Harold R. Battiste papers

Widely recognized as one of New Orleans' musical legends, Harold R. Battiste Jr. is a six-time Grammy winner, recipient of ten gold records, and the founder and CEO of All For One (A.F.O.) Records. Apart from his own work as a musical author, he has produced or arranged works for such artists as Sam Cooke, Sonny and Cher, Barbara George, Dr. John, and others.

Born in New Orleans on October 28, 1931, Harold Battiste is the son of Pearl Wilmer Bodar and Harold Battiste Sr. He graduated from Gilbert Academy in 1947 and earned a B.A. degree in music education from Dillard University in 1952. Battiste married Alviette Dominique in 1953; the couple divorced in 1988. They had four children: Harold III, Andrea, Marzique, and Harlis.

In 1953, he organized a music program and established the first band at the Beauregard Parish Training School in DeRidder, Louisiana. Battiste later served as an itinerant music teacher based at McDonogh 35 High School, where he was the music teacher for five elementary and two junior high schools. Forced to resign because he taught students to read music, he traveled to California in 1956 to pursue music, but returned to New Orleans later that year as a talent scout for Specialty Records. In 1961, Battiste established the first African American musician-owned record label, All for One (A.F.O.) Records, and At Last Publishing Company.

During the next thirty years Battiste divided his time between New Orleans and California, where he served as the musical director for The Sonny and Cher Show from 1976-1977. Battiste returned to New Orleans in 1989 and joined Ellis Marsalis Jr. as a Professor of Jazz Studies at the University of New Orleans. In 1991, he revived A.F.O. Records to record the next generation of New Orleans musicians and issue new releases from New Orleans artists. In 1995, Battiste united with Berweda Hatch in an Umoja ceremony; the couple separated in 1997. In 2010, he released his memoirs, entitled Unfinished Blues, Memories of a New Orleans Music Man.