Studies faculty of the University of New Orleans. He established the AFO Foundation, a non-profit service and educational organization dedicated to recognizing, perpetuating and documenting the heritage of New Orleans music and the people who make the music
In 1998, the City of New Orleans proclaimed his birthday as Harold Battiste Day.
In 2010 the Historic New Orleans Collection published his autobiography Unfinished Blues. Battiste died on June 19, 2015, aged 83, after a period of declining health.
Achievements
Membership
Battiste remained active in the community, and served as a board member of the Congo Square Cultural Collective, the Louisiana State Music Commission, New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation, Louisiana Jazz Federation, the African Cultural Endowment and numerous other cultural organizations.
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Born
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Died
June 19, 2015 (aged 83) -
Nationality
United States