Sea-Saint Studios was a music recording facility located at 3809 Clematis Street in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

, which was co-owned by musician, producer, and arranger,

Allen Toussaint Allen Richard Toussaint (; January 14, 1938 – November 10, 2015) was an American musician, songwriter, arranger, and record producer. He was an influential figure in New Orleans rhythm and blues from the 1950s to the end of the century, descr ...

and record A&R man and publishing agent

Marshall Sehorn Marshall Estus Sehorn (June 25, 1934 – December 5, 2006) was an American A&R man, songwriter, music publisher and entrepreneur who played an important role in the development of R&B and popular music in New Orleans between the 1950s and 1970 ...

, which was in operation for over thirty years, from 1973-2005, when it was destroyed during

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...

. During those years it hosted recordings by numerous musical acts such as

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter known for his solo work and his collaborations with Art Garfunkel. He and Garfunkel, whom he met in elementary school in 1953, came to prominence in the 1960s as Sim ...

Patti LaBelle Patricia Louise Holte (born May 24, 1944), known professionally as Patti LaBelle, is an American Rhythm and blues, R&B singer and actress. She has been referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Godmother of Soul". LaBelle began ...

Joe Cocker John Robert "Joe" Cocker (20 May 1944 – 22 December 2014) was an English singer known for his gritty, bluesy voice and dynamic stage performances featuring expressive body movements. Most of his best-known singles, such as "Feelin' Alright ...

, and

Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, author and television host. According to ''Rolling Stone'', Costello "reinvigorated the literate, lyrical ...

, as well as local acts such as

the Meters The Meters (later The Funky Meters) are an American funk band formed in 1965 in New Orleans by Zigaboo Modeliste (drums), George Porter Jr. (bass), Leo Nocentelli (guitar) and Art Neville (keyboards). The band performed and recorded their o ...

and

Dr. John Malcolm John Rebennack Jr. (November 20, 1941 – June 6, 2019), better known by his stage name Dr. John, was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. His music combined New Orleans blues, jazz, R&B, soul and funk. Active as a session mus ...

. Toussaint and Sehorn opened the studio in the Gentilly section of New Orleans in 1973. The two had teamed up in 1965 to form Sansu Records (and its sister labels Tou-Sea and Deesu), as well as Mar-Saint Publishing. The Sansu organization boasted hit recordings by acts such as Lee Dorsey, who scored big with "Workin' in a Coal Mine" and "Ride Your Pony" and Betty Harris, who reached Billboard's Top 20 with "Nearer to You." Many of the Sansu recordings were backed by the label's oft used house band,

Art Neville Arthur Lanon Neville Jr. (December 17, 1937 – July 22, 2019) was an American singer, songwriter and keyboardist from New Orleans. Neville was a staple of the New Orleans music scene for over five decades. He was the founder of the funk band T ...

& The Sounds, who eventually become known as

. Many of the Sansu recordings done during these years were done at Cosimo Matassa's studios, the recording venue of choice with many New Orleans musicians. In 1973 Toussaint and Sehorn opened Sea-Saint Studios, which was at the time a state of the art facility. Sea-Saint Studios became a favored recording destination for numerous top musical acts.

Paul McCartney and Wings Paul McCartney and Wings, often billed simply as Wings, was a British-American Rock music, rock band formed in 1971 in London by former The Beatles, Beatle Paul McCartney; his wife Linda McCartney on keyboards; session drummer Denny Seiwell; a ...

recorded the majority of tracks on their 1975 '' Venus and Mars'' album at Sea-Saint, featuring one of their most popular songs, "

Listen to What the Man Said "Listen to What the Man Said" is a hit single from Wings' 1975 album '' Venus and Mars''. The song featured new member Joe English on drums, with guest musicians Dave Mason on guitar and Tom Scott on soprano saxophone. It was a number 1 singl ...

." There

cut her smash hit, "

Lady Marmalade "Lady Marmalade" is a song written by Bob Crewe and Kenny Nolan that is famous for the French refrain of "''Voulez-vous coucher avec moi, ce soir''?", which is a sexual proposition that translates into English as: "''Do you want to sleep with m ...

," which went to #1 on

Billboard's Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), on ...

, and

also recorded there. The studio also served as a recording venue for top New Orleans acts such as

The Meters The Meters (later The Funky Meters) are an American funk band formed in 1965 in New Orleans by Zigaboo Modeliste (drums), George Porter Jr. (bass), Leo Nocentelli (guitar) and Art Neville (keyboards). The band performed and recorded their o ...

and

. Dr. John recorded his '' Desitively Bonaroo'' album there which yielded the 1974 hit "(EverybodyWanna Get Rich) Rite Away," backed by the Meters and produced by Allen Toussaint. The Meters' own 1974 LP, ''

Rejuvenation Rejuvenation is a medical discipline focused on the practical reversal of the aging process. Rejuvenation is distinct from life extension. Life extension strategies often study the causes of aging and try to oppose those causes to slow aging. ...

,'' was recorded at Sea Saint and produced by Toussaint. Catholic singers The Dameans recorded several of their recordings at Sea-Saint Studios, including "Remember Your Love" (1978) and "Path of Life" (1981).Original LP jacket data. On August 28, 2005, Hurricane Katrina destroyed the studio, leaving it flooded under 3.5 feet of water.

References

{{Authority control Recording studios in the United States Music of New Orleans Former recording studios