114 • UNCUT • OCTOBER 2019
Not Fade Away
Fondly remembered this month...
ARTNEVILLE
(1937–2019)
A
RTNevillewasstillat
highschoolwhenhe
frontedR&BseptetThe
Hawketts,whose 1954
renditionof“Mardi
GrasMambo”becamea localchart
hitandfuturestapleofNewOrleans’
carnivalseason.Influencedby
JamesBooker,ProfessorLonghair
andBillDoggett,Nevillewas
alreadyanaccomplishedpianist
andkeyboardplayer,issuinga
seriesofsolosinglesfromthelate
’50sonwards,amongthemthe
infectious“ChaDooky-Do”.He
wentontoformtheNevilleSounds,
alongsideyoungerbrothersAaron
andCyril,who’ddroppedoutby
thetimethegrouptransitionedinto
TheMetersin1968.UnderNeville’s
stewardship,theyembodiedthe
spiritofNewOrleansfunkandsoul,
becoming the house band at Allen
Toussaint’sSansulabelandturning
outfoundationalgenreclassicslike
“CissyStrut”and“Look-KaPyPy”.
WhenTheMetersdisbanded
in1977,havingtouredwithThe
RollingStonesandworkedwithDr
John,“PoppaFunk”Nevillejoined
upwithsiblingsAaron,Cyriland
CharlesasTheNevilleBrothers.
Theband’sfree-rangingmusical
styleandnaturalharmonies
weremuchinevidenceonkey
recordingslike1981’sFiyoOnThe
Bayou(featuringa youngWhitney
Houstononbackingvocals),1987’s
Uptown, whoserollcallincluded
KeithRichardsandCarlosSantana,
and1989’sDanielLanois-produced
YellowMoon. Arguablytheirfinest
hour,thealbumwona Grammyfor
theinstrumentalbeauty“Healing
Chant”.Theearly’90ssawNeville
revivehisoldbandasTheFunky
Meters.Intribute,AaronNeville
hailedhimas“thepatriarchofthe
Nevilletribe,bigchief,a legendfrom
way, way back, my first inspiration”.
SouthAfrican rocker
(1953 2019)
TogetherwithSiphoMchunu,
JohnnyCleggformedJuluka,
thefirstinterracialduoofSouth
Africa’sapartheidera.Theband
hadexpandedtoa six-piecefor
1979 debutUniversalMen, mixing
Zulumelodieswithelements
ofCelticrock.Juluka’ssocio-
politicalthemesdrewtheireof
theauthorities,butClegg’sresolve
onlyhardenedwhenhefounded
anothermultiracialoutfit,Savuka,
in1986,achievinginternational
successwiththefollowing year’s
ThirdWorldChild.
Cultsinger-songwriter
(1944 2019)
DescribedbyBigStarproducer
JimDickinsonas“thebest
songwriteryouneverheard”,
BobFrankwasa Vietnamveteran
whosettledinNashvilleintheearly
’70s.Hisstarkself-titleddebut,
releasedonVanguardin1972,
achievedcultstatuswhenFrank
drifted into obscurity soon after.
Here-emergedinthemillennium,
joiningJohnMurryfor2006’s
superbWorldWithoutEnd, before
LightInTheAttic reissued his first
LPin2014.
Countercultural writer
andactivist
(1932 2019)
A childprodigyontheviolin,Paul
Krassnerbecamea pioneerofthe
Americancounterculture,founding
radicalsatiricalpublicationThe
Realistin1958.In1967,heco-
foundedtheYippies(theYouth
InternationalParty)alongside
AbbieHoffmanandJerryRubin,
instigatingprotestsatthefollowing
year’sDemocraticNational
ConventioninChicago.Krassner,
whowasalsoinvolvedwithKen
Kesey’sMerryPranksters,left
TheRealistin 1974 anddedicated
himselftowritingbooks.
BladeRunner star
(1944 2019)
CharismaticactorRutgerHauer
rose to prominence in his native
NetherlandsonTVandinfilm,most
notablywith1977’sWW2epic
SoldierOfOrange. Hemadethe
transitiontoHollywoodin1981,
playinga terroristinNighthawks,
thoughhismosticonicmoment
arrivedthefollowingyear,when
heplayedtheintenseRoyBatty,
leaderoftheoutlierreplicants,in
RidleyScott’sBladeRunner. Other
memorablefilmsincludedThe
Hitcher,EscapeFrom Sobibor and
BatmanBegins.
Texanactor
(1931–2019)
RipTorngraduatedfromLee
Strasberg’sActorsStudiointhelate
’50s,earninga Tonynomination
forhisroleintheoriginalcastof
TennesseeWilliams’SweetBird
OfYouthandbalancingBroadway
theatrewitha careerinHollywood.
Hismanyandvariedmoviecredits
includePayday,TheManWhoFellTo
Earth(oppositeBowie),MenInBlack
and1984’sOscar-nominatedCross
Creek. Tornalsoenjoyeda hugely
popularstintasArtietheproducer
onTheLarrySanders Show.
Jamaicansinger
andproducer
(1949 2019)
DeeplyindebtedtoCurtisMayfield
andSamCooke,PatKelly’sfalsetto
voicewasa distinctivefeatureof
JamaicanrocksteadygroupThe
Techniques.1967’s“YouDon’tCare”
wasamongtheirbiggesthitsfor
producer/labelownerDukeReid.
Kellythenembarkedona solocareer
thatpeakedwith“HowLongWill
It Take”in1969.The’70ssawhim
becomeanengineeratChannelOne
StudiosinKingston, before moving
into production.
R i pTo rn
inPayday
(1973)
Art“PoppaFunk”
NevillewithThe
NevilleBrothersat
theMontereyBay
BluesFestival,
ci rca 1987
LARRY HULST/MICHAEL OCHS ARCHIVES/GETTY IMAGES; STANLEY BIELECKI MOVIE COLLECTION/GETTY IMAGES
