The Neville Brothers

The Neville Brothers were an American R&B/soul/funk group, formed in 1977 in New Orleans, Louisiana.

History
The group notion started in 1976, when the four brothers of the Neville family, Art (born 1937), Charles, (1938–2018), Aaron (b. 1941), and Cyril (b. 1948) got together to take part in the recording session of The Wild Tchoupitoulas, a Mardi Gras Indian group led by the Nevilles' uncle, George Landry ("Big Chief Jolly").

In 1987, the group released "Uptown" from EMI featuring guests including Branford Marsalis, Keith Richards, and Carlos Santana. The following year saw the release of Yellow Moon from A&M Records produced by Daniel Lanois. The track "Healing Chant" from that album won best pop instrumental performance of the Grammy Awards.

In 1990, the Neville Brothers contributed "In the Still of the Night" to the AIDS benefit album Red Hot + Blue produced by the Red Hot Organization.

Also in 1990, they appeared on the bill at that year's Glastonbury Festival. Due to Art Neville devoting more time to his other act, The Meters, the band kept a low profile in the late 1990s onto the early 2000s. They made a comeback in 2004, however, with the album, Walkin' In The Shadow Of Life, from Back Porch Records, their first newly recorded effort in five years.

All brothers except Charles, a Massachusetts resident, had been living in New Orleans, but following Hurricane Katrina in 2005 Cyril and Aaron moved out of the city. They had not been performing in New Orleans since Katrina hit the city, however, they finally returned to perform there at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in 2008, being given the closing spot which had been reserved for them for years.

Infrequently, Aaron's son Ivan Neville (keyboards) and Art's son Ian Neville (electric guitar), both of the band Dumpstaphunk, have played with the Neville Brothers.

The final Neville Brothers studio album, titled Walkin' in the Shadow of Life, was released in 2004. The group formally disbanded in 2012 but reunited in 2015 for a farewell concert in New Orleans.

Charles Neville died of pancreatic cancer on April 26, 2018 at the age of 79.

On June 25, 2019, The New York Times Magazine listed The Neville Brothers among hundreds of artists whose material was reportedly destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire.

Studio albums

 * 1978: The Neville Brothers (Capitol)
 * 1981: Fiyo on the Bayou (A&M)
 * 1987: Uptown (EMI)
 * 1989: Yellow Moon (A&M)
 * 1990: Brother's Keeper (A&M)
 * 1992: Family Groove (A&M)
 * 1995: Mitakuye Oyasin Oyasin/All My Relations (A&M)
 * 1997: The Carnival by Wyclef Jean (guest appearance on "Mona Lisa")
 * 1999: Valence Street (Columbia)
 * 2004: Walkin' in the Shadow of Life  (Back Porch/EMI)

Live albums

 * 1984: Neville-ization (Black Top)
 * 1987: Nevillization 2 (Live at Tipitina's Volume 2) (Spindletop)
 * 1994: Live on Planet Earth (A&M)
 * 1998: Live at Tipitina's (1982) (Rhino)
 * 2010: Authorized Bootleg: Warfield Theatre, San Francisco, CA, February 27, 1989 (A&M)

Compilation albums

 * 1986: Treacherous – A History of The Neville Brothers (1955–1985) (Rhino)
 * 1991: Treacherous Too! – A History of the Neville Brothers, Volume Two (1955–1987) (Rhino)
 * 1997: The Very Best of the Neville Brothers (Rhino)
 * 1999: Uptown Rulin' – The Best of the Neville Brothers (A&M)
 * 2004: 20th Century Masters – The Millenium Collection: The Best of The Neville Brothers (A&M)
 * 2005: Gold (Hip-O/UMe)

Related albums

 * 1976: The Wild Tchoupitoulas (with four of The Neville Brothers)