Tell It Like It Is

July 15, 2023
The title of the musician's breakthrough hit provides a mission statement for his memoir. Neville has long been a study in contrasts: a man with the physique of a longshoreman but the tremulous, fluttering voice of an angel; a family man and devout Christian whose narrative recounts a life of being led into temptation--stealing cars on a regular basis, getting into fights where he wasn't sure whether he had killed someone, injecting heroin, which he started at age 16, leading to a long battle with addiction. His tone throughout is that of a kind and loving man, one who knows how reckless and stupid his behavior was, how much he hurt his wife, whom he married as a teenager, and his parents, who stood by him. He doesn't excuse himself, but he provides plenty of context on growing up Black in a racist, segregated New Orleans, where the color of your skin could get you hassled for suspicion of something, warranted or not. Most of his brothers experienced similar trouble, as did a couple of his sons. Yet his plainspoken account leaves readers sharing his conviction that his life has been something of a miracle and that "my voice was my salvation." His unique vocal style draws from both the yodeling he heard in the cowboy movies he loved and the open-hearted crooning of Nat King Cole, Sam Cooke, and the harmonizing doo-wop groups. His marriage survived more trouble than most could withstand, and his career flourished through a second act--as featured vocalist with the powerhouse Neville Brothers--and then a third, through his Grammy-winning duets with Linda Ronstadt, decades after "Tell It Like It Is" had seemed to consign him to one-hit-wonder status. An edit could have trimmed some repetition from his narrative, and some of the lyrics and musician credits go on too long, but the author's life has been an inspiration. A worthwhile musical survivor's story.

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August 1, 2023
In his first memoir, iconic New Orleanian, platinum-record singer and songwriter Aaron Neville, a Grammy Hall of Famer for his unique voice, gorgeous solo work, and key part in the popular Neville Brothers, candidly reveals his little-known personal and professional struggles. He recounts battles with addiction, poverty, racism, and loss, and how he was able to draw on the gifts of faith, music, and family as creative and spiritual tools to defeat the darkness that threatened his very existence. As he documents mistakes he made with crime and drugs in his youth and into early adulthood as he married young and became a father, Neville speaks of those indiscretions as joyful misadventures. But things grew much more serious, leading to heroin addiction and, thankfully, rehab. Neville became more contemplative about his career and responsibilities. "I was a different person. It felt great not to have that want or desire for the dope anymore. I was ready for a new adventure of walking the straight and narrow. My eyes were clear, my voice was at its peak, it was a whole new world for me."

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Starred review from August 18, 2023

R&B singer/songwriter Neville's memoir is a candid, joyful journey into his life as a young Black man in New Orleans during the Jim Crow era, his drug-fueled career as an early touring artist, his struggles as a young father and husband, and his rise to fame in the '70s and '80s. Although he knew from a young age that he wanted to be a singer, obstacles such as drug addiction, marital upheaval, and unscrupulous record companies consistently seemed to keep him from fame until he joined forces with his family and found success as the Neville Brothers in 1977. This strikingly honest story of Neville's struggles and triumphs pulls readers in from the first chapter with its staccato sentence structure and a cast of fascinating characters. Written in a stream-of-consciousness style, the book spotlights Neville's voice, loud and clear. Readers may feel they are listening to him tell his grandchildren the story of his life. VERDICT A gratifying, spiritual, and hopeful against-all-odds memoir. An essential read for both Neville fans and those who may be unfamiliar with his music.--Amy Shaw

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