Last week, the American Songwriters Hall of Fame announced its class of 2011 inductees: John Bettis, Garth Brooks, Leon Russell, Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly, and Allen Toussaint. I've had "Toussaint playlist" on my to-do list for a while and so, with the announcement providing the final nudge, here's a compilation of tracks I could find in the Vault written by Mr. Toussaint (or Naomi Neville, depending on whether he was using his pseudonym at the time). It's an especially impressive list when you consider that it's anything but an exhaustive representation of his compositions, and it doesn't even touch some of the hits he worked on as a producer or arranger. He has produced, written for, arranged, had his songs covered by and performed with music giants The Judds, Paul McCartney, Paul Simon, Elvis Costello, Patti LaBelle, Mac “Dr. John” Rebannac, Aaron and Art Neville, Joe Cocker, The (original) Meters, Glen Campbell, The Band, Little Feat, The Rolling Stones, Devo, Ernie K-Doe, Lee Dorsey, Irma Thomas, Etta James, Ramsey Lewis, Eric Gale and countless others. Toussaint got his shot as a solo artist with a record for RCA and two of his earliest tunes, “Java,” which became a mega-hit for trumpeter Al Hirt, and “Whipped Cream,” the Herb Alpert hit, became instrumental standards. Toussaint then went onto team up with Lee Dorsey turning out a string of hits that included “Working In The Coalmine,” “Holy Cow”, “Ride Your Pony” and many others. “Working in the Coalmine” was then recorded by co-writer Lee Dorsey, “Yes We Can” became a smash hit by The Pointer Sisters and “Sneaking Sally Thru The Alley” was recorded by both Robert Palmer and Ringo Starr. After establishing himself as one of the greatest songwriters, accredited to him by BMI Music, Toussaint was honored with a Grammy® nomination for 1977’s Song of the Year, “Southern Night,” performed by Glen Campbell. In 1998, Toussaint was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and in 2009, was a Grammy Trustees honoree.