Aaron Neville

Aaron Neville (born January 24, 1941, New Orleans, Louisiana) is an American soul and R&B singer and musician. He made his debut in 1966 with the hit single "Tell It Like It Is," a number one hit on the Billboard R&B charts. Neville charted again in 1989, when he collaborated with Linda Ronstadt on three consecutive duets: "Don't Know Much," "All My Life," and "When Something Is Wrong with My Baby." The first two reached number one on the Adult Contemporary charts. Neville has released more than 20 singles, including three number one on the Adult Contemporary format, and a fourth on the R&B format.

Neville's biggest solo successes have been on the Adult Contemporary chart, where "Don't Know Much," "All My Life," and "Everybody Plays the Fool" all reached number one.

Aaron signed to SonyBMG's new Burgundy Records label in late 2005 and recorded an album of songs by Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye, Curtis Mayfield, Sam Cooke and others for "Bring It on Home…The Soul Classics," released on September 19, 2006. The album, produced by Stewart Levine, features collaborations between Neville and Chaka Khan, Mavis Staples, Chris Botti, David Sanborn, Art Neville, and others.

Neville's career has included work for television, movies and sporting events. Neville sang the National Anthem in the movie "The Fan" starring Robert De Niro and Wesley Snipes. He also sang the anthem at the WWF's SummerSlam 1993 and at WCW Spring Stampede in 1994. Neville sang the theme music to the children's TV series Fisher-Price "Little People." He sang a new version of "Cotton," for Cotton, Inc. which was introduced during the 1992 Summer Olympics. In 1988 he recorded "Mickey Mouse March" for "Stay Awake: Various Interpretations of Music from Vintage Disney Films." In 2006, Neville sang the national anthem alongside Aretha Franklin at Super Bowl XL in Detroit, Michigan.

As one of the great distinctive singers of the past four decades, Aaron Neville's contradictions have long been noted: the arms that look as if they could snap a microphone stand in half coupled with a voice of startling purity, grace and even innocence. Aaron calls it "the perfect package," and even he's not immune to the spell his music can cast. "When people tell me that my voice helped them through their rough times, I know what they're talking about," he says quietly. "Because it helped me through my rough times, too."