Aaron Neville Quintet

Artist's Website

Aaron Neville, owner of one of most distinctive, iconic voices in popular music is a four-time Grammy winner with 25+ million albums sold. He is the third of the four famous Neville Brothers of New Orleans. A product of the city’s richly complex musical culture, his first vocal model was older brother Art, keyboardist and founder of the Meters. Brother Charles played sax with B.B. King. Aaron broke big onto the national scene with “Tell It Like It Is, a number one hit in 1966. The hit coincided with Par-Lo records demise and with no follow-up tune, Aaron’s career stalled.

The four Neville Brothers finally recorded together in 1976 as The Wild Tchoupitoulas, the name celebrating the Indian tribe whose leader, George (Big Chief Jolly) Landry, was the brothers’ beloved uncle and prime musical/spiritual inspiration. The Neville Brothers began their string of majorly successful album releases in 1977. Their career high point came in 1989 with “Yellow Moon,” written and sung by Aaron Neville. Aaron’s solo career was revived in 1991, boosted by collaborations with Linda Ronstadt.

Speaking of his amazing singing gift Aaron says, “People come up to me sometimes and say, ‘I wish I could tell you what your voice does for me when you sing that song’,” Aaron says. “I answer ‘I wish I could tell you what it means to be able to sing it!’ At times in my life my voice has been medicine to me, it’s been the thing that has made me believe. When I didn’t have anything left but my voice, I still felt rich.”

That’s pretty much all that was left for Neville after Hurricane Katrina struck his New Orleans’ home. “To see my New Orleans in the state she is in is my worst nightmare,” laments Aaron. “By the grace of God, new Orleans and the entire Gulf Coast will pull through this massive devastation.”