New Orleans native Allen Toussaint was a renowned musician, a songwriter, and producer --a master of New Orleans funky soul and R&B who was such a strong influence on the popular music we all know. You may think you've never heard of him, but I guarantee you've heard his work.

His hits include "Fortune Teller," recorded first by Benny Spellman, and later by the Rolling Stones, and Robert Plant and Alison Krauss. Others were "Yes We Can Can", "Working In A Coal Mine," "(Play Something Sweet) Brickyard Blues", "Sneakin' Sally Through The Alley," and so many more, he confessed to forgetting them. He was friends with everyone and respected by all kinds of musicians.

But I suspect what would tickle him most? Five years after he died, the New Orleans City Council voted unanimously to rename the city's "Robert E. Lee Boulevard" to "Allen Toussaint Boulevard" in his honor.