Cyril Neville

Born the youngest of the four Neville Brothers on January 10, 1948, in New Orleans, Louisiana, Cyril Neville absorbed his passion for music directly from his parents and elder siblings during childhood. Professional singing began for him in 1967 at age nineteen, when he joined Art and Aaron in Art Neville and the Neville Sounds and began regular performances across the city’s club circuit. He and Aaron soon departed to create Soul Machine. His first solo single, the 1970 release “Gossip” b/w “Tell Me What’s On Your Mind,” featured backing from Art’s newly formed group the Meters. After unsuccessful relocations first to Nashville and then to New York, Soul Machine disbanded. Around the same period the Meters invited Cyril to add vocals and congas, resulting in his contributions to Cabbage Alley in 1972 and Fire on the Bayou in 1975 as well as participation in the band’s support slot for the Rolling Stones on their sold-out 1974 U.S. tour. Following the Meters’ 1976 breakup, exposure to Bob Marley’s landmark album Natty Dread sparked Cyril’s deep interest in reggae and coincided with the formation of the Neville Brothers by all four siblings, who went on to release numerous recordings. Beyond that family project he assembled the Endangered Species Band in 1983 and the Uptown Allstars Band, started his own Endangered Species label, and established New Orleans Musicians Organized (NOMO) to provide career and business guidance for fellow artists. Solo releases under his own name include the 1995 album The Fire This Time along with New Orleans Cookin’ and Soulo, both issued in 2000. Guest appearances have also placed him on recordings by Edie Brickell, Jimmy Buffett, Dr. John, Bob Dylan, Daniel Lanois, and Willie Nelson, among others.