COOKIE (RONALD COOK), "THAT'S WHAT YOU DO TO ME" C/W "LONG LOST LOVE," RCA-VICTOR 47-7305 (REL. 7/1958)

By 1958, Allen Toussaint had produced a hit single (Lee Allen’s “Walkin’ with Mr. Lee”) and recorded an LP of piano instrumentals for RCA-Victor which included future pop hit “Java.” It’s possible that he worked his connection with America’s biggest record label to get New Orleans bassist and singer Roland “Cookie” Cook onto the label.

This one-shot single, credited to producer Eddie Heller, was in fact made in New Orleans with Cosimo Matassa as producer, in his own studio. It features Allen Toussaint’s first performed song with lyrics; it’s close to 100% probably that Toussaint tickles the ivories on these two sides.

Why RCA billed Cook as Cookie is lost to time. This was bound to cause confusion, since nearby Lake Charles had the swamp-pop group Cookie and His Cupcakes, who’d had a hit with their classic “Mathilda” that year. Billboard did review the single, but the surviving issue online is missing 10 pages which include the write-up. No photos of Cook have yet surfaced. This was another one-shot throwaway by a label that could do as it pleased without concern for the impact on the performers.

“That’s What You Do to Me” is a likable mid-tempo mover with a great sound. Matassa’s studio had a great resonance and benefitted anyone who recorded there. Cook, who had a prior single on Ace Records out of Jackson, MI in 1957, has a pleasant voice. It’s not a stunning performance but it’s full of personality. His Crescent City accent comes to the fore near record’s end when he sings the word etoinity.

This sounds more like the material Toussaint would soon record for Minit Records than the 1950s Dave Bartholomew style (Fats Domino, Smiley Lewis, et al). I’m not sure if this had the certain element that makes for a pop hit, it’s a fine record that had the misfortune to end up on an indifferent label.

“Long Lost Love” is credited to Toussaint and Matassa; the latter credit was a thank-you to the producer and a good way to build a partnership. This old-timey sounding ballad-with-a-beat features Toussaint’s tinkly piano over a mellow 12/8 rhythm. This sounds more like Fats Domino; it’s easy to imagine his laconic voice doing this song.

Toussaint throws some unexpected chord changes that give the song a more modern feel in spots. There’s one discordant passage that isn’t overstated but creates a ‘sting’ here and there. Cook’s voice seems more at home with this emotional piece of sentiment. It’s too bad he never made a solo recording again; I’m sure he did well as a sideman in New Orleans nightspots and recording sessions. He was three years Toussaint’s senior; the pianist was born in 1938, so he was 20 when this single was made.

And that’s all she wrote.

Tomorrow: the teen folk-rock sounds of Arizona garage band P-Nut Butter, who sing a lesser-known Sloan-Barri song and the popular B-side of a single by San Francisco’s Beau Brummels. A regional 1966 single that’s like being in a teen club for five minutes.