Not Fade Away
ART NEVILLE
New Orleans funk/ soul kingpin (1937–2019)
ART Neville was still at high school when he fronted R&B septet The Hawketts, whose 1954 rendition of “Mardi Gras Mambo” became a local chart hit and future staple of New Orleans’ carnival season. Influenced by James Booker, Professor Longhair and Bill Doggett, Neville was already an accomplished pianist and keyboard player, issuing a series of solo singles from the late ’50s onwards, among them the infectious “Cha Dooky-Do”. He went on to form the Neville Sounds, alongside younger brothers Aaron and Cyril, who’d dropped out by the time the group transitioned into The Meters in 1968. Under Neville’s stewardship, they embodied the spirit of New Orleans funk and soul, becoming the house band at Allen Toussaint’s Sansu label and turning out foundational genre classics like “Cissy Strut” and “Look-Ka Py Py”.
When The Meters disbanded in 1977, having toured with The Rolling Stones and worked with Dr John, “Poppa Funk” Neville joined up with siblings Aaron, Cyril and Charles as
