Aaron Neville has been leaving his mark on the music industry across six decades and a host of genres ranging from funk, soul, pop, R&B, country and gospel. And on Saturday, he promises to give St. Louis a taste of it all when he takes the stage as half of the Aaron Neville Duo Saturday night (Feb. 22) at Powell Symphony Hall.
“I love St. Louis,” Neville said. “A good friend of mine is from there – Chuck Berry. So, we are going to do some of his stuff too. He was the architect of rock and roll – him and Little Richard and Fats Domino – and we do some of all of their stuff.”
The intimate show features Neville on vocals and Michael Goods on piano. The set list includes music from his own catalog and music that he listened to growing up – some of which he later recorded.
“I would tell people that you won’t be disappointed,” Neville said. “We are going to bring you from here to there and everywhere else in my music world and Michael Goods’ music world.”
Neville’s music world goes hand in hand with his hometown of New Orleans and the rich legacy the city has for influencing American music, from jazz, blues, rock and roll (through Fats Domino and others) and more.
“It’s a musical gumbo,” Neville said. “I’m glad I grew up there. I don’t think I would want to have grown up anywhere else. New Orleans nurtured me and raised me.”
He had been performing since a teen, but when he broke through in the 1966 with the ballad “Tell It Like It Is,” Neville became the first to make his famous musical family a household name.
“I went into to the studio expecting to do an up-tempo record, because that’s what mostly everyone was doing at the time,” Neville said of his breakthrough hit. “But I heard the song and said, ‘No, this is the one right here.’ And sure enough, it was.”
The single became an instant hit and is still beloved more than a half-century after its original release and is known the world over. The song set in motion a career that has transcended genres and cultures.
“Music is the international language,” Neville said. “We can be in Japan or someplace where they don’t speak English, but they understand the vibes coming from me. You don’t have to understand the words. My voice connects to the people and gives both of us joy – it gives me joy to put it out and gives them joy to hear it, so it’s the total package.”
Neville credits his genuine love for singing as the secret to his success.
“I’m in heaven,” he said. “They have a saying that ‘he who sings, prays twice.’ I don’t care what I’m singing – R&B, doo wop or country and western – it’s always spiritual to me.”
A decade after his initial solo success, he teamed up with his brothers Art, Charles and Cyril as the Neville Brothers.
They had been in bands since they were young, with one or two members of the Neville brothers in a band at any given time. But their uncle, George “Big Chief Jolly” Landry, recruited them all – along with Art’s band The Meters – to record the album “The Wild Tchoupitoulas” in 1976.
“Then in 1977, we decided we would all come together as the Neville Brothers,” Aaron said. “Charles was living in New York and he moved to New Orleans. We got together and did that record with Uncle Jolly and did our first record in ’78 called ‘The Neville Brothers.’ From then on, we ran up and down the highway for 40 years spreading that music.”
He takes pride in knowing that he and his brothers represented New Orleans all over the world.
“From Australia and New Zealand to Japan and you name it, everywhere we went there was joy and having a great time listening to great music – world music that’s from New Orleans,” Aaron said. “Now my two older brothers are gone on to heaven, but me and are Cyril holding up the fort. And now our kids are doing it.”
The Aaron Neville Duo will play Powell Symphony Hall at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, February 22. For tickets and additional information, visit www.slso.org or call (314) 534-1700.
