"Southern Nights", which would become Toussaint's signature song, was written as a tribute to evenings spent with his Creole family in his native Louisiana.[5][7][8] It was brought to the attention of Glen Campbell by Campbell-collaborator Jimmy Webb.[5][9][10] Campbell released a cover version on the album Southern Nights in February 1977, which spent four weeks at the top of the country, pop and adult contemporary charts.[5] Toussaint's version of the song was very different from the "cheerful catchiness and...bright, colorful feel" of Campbell's;[2][11]Stephen Thomas Erlewine described it as featuring a "swirling, trippy arrangement that plays like a heat mirage", while The Times-Picayune remarked in 2009 on its "strange psychedelic-swamp-water sound."[12] In 1994, Toussaint came out of a lengthy hiatus as a performer to record the song in a duet with Chet Atkins for the compilation album Rhythm, Country and Blues.[6]
Bonnie Raitt also had success with her cover of "What Do You Want the Girl to Do",[3] retitled "What Do You Want the Boy to Do?" and released on 1975's Home Plate.[13]
According to 2002's Louisiana Music, the album is regarded as "perhaps...[Toussaint's] signature record";[16] in 1994, Toussaint himself characterized the album as his best.[1] Although overall a critical success, it was not financially successful and was not universally well received.[17] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic indicates that the album should be "part of any serious soul collection", but notes that the presence of instrumental filler material "prevents [it] from being a full-fledged masterpiece".[2]
^Bronson, Fred (2003). The Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits: The Inside Story Behind Every Number One Single on Billboard's Hot 100 from 1955 to the Present (5 ed.). Billboard Books. p. 461. ISBN0-8230-7677-6.
