The Neville Brothers Biography

The Neville Brothers – New Orleans' favorite sons – are comprised of Art, Charles, Aaron, and Cyril Neville. The Neville Brothers have had long careers as both solo performers and group performers and have always been ambassadors for the Crescent City, New Orleans.

The Neville Brothers’ story begins in the '70s, when the four brothers, along with Paul Howrilla, created Neville Productions, Inc., after recording The Wild Tchoupitoulas, a recording of Indian chants and songs, with their Uncle Jolly. The Neville Brothers began performing to packed crowds at their Uptown neighborhood club, Tipitina’s, and were soon quitting their day jobs to play music together as The Neville Brothers full-time.

The Neville Brothers’ 1978 debut, The Neville Brothers, featured their intricate four-part harmonies on songs like “Arianne” and “Audience for My Pain.” Fiyo on the Bayou hit in 1981 and spotlighted Aaron Neville's tenor on tunes like "Mona Lisa" and "The Ten Commandments of Love" along with renditions of "Iko Iko" and "Brother John." The Neville Brothers then issued 1984's Neville-ization, a live set from their old stomping grounds, the Crescent City landmark Tipitina's. Live at Tipitina's was released in 1987, as was the studio album Uptown, that featured Keith Richards, Jerry Garcia, and Carlos Santana. In 1989, the Neville Brothers released A&M Records’ Yellow Moon, earning them a Grammy for Best Pop Instrumental Performance (for “Healing Chant.”) Brother's Keeper followed in 1990, and Family Groove in 1992, which featured the single “Bird on a Wire,” featured in the Goldie Hawn film of the same name.

The Neville Brothers took a hiatus from the public eye due to Art’s health issues in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, but returned in 2004 with their comeback album Walkin’ in the Shadow of Life. Following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, The Neville Brothers wouldn’t return to play there until 2008, where they performed in the closing spot at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. The Neville Brothers continue to perform together and appear in a November 2012 episode of HBO’s original series Treme, performing at the 2008 Washington DC Mardi Gras Ball.

Although the Neville Brothers formally disbanded in 2012, they did reunite in 2015 for a sold-out concert in their hometown of New Orleans. Although they rarely perform as a group these days, Aaron Neville remains an active performer; in recent years he has released the album My True Story, featuring doo-wop tunes. Cyril Neville spent the last few years performing with Devon Allman and other notable musicians in the supergroup Royal Southern Brotherhood. Ivan Neville frequently performs with them as well.