Harold Battiste

Harold Raymond Battiste Jr. (October 28, 1931 – June 19, 2015) was an American music composer, arranger, performer, and teacher. A native of, and later community leader in, New Orleans, he is best known for his work as an arranger on records by Barbara George, Sam Cooke, Joe Jones, Lee Dorsey, Sonny and Cher, Dr. John, and others.

Biography Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States,

His first success as a studio arranger was with Sam Cooke’s "You Send Me" in 1957. In 1961, he initiated the first African American musician-owned record label in the American South, All For 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 Me No 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". and baritone saxophone on Gram Parson's 1973 album, GP.

Battiste was also a lecturer at several colleges, and in 1989, he joined Ellis Marsalis Jr. 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.