Art Neville was a singer, piano and keyboard player, nicknamed 'Poppa Funk', who
helped pioneer the New Orleans funk sound in the 1950s, '60s and '70s. In his
first band The Hawketts he sang lead vocals on their 1954 hit 'Mardis Gras
Mambo'. In 1958 he contributed piano to Jerry Byrne's 'Lights Out'.
After a spell in the US Navy, he formed Art Neville and the Neville Sounds,
regularly playing in New Orleans. They became The Meters in 1965, billed as New
Orleans' answer to The MGs. The Meters provided backing sounds for numerous hits
as the house band for producer and songwrite...