The first of Neville's singles that was given airplay outside of New Orleans was "Over You", released in 1960. His first hit single was "
Tell It Like It Is", released by local musician/arranger George Davis, a friend from school, and band-leader Lee Diamond. The song topped
Billboards R&B chart for five weeks in 1967 and also reached on the
Billboard Hot 100 (behind "
I'm a Believer" by
the Monkees). It sold more than one million copies, and was awarded a
gold disc. Neville released his first solo album since the late 1960s in 1986 with the independent release
Orchid in The Storm. In 1989, Neville teamed up with
Linda Ronstadt on the album
Cry Like a Rainstorm, Howl Like the Wind which included four duets by the pair. Amongst them were the No. 1
Grammy-winning hits "
Don't Know Much" and "
All My Life". "Don't Know Much" reached No. 2 on the Hot 100, and was certified
Gold for selling a million copies, while the album was certified Triple Platinum for US sales of more than three million. Following the success of
Cry Like a Rainstorm, Howl Like the Wind, Ronstadt produced his 1991 album
Warm Your Heart including the hit single "
Everybody Plays the Fool", a cover of the 1972
Main Ingredient song, which reached No. 8 on the
Billboard Hot 100 and another duet with Ronstadt "Close Your Eyes".
Warm Your Heart was certified platinum in 1997 for more than a million sales in the U.S. During 1993 and 1994, Neville expanded his repertoire as a recording artist and ventured into making
country music. In 1993, Neville released the platinum-selling
The Grand Tour on
A&M Records with lead single "Don't Take Away My Heaven" reaching No. 4 on the
Adult Contemporary chart (where previous hits "Don't Know Much", "All My Life", and "Everybody Plays the Fool" all reached number one). The follow-up single "
The Grand Tour", a cover of country music legend
George Jones' 1974 hit, peaked at No. 38 on the
Billboard country singles chart, and was highly acclaimed by fans and critics, resulting in a nomination for the
Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance at the
36th Annual Grammy Awards in 1994. He followed the album up with another platinum seller ''Aaron Neville's Soulful Christmas.'' Neville's next country music project involved appearing on 1994's
Rhythm, Country and Blues, an album of duets featuring R&B and Country artists performing renditions of classic country and R&B songs. Neville recorded a version of "
I Fall to Pieces", a major crossover hit for
Patsy Cline originally released in 1961, with
Trisha Yearwood that resulted in Neville and Yearwood winning the
Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals at the
37th Annual Grammy Awards. As a result, Neville became one of the only African American recording artists to win a Grammy within the Country genre. In April 1994, Neville appeared on
Sesame Street to sing the song "I Don't Want to Live on the Moon" as a duet with
Ernie. Neville's 1995 release,
The Tattooed Heart, featuring covers of classics by
Bill Withers and
Kris Kristofferson went gold, while 1997's pop-oriented
...To Make Me Who I Am included songwriting contributions from contemporary hitmakers
Babyface and
Diane Warren as well as two new duets with Ronstadt, including a cover of "
The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face". This was followed by a 2000 gospel album
Devotion, which topped the US gospel album chart, and his 2003 debut for Verve Records entitled
Nature Boy: The Standards Album, which topped the US jazz album chart. The album saw Neville covering selections from the
Great American Songbook, including another Ronstadt duet "
The Very Thought of You". In August 2005, Neville's home in
Eastern New Orleans was destroyed by
Hurricane Katrina; he evacuated to
Memphis, before the hurricane hit. He went to Austin to visit his friend Clifford Antone, then moved to
Nashville. He performed
Randy Newman's "
Louisiana 1927" on
NBC's
A Concert for Hurricane Relief on September 2, 2005, and "
A Change is Gonna Come" at the New York benefit concert
From the Big Apple to the Big Easy. When he didn't return to the city by early 2008, the
New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival temporarily changed its tradition of having the Neville Brothers close the festival. However, the band, including Aaron, returned for the 2008 Jazzfest, which returned to its traditional seven-day format for the first time since Katrina. Neville sang the theme music to the children's TV series
Fisher-Price Little People and the songs for the sixth volume, "Discovering Seasons." He also sang a new version of "Cotton", for
Cotton Incorporated 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, one of Various Artists. Neville (along with brothers
Art and
Cyril) did background vocals for the songs "Great Heart", "Bring Back the Magic", "Homemade Music", "My Barracuda", and "Smart Woman (in a Real Short Skirt)" on
Jimmy Buffett's
Hot Water, released in 1988. Neville was interviewed on screen and appeared in performance footage with his brothers in the 2005 documentary film
Make It Funky!, which presents a history of
New Orleans music and its influence on
rhythm and blues,
rock and roll,
funk and
jazz. The Nevilles perform "Fire on the Bayou" in the film. On October 27, 2006, Neville made a guest appearance on an episode of the soap opera
The Young and the Restless. He sang "
Stand by Me" and "
Ain't No Sunshine", from his album,
Bring It On Home ... The Soul Classics. In 2008, he released
Gold, which includes a
double album of his hits. He also released an album of traditional carols called
Christmas & Hits Duos. The song "
Christmas Prayer" was featured on the
ER episode
The High Holiday. In 2009, Neville, along with the Mt. Zion Mass Choir, released a version of the song "
A Change Is Gonna Come" on the compilation album
Oh Happy Day. In 2010, Neville and his brother
Art performed with
The Meters. Neville was the featured artist for the 100th Anniversary Celebration of the University of Memphis Centennial Concert September 30, 2011, at the Cannon Center for the Performing Arts. That year, Neville toured New Zealand with
The Blind Boys of Alabama and
Mavis Staples. In January 2013, paying tribute to the songs of his youth, Blue Note Records released Neville's
My True Story, a collection of 12 doo-wop tunes, produced by
Don Was and
Keith Richards, with backing by musicians such as Benmont Tench from
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. In March 2015, he was named the year's recipient of the
Laetare Medal. In October 2015, Keith Richards selected the song "My True Story" as one of his
Desert Island Discs. In May 2021, the 80-year old Neville announced his retirement from touring, but said he may still record albums or perform occasionally for special events or festivals. In 2023,
Rolling Stone ranked Neville at number 104 on its list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time. ==Personal life==