Art Neville
Band: Neville Brothers, the Meters
Position: keyboardist/singer
Died: July 22
Cause of death: undisclosed
Age: 81
Distinctions: One of the four Neville Brothers, known as the first family of New Orleans music, he began his career with the Meters in 1965. They had instrumental hits with "Cissy Strut" (No. 23), "Sophisticated Cissy" (No. 34) and "Ease Back" (No. 61) in 1969, and "Look-Ka Py Py" (No. 56), "Chicken Strut" (No. 50) and "Hand Clapping Song" (No. 89) in 1970. The Meters recorded eight albums from 1969-1977. In 1976, Art formed the Neville Brothers with Charles (he passed away last year), Aaron and Cyrille. They recorded 10 albums from 1978-2004 and had a hit in 1989 with "Sister Rosa" (No. 75) on Yellow Moon. "Healing Chant" from the album won the Grammy Award in the Pop Instrumental Performance category in 1990. They were nominated two other times for "Fire on the Mountain" (Pop Performance by a Duo or Group, 1987) and "Valance Street" (Traditional R&B Performance, 2000). The Neville Brothers were best known for such songs as "Brother John," "Iko Iko," "Fire on the Bayou," "Hey Pocky Way" and "Big Chief," all New Orleans R&B classics. The Nevilles were regulars at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival until they retired as a group in 2004. They last performed at Jazzfest in 2008.
