
NOLA Community Blog
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Happy Birthday, Aaron Neville!
John Dunlop
R&B and soul vocalist Aaron Neville was born in New Orleans on January 24, 1941, into one of the most prolific music families of the City. Neville has recorded as a solo artist, with his brothers Art, Charles and Cyril as The Neville Brothers, and he is the father of singer and keyboard player Ivan Neville, and vocalist and rap artist Jason Neville. In addition, his uncle, George "Big Chief Jolly" Landry, was lead singer of the Mardi Gras Indian group The Wilde Tchoupitoulas.
During the course of his career, he has had four platinum albums and four Top 10 hits, including three that went to #1 on the Billboardcharts. Neville’s debut single, “Tell It Like It Is”, was #1 on the Soul chart for five weeks in 1967. In 1989, Neville recorded the album Cry Like a Rainstorm, Howl Like the Wind with Linda Ronstadt, which included the #1 Grammy-winning hits “Don’t Know Much” and “All My Life”. In 1991, his cover of “Everybody Plays the Fool” reached #1, and some of his other hits include “Don’t Take Away My Heaven”, “Can’t Stop My Heart From Loving You (The Rain Song)”, and “Hercules”. In 1993 and 1994, Neville ventured into country music, and recorded Patsy Cline’s 1961 hit “I Fall to Pieces” with Trisha Yearwood, resulting in a Grammy Award for the duo in in 1995. Neville made additional collaborative recordings over the years, and he continues to perform and tour to the delight of his league of fans worldwide! Today we celebrate this musical great’s birthday!
Celebrating the Birthday of Snooks Eaglin
John Dunlop
Guitarist and vocalist Fird “Snooks” Eaglin was born in New Orleans on January 21, 1937. Not long after his first birthday, Eaglin lost his sight due to glaucoma. At about five years of age, his father gave him a guitar, and he taught himself to play by listening to and playing along with the radio. Mischievous as a child, Eaglin was given the nickname "Snooks" after a radio character named Baby Snooks. In 1947, at the age of 11, Eaglin entered a radio talent contest, and in 1950, he dropped out of a school for the blind to become a professional musician. Two years later, he joined a local band started by Allen Toussaint called the Flamingoes. Eaglin played both the guitar and the bass parts simultaneously on his guitar, and he stayed with the band until they disbanded in the mid-1950s.
His vocal style was reminiscent of Ray Charles, and he played such a wide range of songs and styles of music, sometimes within the same concert, album, or song, that he was nicknamed “The Human Jukebox.” He usually did not prepare set lists for his live shows, playing songs that came to him on stage and taking requests from the audience. Amazingly, his musical repertoire was said to include 2500 songs. Though he had a lengthy career spanning nearly five decades, Eaglin’s recording and touring as a solo artist were inconsistent. Over the years he worked with luminaries such as James Booker, Dave Bartholomew, Ellis Marsalis, Professor Longhair, and the Wild Magnolias. He was at his most consistent between 1987 and 1999, when he recorded five albums and recorded with other artists including Earl King and Henry Butler.
Eaglin was scheduled to make a comeback appearance at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in the spring of 2009, but sadly he passed away on February 18, 2009. Today we celebrate the life and legacy of one of New Orleans’ own.
Aaron Neville Duo at UCLA Royce Hall on 11/2/19
John Dunlop
Aaron Neville is a supremely talented vocalist and musician who has had four platinum albums and four Top 10 hits, including three that went to #1. In addition to having a successful solo career, Aaron recorded with the Neville Brothers along with his brother Cyril, as well as his late brothers Art and Charles. His unique voice lends an angelic quality to all of his music, whether this versatile performer is covering R&B, soul, country, gospel, jazz, or pop.