Co-founder of THE METERS and then the NEVILLE BROTHERS, Neville "passed away at home with his adoring wife Lorraine by his side," Kent Sorrell, Neville's longtime manager, told the New Orleans Times-Picayune.

 

THE METERS opened for the ROLLING STONES on '70s-era tours of North America and Europe. They backed Dr. John on 1973's In the Right Place and 1974's Desitively Bonnaroo, and Robert Palmer's on 1974's Sneakin' Sally Through the Alley. Paul McCartney then hired THE METERS to perform during a release party for 1975's Venus and Mars aboard the Queen Mary.

 

Neville won his first Grammy in 1989, when the NEVILLE BROTHERS' "Healing Chant" was named best pop instrumental. His second came in 1996, when a collaboration with Eric Clapton, Bonnie Raitt, Jimmy Vaughan, B.B. King and others called "SRV Shuffle" was recognized.

 

By then, the NEVILLE BROTHERS had already collaborated with U2 and Bob Dylan producer Daniel Lanois on the gold-selling Yellow Moon. They covered the Steve Miller Band's "Fly Like an Eagle" on 1992's Family Groove. They've also been sampled by and influenced countless acts, including the BEASTIE BOYS and the RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS.

 

Art Neville, who eventually became affectionately known as Poppa Funk, was at the center of it all. "No Art Neville, no Meters, no Neville Brothers," his sibling Cyril Neville told Relix magazine earlier this year. "I could go on and on. It all circles back to Art Neville."

 

Born on Dec. 17, 1937, Neville was barely 17 when he handled lead vocals on the Hawkettes' "Mardi Gras Mambo," now a local standard. Art's 1962 interpretation of the Allen Toussaint song "All These Things" became a jukebox favorite. More importantly, however, were the lifelong musical connections made while leading an early band called Art Neville and the Neville Sounds: Art's brother Aaron was in the band. But so were bassist George Porter Jr., guitarist Leo Nocentelli and drummer Joseph "Zigaboo" Modeliste, and they became THE METERS.

 

Cyril Neville joined THE METERS later, adding percussion. They served as house band at Toussaint's celebrated New Orleans-based recording studio, backing Lee Dorsey on "Working in a Coal Mine" and Labelle on the hit "Lady Marmalade," among many others. THE METERS also took the proto-funk 1969 instrumental "Cissy Strut" to No. 23 on the Billboard charts.

 

Art and Cyril went on to form the NEVILLE BROTHERS, a group that also featured Aaron and the late Charles Neville. 

 

The NEVILLE BROTHERS became the first New Orleans band to ever perform on Austin City Limits and were, before their 2012 retirement, the traditional final-Sunday closing act at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.

 

Walkin' in the Shadow of Life, their final studio album, was released in 2004. Art also performed with the Funky Meters, an offshoot that included Porter and Nocentelli. Katrina chased Neville away from New Orleans for a time, but he eventually returned.

 

Late in life, he battled back problems, and reportedly suffered a more recent stroke. The original METERS had been set to play a pair of 2017 shows in San Francisco, but had to cancel when Neville didn't feel well enough to travel. "Without Art," Porter admitted back then, "these shows would not be the Meters."

 

Neville finally retired for good back in December. Before that, he had vowed to stay on the road as long as he possibly could.