Cyril Garrett Neville (born October 10, 1948) is an American percussionist and vocalist who first came to prominence as a member of his brother

Art Neville Arthur Lanon Neville Jr. (December 17, 1937 – July 22, 2019) was an American singer, songwriter and keyboardist from New Orleans. Neville was a staple of the New Orleans music scene for over five decades. He was the founder of the funk band T ...

's funky New Orleans–based band,

The Meters The Meters (later The Funky Meters) are an American funk band formed in 1965 in New Orleans by Zigaboo Modeliste (drums), George Porter Jr. (bass), Leo Nocentelli (guitar) and Art Neville (keyboards). The band performed and recorded their o ...

. He joined Art in the

Neville Brothers The Neville Brothers were an American R&B/soul/funk group, formed in 1976 in New Orleans, Louisiana. History The group notion started in 1976, when the four brothers of the Neville family, Art (1937–2019), Charles (1938–2018), Aaron (b. 19 ...

band upon the dissolution of the Meters.

Career

He has appeared on recordings by

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

Robbie Robertson Jaime Royal Robertson (July 5, 1943 – August 9, 2023) was a Canadian musician of Indigenous and Jewish ancestry. He was the lead guitarist for Bob Dylan's backing band in the mid-late 1960s and early-mid 1970s. Robertson was also the ...

Edie Brickell Edie Arlisa Brickell (born March 10, 1966) is an American singer-songwriter widely known for 1988's ''Shooting Rubberbands at the Stars'', the debut album by Edie Brickell & New Bohemians, which went to No. 4 on the ''Billboard'' albums chart. ...

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor and activist. He was one of the main figures of the outlaw country subgenre that developed in the late 1960s as a reaction to the conservative restr ...

, Dr. John and The New Orleans Social Club among others. Neville is interviewed on screen and appears in performance footage with The Neville 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 ...

. In the film, the band performs "Fire on the Bayou" with guests

Ivan Ivan () is a Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John) from Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. The earliest person known to bear the name was the B ...

and Ian Neville. Neville was also featured in the 2006 documentary film '' New Orleans Music in Exile''. In 2005, Neville joined up with

Tab Benoit Tab Benoit (born November 17, 1967) is an American blues guitarist, musician, and singer. His playing combines a number of blues styles, primarily Delta blues. He plays a stock 1972 Fender Telecaster Thinline electric guitar and writes his own ...

for the Voice of the Wetlands Allstars to bring awareness to Louisiana's rapid loss of wetlands along the Gulf Coast. The band also features Waylon Thibodeaux, Johnny Sansone, Anders Osborne, Monk Boudreaux, George Porter Jr., Johnny Vidacovich, and Dr. John. The band has become a main feature at the annual

New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (commonly called Jazz Fest or Jazzfest) is an annual celebration of local music and culture held at the Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana. Jazz Fest attracts thousands of vi ...

. After

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 moved to

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

, but as of 2012 lives in

Slidell, Louisiana Slidell is a city on the northeast shore of Lake Pontchartrain in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 28,781 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the sixteenth-most ...

. Soul Rebels Brass Band featured Neville as a special guest on their

Rounder Records Rounder Records is an independent record label founded in 1970 in Somerville, Massachusetts, by Marian Leighton Levy, Ken Irwin, and Bill Nowlin. Focused on American roots music, Rounder's catalogue of more than 3000 titles includes records by A ...

debut record, ''Unlock Your Mind'', released on January 31, 2012. The Soul Rebels' name was conceived by Neville at the New Orleans venue

Tipitina's Tipitina's is a music venue located at the corner of Napoleon Avenue and Tchoupitoulas Street in Uptown New Orleans, Uptown New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. History Local music enthusiasts opened the venue on January 14, 1977.Galactic Galactic is an American funk band from New Orleans, Louisiana. Origins and background Formed in 1994 as an octet (under the name Galactic Prophylactic) and including singer Chris Lane and guitarist Rob Gowen, the group was soon pared down to a ...

. He put aside his solo career to tour internationally with the band. In 2012, Cyril Neville joined forces with

Devon Allman Devon Allman (born August 10, 1972) is an American guitarist, vocalist, songwriter, and record producer. He is the son of musician and singer-songwriter Gregg Allman and has appeared occasionally as a guest musician for Gregg Allman and The All ...

(son of

Gregg Allman Gregory LeNoir Allman (December 8, 1947 – May 27, 2017) was an American musician, singer and songwriter. He was known for performing in the Allman Brothers Band. Allman grew up with an interest in rhythm and blues music, and the Allman B ...

The Allman Brothers Band The Allman Brothers Band was an American rock music, rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1969. Its founding members were brothers Duane Allman (slide guitar, lead guitar) and Gregg Allman (vocals, keyboards), as well as Dickey Betts ( ...

), award-winning blues-rock guitarist

Mike Zito Mike Zito (born November 19, 1970) is an American guitarist, singer, record producer, and songwriter from St. Louis, Missouri, United States. He is a co-founder of Royal Southern Brotherhood that features Cyril Neville, Devon Allman, Charlie Wooto ...

, bassist Charlie Wooton, and Grammy-winning drummer

Yonrico Scott Yonrico Scott (October 6, 1955 – September 19, 2019) was an American drummer and percussionist. He was a longtime member of the Grammy winning The Derek Trucks Band, became a bandleader of his own ensemble, the Yonrico Scott Band, and later w ...

to form Royal Southern Brotherhood, a blues-rock supergroup.

Citations

* "Cyril Neville may be the youngest of the Neville Brothers, the first family of New Orleans rock and R&B, but he has just made his best album". – ''

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 ...

'' * "a refreshingly original approach to the music" (*** 1/2) – ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...

Discography

* 1994: ''The Fire This Time'' (Endangered Species) with The Uptown Allstars * 1998: ''Soulo'' (Endangered Species) solo album * 2000: ''New Orleans Cookin (Endangered Species) solo album * 2003: ''For The Funk Of It'' (Kongo Square) with The Uptown Allstars * 2007: ''The Healing Dance'' (Jomar/Silk) with Tribe 13 * 2009: ''Brand New Blues'' (M.C.) solo album * 2012: ''Royal Southern Brotherhood'' ( Ruf) with Royal Southern Brotherhood * 2012: ''Live in Germany'' (Ruf) with Royal Southern Brotherhood * 2013: ''Magic Honey'' (Ruf) solo album * 2014: ''Heartsoulblood'' (Ruf) with Royal Southern Brotherhood * 2015: ''Don't Look Back'' (Ruf) with Royal Southern Brotherhood

Awards and honors

As a member of the Neville Brothers, Cyril won the 1989

Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance The Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance was awarded between 1969 and 2011. *In 1969 it was awarded as Best Contemporary-Pop Performance, Instrumental *From 1970 to 1971 it was awarded as Best Contemporary Instrumental Performance ...

for the song "Healing Chant". In 1996, he and his brothers were nominated for the

Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals The Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals was awarded between 1966 and 2011 (in its final year, it was awarded for recordings issued in 2010). The award had several minor name changes: *From 1966 to 1967, the award ...

for the song "Fire on the Mountain". They were also nominated for the 1999

Grammy Award for Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Traditional R&B Performance is an accolade presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally named the Gramophone Awards, to performers of quality traditional R&B vocal performances. ...

for the album ''Valence Street''. In 2014, Neville (as a solo) was nominated for a

Blues Music Award The Blues Music Awards, formerly known as the W. C. Handy Awards (or "The Handys"), are awards presented by the Blues Foundation, a non-profit organization set up to foster blues heritage. The awards were originally named in honor of W. C. Handy, " ...

in the 'Contemporary Blues Album of the Year' category for his album ''Magic Honey''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Neville, Cyril 1948 births Living people American percussionists American soul musicians Rhythm and blues musicians from New Orleans People from Slidell, Louisiana Neville family (show business) The Neville Brothers members The Meters members Grammy Award winners 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American musicians Ruf Records artists