Post by erik on Feb 6, 2021 18:42:02 GMT -5
The hit that put Aaron Neville on the map in the eyes of his peers, but which would be his only major hit for nearly twenty-three years, is in this week's Pop Music Hits Spotlight.
TELL IT LIKE IT IS (Aaron Neville; Par-Lo; 1966)—If New Orleans has a First Family of R&B music, it would be the Neville Brothers. And it is brother Aaron who has really persevered as a legend in the hometown of the NFL’s Saints, and the birthplace of American jazz. Born of a radically mixed heritage (African-American, Caucasian, and Choctaw), Aaron paid his dues in the New Orleans scene, as did his brothers. He began recording as early as 1960; but it wasn’t until he was signed to the independent Par-Lo label in mid-1966 that he was to see his first taste of big-time success. He got his hands on an R&B ballad written by George Davis and Les Diamond called “Tell It Like It Is”; and despite it being on a label that would soon fold, the song achieved a huge amount of radio airplay when it was released as a single in October 1966. It was a huge hit in his native New Orleans; and by Christmas, the song spent the first of five weeks on top of Billboard’s R&B chart. On the overall Hot 100, it got up to #2 during the third week of January 1967, kept out of the penthouse only by the Monkees’ huge #1 smash “I’m A Believer”. Aaron had one further hit that spring with “She Took You For A Ride”, but it only got up to #92 on the Hot 100. Despite he and his brothers’ huge popularity in their hometown and admiration by rock and R&B musicians all around America, Aaron himself would continue to struggle as a recording artist until a fortuitous meeting with longtime fan and L.A. country-rock legend Linda Ronstadt resuscitated his career in 1989; the two of them would win Grammys for Best Pop Vocal Duo/Group in consecutive years (1989, 1990) for, respectively, “Don’t Know Much” and “All My Life”; and Linda would co-produce Aaron’s big 1991 hit album Warm Your Heart. Aaron would also sing at Linda’s induction at the Kennedy Center honors with Linda’s protégé Trisha Yearwood. Meanwhile, Heart would take “Tell It Like It Is” back into the Top Ten during the winter of 1980-81; and Aaron’s original recording would rank at #391 among Rolling Stone magazine’s Top 500 songs of all time.
TELL IT LIKE IT IS (Aaron Neville; Par-Lo; 1966)—If New Orleans has a First Family of R&B music, it would be the Neville Brothers. And it is brother Aaron who has really persevered as a legend in the hometown of the NFL’s Saints, and the birthplace of American jazz. Born of a radically mixed heritage (African-American, Caucasian, and Choctaw), Aaron paid his dues in the New Orleans scene, as did his brothers. He began recording as early as 1960; but it wasn’t until he was signed to the independent Par-Lo label in mid-1966 that he was to see his first taste of big-time success. He got his hands on an R&B ballad written by George Davis and Les Diamond called “Tell It Like It Is”; and despite it being on a label that would soon fold, the song achieved a huge amount of radio airplay when it was released as a single in October 1966. It was a huge hit in his native New Orleans; and by Christmas, the song spent the first of five weeks on top of Billboard’s R&B chart. On the overall Hot 100, it got up to #2 during the third week of January 1967, kept out of the penthouse only by the Monkees’ huge #1 smash “I’m A Believer”. Aaron had one further hit that spring with “She Took You For A Ride”, but it only got up to #92 on the Hot 100. Despite he and his brothers’ huge popularity in their hometown and admiration by rock and R&B musicians all around America, Aaron himself would continue to struggle as a recording artist until a fortuitous meeting with longtime fan and L.A. country-rock legend Linda Ronstadt resuscitated his career in 1989; the two of them would win Grammys for Best Pop Vocal Duo/Group in consecutive years (1989, 1990) for, respectively, “Don’t Know Much” and “All My Life”; and Linda would co-produce Aaron’s big 1991 hit album Warm Your Heart. Aaron would also sing at Linda’s induction at the Kennedy Center honors with Linda’s protégé Trisha Yearwood. Meanwhile, Heart would take “Tell It Like It Is” back into the Top Ten during the winter of 1980-81; and Aaron’s original recording would rank at #391 among Rolling Stone magazine’s Top 500 songs of all time.