Biography

The Award for Musical Excellence Cosimo Matassa (producer, studio owner; born April 13, 1926) Cosimo Matassa’s studio was the center of the New Orleans recording scene for two decades. Some of the greatest rhythm & blues and rock and roll sides of all time were laid down in Matassa’s small, unpretentious room, including seminal recordings by Fats Domino and Little Richard. Roughly 250 nationally charting singles and 21 gold records were cut at Matassa’s studio. These include virtually every hit by Fats Domino, beginning in 1948 with “The Fat Man,” as well as such New Orleans R&B classics as “Lawdy ...