Aaron Joseph Neville (born January 24, 1941) is an American singer renowned for his distinctively smooth, vibrato-heavy

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

and a genre-crossing career that spans R&B, soul, gospel, jazz, country, and pop. He gained national prominence with his 1966 single " Tell It Like It Is", which reached number two on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and was later inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. As a solo artist, Neville achieved three consecutive

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

platinum-selling albums in the 1990s and topped the Billboard Jazz chart with ''Nature Boy: The Standards Album''. He has earned four

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

, four Top 10 Gospel albums, and a Grammy nomination for Best Male Country Vocal Performance for his 1993 cover of "

The Grand Tour ''The Grand Tour'' is a British motoring television series, created by Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, James May, and Andy Wilman, for Amazon Prime Video, and premiered on 18 November 2016. The programme was devised in the wake of the depar ...

". His duets with Linda Ronstadt, including " Don't Know Much" and " All My Life", both topped the

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

chart and won Grammy Awards. He has also performed the United States national anthem at the

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...

on two occasions, including a 2006 rendition alongside

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Honored as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Soul", she was twice named by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine as the Roll ...

and Dr. John. In addition to his solo work, he is a founding member of the Neville Brothers, alongside his brothers Art,

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...

, and

Cyril Cyril (also Cyrillus or Cyryl) is a masculine given name. It is derived from the Greek language, Greek name (''Kýrillos''), meaning 'lordly, masterful', which in turn derives from Greek (''kýrios'') 'lord'. There are various variant forms of t ...

. Neville contributed to notable compilations such as '' Rhythm, Country and Blues'' (with

Trisha Yearwood Patricia Lynn Yearwood (born September 19, 1964) is an American country singer. She rose to fame with her 1991 debut single "She's in Love with the Boy", which became a number one hit on the ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' Hot Country Songs ...

) and ''The Bodyguard'' soundtrack. In 2023, he won his fourth

Grammy Award for Best American Roots Performance The Grammy Award for Best American Roots Performance is an award category at the annual Grammy Awards. It was first presented in 2015. The award was first approved by the board of trustees of the Grammy Awards in June 2014. According to NARAS, t ...

for "Stompin' Ground", a collaboration with the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, underscoring his enduring influence across multiple musical genres. That same year, he was named one of ''Rolling Stone'''s 200 Greatest Singers of All Time.

Career

The first of Neville's singles that was given airplay outside of New Orleans was "Over You", released in 1960. His first hit single was " Tell It Like It Is", released by local musician/arranger George Davis, a friend from school, and band-leader Lee Diamond. The song topped ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

''s R&B chart for five weeks in 1967 and also reached on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 (behind " I'm a Believer" by

the Monkees The Monkees were an American pop rock band formed in Los Angeles in the mid-1960s. The band consisted of Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones (musician), Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork. Spurred by the success of ''The Monkees (TV series), Th ...

). It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. Neville released his first solo album since the late 1960s in 1986 with the independent release ''Orchid in The Storm''. In 1989, Neville teamed up with Linda Ronstadt on the album '' Cry Like a Rainstorm, Howl Like the Wind'' which included four duets by the pair. Amongst them were the No. 1 Grammy-winning hits " Don't Know Much" and " All My Life". "Don't Know Much" reached No. 2 on the Hot 100, and was certified

Gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

for selling a million copies, while the album was certified Triple Platinum for US sales of more than three million. Following the success of ''Cry Like a Rainstorm, Howl Like the Wind'', Ronstadt produced his 1991 album '' Warm Your Heart'' including the hit single " Everybody Plays the Fool", a cover of the 1972 Main Ingredient song, which reached No. 8 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and another duet with Ronstadt "Close Your Eyes". ''Warm Your Heart'' was certified platinum in 1997 for more than a million sales in the U.S. During 1993 and 1994, Neville expanded his repertoire as a recording artist and ventured into making

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

. In 1993, Neville released the platinum-selling ''The Grand Tour'' on

A&M Records A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group and functions as a branch of Interscope Geffen A&M Records, Interscope-Geffen-A&M. Established in 1962 by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, the label initially operated independent ...

with lead single "Don't Take Away My Heaven" reaching No. 4 on the

chart (where previous hits "Don't Know Much", "All My Life", and "Everybody Plays the Fool" all reached number one). The follow-up single "

", a cover of country music legend

George Jones George Glenn Jones (September 12, 1931 – April 26, 2013) was an American Country music, country musician, singer, and songwriter. He achieved international fame for a long list of hit records, and is well known for his distinctive voice an ...

' 1974 hit, peaked at No. 38 on the Billboard country singles chart, and was highly acclaimed by fans and critics, resulting in a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance at the 36th Annual Grammy Awards in 1994. He followed the album up with another platinum seller ''Aaron Neville's Soulful Christmas.'' Neville's next country music project involved appearing on 1994's '' Rhythm, Country and Blues'', an album of duets featuring R&B and Country artists performing renditions of classic country and R&B songs. Neville recorded a version of " I Fall to Pieces", a major crossover hit for

Patsy Cline Patsy Cline (born Virginia Patterson Hensley; September 8, 1932 – March 5, 1963) was an American singer. One of the most influential vocalists of the 20th century, she was known as one of the first country music artists to successfully Cross ...

originally released in 1961, with

that resulted in Neville and Yearwood winning the Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals at the 37th Annual Grammy Awards. As a result, Neville became one of the only African American recording artists to win a Grammy within the Country genre. In April 1994, Neville appeared on

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational television, educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation, and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Worksh ...

to sing the song "I Don't Want to Live on the Moon" as a duet with Ernie. Neville's 1995 release, '' The Tattooed Heart'', featuring covers of classics by

Bill Withers William Harrison Withers Jr. (July 4, 1938 – March 30, 2020) was an American singer and songwriter. He is known for having several hits over a career spanning 18 years, including "Ain't No Sunshine" (1971), "Grandma's Hands" (1971), "Use Me ( ...

and

Kris Kristofferson Kristoffer Kristofferson (June 22, 1936 – September 28, 2024) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was a pioneering figure in the outlaw country movement of the 1970s, moving away from the polished Nashville sound and toward a m ...

went gold, while 1997's pop-orientated ''...To Make Me Who I Am'' included songwriting contributions from contemporary hitmakers Babyface and Diane Warren as well as two new duets with Ronstadt, including a cover of " The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face". This was followed by a 2000 gospel album ''Devotion'' which topped the US gospel album chart, and his 2003 debut for Verve Records entitled ''Nature Boy: The Standards Album'' which topped the US jazz album chart. The album saw Neville covering selections from the Great American Songbook, including another Ronstadt duet " The Very Thought of You". In August 2005, Neville's home in Eastern New Orleans was destroyed by

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...

; he evacuated to Memphis, before the hurricane hit. He went to Austin to visit his friend Clifford Antone, then moved to

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

. He performed

Randy Newman Randall Stuart Newman (born November 28, 1943) is an American singer, songwriter, arranger, pianist, composer, conductor and orchestrator. He is known for his non-rhotic Southern American English, Southern-accented singing style, early America ...

's " Louisiana 1927" on NBC's '' A Concert for Hurricane Relief'' on September 2, 2005, and " A Change is Gonna Come" at the New York benefit concert '' From the Big Apple to the Big Easy''. When he didn't return to the city by early 2008, the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival temporarily changed its tradition of having the Neville Brothers close the festival. However, the band, including Aaron, returned for the 2008 Jazzfest, which returned to its traditional seven-day format for the first time since Katrina. He then moved back to New Orleans area, to the nearby city of Covington. Neville signed to SonyBMG's new Burgundy Records label in late 2005 and recorded an album of songs by Otis Redding,

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gaye Jr. (; April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984) was an American Rhythm and blues, R&B and soul singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He helped shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player an ...

, Curtis Mayfield,

Sam Cooke Samuel Cooke (; January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964) was an American singer and songwriter. Considered one of the most influential soul music, soul artists of all time, Cooke is commonly referred to as the "King of Soul" for his distin ...

and others for ''Bring It On Home...The Soul Classics'', released on September 19, 2006. The album, produced by Stewart Levine, features collaborations between Neville and Chaka Khan, Mavis Staples, Chris Botti,

David Sanborn David William Sanborn (July 30, 1945 – May 12, 2024) was an American alto saxophonist. He worked in many musical genres; his solo recordings typically blended jazz with instrumental pop and R&B. He began playing the saxophone at the age o ...

, Art Neville, and others. The album's first single was a remake of The Impressions' 1963 classic "It's All Right". Neville's career has included work for television, movies and sporting events. Neville sang the United States national anthem in the movie '' The Fan'' starring

Robert De Niro Robert Anthony De Niro ( , ; born August 17, 1943) is an American actor, director, and film producer. He is considered to be one of the greatest and most influential actors of his generation. De Niro is the recipient of List of awards and ...

and Wesley Snipes. He also sang the anthem at the WWF's SummerSlam 1993 and at WCW's Spring Stampede 1994. Neville has twice performed the anthem at the Super Bowl. His first appearance was at Super Bowl XXIV in 1990 in New Orleans. He returned to the event at Super Bowl XL in 2006, performing alongside

and Dr. John on keyboards, in a performance that was widely praised and served as a tribute to New Orleans in the wake of

. Neville sang the theme music to the children's TV series

Fisher-Price Fisher-Price, Inc. is an American company that produces educational toys for infants, toddlers and preschoolers, headquartered in East Aurora, New York, East Aurora, New York (state), New York. It was founded in 1930 during the Great Depression ...

'' Little People'' and the songs for the sixth volume, "Discovering Seasons." He also sang a new version of "Cotton", for Cotton Incorporated which was introduced during the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officially branded as Barcelona '92, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Beginning in 1994 ...

. In 1988 he recorded "Mickey Mouse March" for '' Stay Awake: Various Interpretations of Music from Vintage Disney Films'', one of Various Artists. Neville (along with brothers Art and

) did background vocals for the songs "Great Heart", "Bring Back the Magic", "Homemade Music", "My Barracuda", and "Smart Woman (in a Real Short Skirt)" on Jimmy Buffett's ''Hot Water,'' released in 1988. Neville was interviewed on screen and appeared in performance footage with his brothers in the 2005 documentary film '' Make It Funky!'', which presents a history of New Orleans music and its influence on

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within African American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predomina ...

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

. The Nevilles perform "Fire on the Bayou" in the film. On October 27, 2006, Neville made a guest appearance on an episode of the soap opera ''

The Young and the Restless ''The Young and the Restless'' (often abbreviated as ''Y&R'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in the fictional Genoa City (named after the real-life Genoa City, Wiscon ...

''. He sang " Stand by Me" and " Ain't No Sunshine", from his album, ''Bring It On Home ... The Soul Classics''. In 2008 he released ''Gold'', which includes a double album of his hits. He also released an album of traditional carols called ''Christmas & Hits Duos''. The song Christmas Prayer was featured on the '' ER'' episode ''The High Holiday''. In 2009, Neville, along with the Mt. Zion Mass Choir, released a version of the song " A Change Is Gonna Come" on the compilation album '' Oh Happy Day''. In 2010, Neville and his brother Art performed with The Meters. Neville was the featured artist for the 100th Anniversary Celebration of the University of Memphis Centennial Concert September 30, 2011, at the Cannon Center for the Performing Arts. That year, Neville toured New Zealand with The Blind Boys of Alabama and Mavis Staples. In January 2013, paying tribute to the songs of his youth, Blue Note Records released Neville's ''My True Story,'' a collection of 12 doo-wop tunes, produced by Don Was and Keith Richards, with backing by musicians such as Benmont Tench from

Tom Petty Thomas Earl Petty (October 20, 1950October 2, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He was the leader and frontman of the Rock music, rock bands Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Mudcrutch and a member of the late 1980s sup ...

and the Heartbreakers. In March 2015, he was named the year's recipient of the Laetare Medal. In October 2015, Keith Richards selected the song "My True Story" as one of his Desert Island Discs. In May 2021, the 80-year old Neville announced his retirement from touring, but said he may still record albums or perform occasionally for special events or festivals. In 2023, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' ranked Neville at number 104 on its list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time.

Personal life

Neville is from New Orleans, Louisiana. He has mixed African-American, white, and

Choctaw The Choctaw ( ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States, originally based in what is now Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. The Choctaw language is a Western Muskogean language. Today, Choct ...

heritage. His uncle, George "Big Chief Jolly" Landry, was lead singer of the Mardi Gras Indian group the Wild Tchoupitoulas. Neville got his facial tattoo (of a sword) when he was 16 years old. Speaking to ''Billboard'' in 2019, he recalled that "My dad made me scrub it with Brillo Pads and Octagon Soap. The skin came off, but the tattoo stayed. But some years later, I had an album out called ''The Tattooed Heart'' n 1995 and we were doing a special thing in a tattoo parlor, so I let them go over it and outline it – freshen it up." Neville married Joel (pronounced Jo-EL) Roux Neville (1941–2007) on January 10, 1959. Together they had four children Ernestine, Aaron "Fred" Jr., and musicians Ivan and Jason. Neville is also the uncle of journalist Arthel Neville. In 2008, during a ''People'' magazine photo shoot, Neville met photographer Sarah Ann Friedman. They were married in New York on November 13, 2010. Neville is

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, with a devotion to St. Jude, to whom he has credited his success and survival. He wears a St. Jude Medal as a left earring.

Discography

Studio albums

Compilation albums

*''Greatest Hits'' (1990) *''The Very Best of Aaron Neville'' (2000) *''20th Century Masters – The Millennium Collection: The Best of Aaron Neville'' (2002) *''Brother to Brother'' (2003) *''Love Songs'' (2003) *''Aaron Neville & Friends'' (Sky Blue Music, 2007) *''Gold'' (2008) 2-CD

Singles (Lead Artist)

*^A "It's All Right" peaked at #12 on Hot Contemporary Jazz Songs.

Guest singles

Music videos

Awards and honors

* 32nd Grammy Awards – Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal – " Don't Know Much" with Linda Ronstadt (winner) * 33rd Grammy Awards – Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal – " All My Life" with Linda Ronstadt (winner) * 34th Grammy Awards – Best Male Pop Vocal Performance – Warm Your Heart (nominee) * 36th Grammy Awards – Best Male Pop Vocal Performance – "Don't Take Away My Heaven" (nominee) * 36th Grammy Awards – Best Male Country Vocal Performance – "

" (nominee) * 37th Grammy Awards – Best Country Collaboration with Vocals – " I Fall To Pieces" with

(winner) * 41st Grammy Awards – Best Traditional R&B Performance – "To Make Me Who I Am" (nominee) * 65th Grammy Awards – Best American Roots Performance – "Stompin' Ground" with Dirty Dozen Brass Band (winner)

Filmography

*'' Everybody's All-American'' (1988) *'' Zandalee'' (1991) *'' The Fan'' (1996) *'' Mulholland Falls'' (1996) *''Boycott'' (2001) *'' Sandy Wexler'' (2017) Netflix *'' Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice'' (2019)

References

External links

* * *
Aaron Neville.comOfficial Neville Brothers websiteAaron Neville
at RollingStone.com
Aaron Neville at NPR Music
{{DEFAULTSORT:Neville, Aaron 1941 births African-American Catholics African-American country musicians American Roman Catholics American soul musicians American gospel singers Bell Records artists Grammy Award winners Living people Neville family (show business) Rhythm and blues musicians from New Orleans The Neville Brothers members American ballad musicians Minit Records artists A&M Records artists EMI Records artists Laetare Medal recipients 20th-century Roman Catholics 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American musicians 21st-century Roman Catholics