Harold Battiste
b. New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. A former jazz pianist, Battiste turned to production on joining the staff at Specialty Records. Initially based in Los Angeles, he returned to his hometown in 1956 to administer a newly-founded wing, but the venture floundered on head-office intransigence. In 1960 Battiste switched to Ric, where he produced Joe Jones's US Top 3 hit, You Talk Too Much and arranged several sessions for Lee Dorsey, including the singer's debut hit Ya Ya. Harold also established the ambitious musicians’ collective, AFO (All For One). The houseband included pianist Allen Toussaint, but although the label enjoyed chart entries with Prince La La and Barbara George, recurring arguments with distributors brought about its downfall. Having returned to Los Angeles, Battiste secured work as an arranger with Phil Spector, and became re-acquainted with Sonny Bono. A former colleague at Specialty, Bono later formed a singing duo with his wife and invited Battiste to assist with production. Initial releases by Sonny And Cher, as well as attendant solo singles, proved highly-popular, but a rift developed when Harold's contributions were largely uncredited. However a new partnership with fellow New Orleans-exile Mac Rebennack resulted in the creation of the monicker Dr. John. Battiste matched the singer's husky inflections with a skillful blend of voodoo incantations and classic Crescent City rhythms, exemplified on the highly-popular GRIS GRIS (1968).