The Bobby Bones Show - Legendary R&B Soul Singer Aaron Neville, Author of New Book "Tell It Like It Is". Music History

Episode Date: October 3, 2023

In this episode of Takin' A Walk Buzz Knight talks with Aaron Neville.  Legendary American R and B and soul singer with four platinum albums and four top ten hits. He is the author of a new book called "Tell It Like It Is". *****Thank you so much for listening to the TAKIN’ A WALK PODCAST SHOW hosted by Buzz Knight!   Listen to more honest conversations with a compelling mix of guests ranging from musicians, authors, and insiders with their own stories. Get inspired, get motivated, and gain insights from honest conversations every week that can help you with your own journey. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and be part of this blessed family. Website: https://takinawalk.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/thebuzzknight LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/buzzknight  Linkfire: https://lnk.to/takinawalk Please consider subscribing, leaving a review, and sharing it with your friends and family!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human. When a group of women discover they've all dated the same prolific con artist, they take matters into their own hands. I vowed I will be his last target. He is not going to get away with this. He's going to get what he deserves. We always say that trust your girlfriends.

Listen to the girlfriends. Trust me, babe. On the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you. you get your podcast. What's up, everyone? I'm Ago Vodam. My next guest, it's Will Ferrell. Woo, woo, woo, woo, woo.

My dad gave me the best advice ever. He goes, just give it a shot. But if you ever reach a point where you're banging your head against the wall and it doesn't feel fun anymore, it's okay to quit. If you saw it written down, it would not be an inspiration. It would not be on a calendar of, you know, the cat. Just hang in there. It would not be...

Right, it wouldn't be that. There's a lot of luck. Listen to Thanks, Dad, on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. In 2023, Bachelor star Clayton Eckerd was accused of fathering twins. But the pregnancy appeared to be a hoax. You doctored this particular test twice, Ms. Owens, correct? I doctored the test ones.

It took an army of internet detectives to uncover a disturbing pattern. Two more men who'd been through the same thing. Greg Gillespie and Michael Mancini. My mind was blown. I'm Stephanie Young. This is Love Trapped. Laura, Scottsdale Police. As the season continues, Laura Owens finally faces consequences.

Listen to Love Trapped podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Readers, Katie's finalists, publicists. We have an incredible new episode this week for you guys. We have our girl Hillary Duff in here, and we can't wait for you to hear this episode. They put on Lizzie McGuire at 2 a.m. video on demand. This guy's... 2 a.m.

Lissie McGuire. And I'm like... Wild. A wild batch you were with. It was like a first like closet moment from me where I was like... You're like, I don't feel like she's hot, like the rest of that. No, no, no. I was like, she's beautiful.

But I'm appreciating her in a different way than these boys are. I'm not like... But listen to Los Coleristas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Taking a walk. You know, I'm not, you know, 20 years old again, I'm 82. And I don't want to go up there trying to sound like I did then, and people say, oh, you don't sound like you used to. I have records that I made that are great, you know, if you want to hear Aaron Neville, you know, check out the records. I still call them records, you know.

Welcome to this episode of Taking a Walk, Music History on Foot. Buzz Night is your host, and his guest is Grammy Award-winning singer Aaron Neville. Aaron has four platinum albums, four top ten hits, including three that reached number. one on the billboard charts. Aaron's new book is called Tell It Like It Is. Aaron Neville joins Buzz Night next on Taking a Walk. Aaron, it's an honor to speak to you.

Oh, thank you. Same here. Congratulations on the book. Tell it like it is. Tell me, did you enjoy the writing process for your book? Oh, yeah, it was great with Beth Adelman, who helped me to it. First thing you say, it was Aaron. I wanted to be in your voice. And that's what we've done.

And I'll tell you, it was a roller coaster of emotions, you know, just going over stuff that I had lived. Did you find it therapeutic? Oh, yeah, definitely. You know, and I, you know, I prayed the whole while I was doing it. You know, there's some forgiveness or whatever I've done wrong at different times, you know. Tell me about religion in your life, Aaron. Well, I went to Catholic school.

in St. Monica and New Orleans. It was close to the Caldillo Project. And the nuns, you know, like one of my favorite nuns, was Sister Damien. She taught the fourth grade, and, you know, she followed our career until she passed. And I learned a lot from them and from my parents, too, you know, but being in Calgary, listening to the choir singing to Ave Maria,

I never knew the words, I just knew the words. I just knew the refrain, would always do something to my heart. I can't explain it. You know, it was like medicine, you know? And that's what I'd call my music after that medicine for other people. But Ivy Maria was special until I met Linda Ronstadt, and the first thing we got the chance to sing together in the studio

with the Ave Maria. We did it in harmony. Co-produced with George Massenberg, my first solo album. on A&M, warm your heart. He suggested that I drew Ave Maria. And I recorded it in San Francisco at Grace Cathedral with the old boys choir.

And, I mean, it came out magnificent. I have chills just thinking about that. Oh, yeah, it was chill for me, too, really. Aaron, the book is so transparent in terms of where your life led you down some paths of destruction. When you sort of think about those lessons, like lessons of rehab as an example,

what would you want to pass along to others listening? Well, it's a game you play, and especially with the drugs with the hair on, it's like you first do it and make you think it likes you, but it don't like you, you know, you're worse enemy. and it drag you through hell and gasoline draws. And that's what had done me.

So, you know, I'm glad I got out to the other side. I'm glad I wasn't one of the 27th club, like Jimmy Hendrix and a few others, you know. They all died at 27 years old. Well, yeah, I am still here. What did Dr. Drew Pinsky teach you when you consulted him? He told you that the drugs, what they were doing until you inside, I said the organs and all, you know, and destroying you. And then he said something, if you're one is too many and the thousand is not enough.

I said, wow, that made so much sense, you know, but I guess I had to, you know, reaching my waterloo, whatever you want to call it, you know, before I tell you all, it's all in the book how finally flew the dragon, you know. Now, you have kind of quietly retired. You know, I've done it since I was a teenager. And the thing about me and Linda Osset talk about it, like she was saying when she first signed her, she had Parkinson, and, you know, she wasn't hitting the notes like she used to,

she said, I don't want to cheat the people. And that's what I feel. You know, I'm not, you know, 20 years old again. I'm 82. And I don't want to go out there trying to sound like I did then, and, you know, and people say, oh, you don't sound like you used to. I have records that I made that are great, you know, want to hear Aaron Neville, you know, check out the records.

I still call them records, you know. Is it possible anyone would ever coax you into a recording session? No. I mean, I've got five grammars out. Since I've retired, I got a Grammy from one of the songs I did on the album, Apache, or Stomping Grounds. So who would have thought I was getting a fifth Grammy? So I'm satisfied, you know?

Back to Linda Ronstadt, do you recall the first time you met her? I sure do. We are, it was 1984 in the Orleans at the World's Fair. She was there doing Nelson Riddle at the Amputator, and the brothers were doing a gig at Pete Fountain's Club on the grounds. And after her show, somebody told her we were playing, so she came, and it told me she was an audience, so I sang a song called Ariane, and I dedicated her,

and I call up on stage, which she later told the press that she, you'll never do anything in prompt like that, but she wasn't going to say no to Aaron. So that was how we met, and I asked her autograph, and she said to Aaron, Love, I was saying with you any time, any place, anywhere, and any key.

So that was 84, 85, Allentoo Center myself had formed an organization called New Orleans, Orleans artists against hunger and homeless. And we were doing benefits for it in the Orleans, you know. All of New Orleans artists would be, would participate in it, you know, the brothers, the Dixie Cubs, whoever. And we invited Linda to come.

She said, yeah, I definitely do it. So we were in Al and Tucson in studio. And the first thing we wanted to sing together by us both being Catholic was Ave Maria and we sang it in harmony. And her manager, Peter Asher said, you all you should do a record together. I said, man, I'm geek, you know, I'd love to sing with Linda Ronsky. We didn't record until like 88 or something like that,

but the record came out at 8 or 9. And in the studio, I told him, Meachette at the Grammars. I was joking, but not joking because it was that great of a song, you know. You are, yeah, one of the, you know, rare group of people who have sang with Linda Ronstat, What kind of experience is that? It's a heavenly experience.

That's all I can say. You know, she said, I have the voice of an angel. I think she has a voice of an angel also, so there's two angels mixing together. I mean, we got a bunch of stuff we did, not just the four songs on my album, she's recorded stuff with my, but here are my albums.

We did a song of Bernadette, and we did a harmonious version. of that. She sang another song called Please remember me. She sang, close your eyes, the old duo, by the five keys. And she's singing on Ave Maria, and we still talk every month or a while,

a couple of times a week, keeping contact. Aaron, we have a podcast we produce besides this Taking a Walk podcast that's called Music Save Me about the power and healing power of music. And

And for someone who has gotten mixed up into a lot of trials and tribulations in your life that you depict in the book, you know, stealing cars, ended up in jail addiction. Can you say music saved you? Yeah, I always say music was medicine to me. And I have a couple of incidents like a lady told me about a little six-year-old boy, he was autistic. And they had to keep him in a rubber room. They couldn't do anything with him. He'd flop around at the seal. And the only thing that would calm him down is they put a headset on this head with my voice. And I said, well, the only thing I can think of is the God in me touch the God and him. You know, so stuff like that to give me chills. But I know my voice, you know, when I sing, Santa Guston said, he who sings prays twice.

And I definitely believe him because I was always praying when I sang. Are you singing around the house as you're doing it? and chores in the midst of the day? Oh, I'd do it outside. I'd be outside and, you know, sit by the piano and do something, you know, but it's just for me and Sarah. Who are some of the musicians that you admire today? I really like Bruno Mars.

I like some of the rap stuff when they're talking positive stuff, you know. Adele, I like Adele, I like Beyonce, Adam Levine. And they both did a thing, called itself singing Aaron Neville, but don't know much thing, Beyonce and Adam Levine. So that was, you know, it's like giving you praise, like, you know.

Tell me about the Aaron Neville elixir. Well, that's something my wife said. He started growing the turmeric and the ginger and the cayenne and the lemons. And it's a mixture of turmeric, ginger, cayenne, lemon, apple cider vinegar, and honey. And I don't know, I've been taking it for years now and don't want to stop taking it. And anybody that takes it, you like it, because they help them in different things, you know.

You still pretty aggressively work out every day, don't you? Well, not every day, but me and Sarah, we work at at least four times a week. And sometimes we do two in a row. do the one with just the weights and then one's called it hit, you know, get you vigorous and, you know, vigorous workouts. And I feel good afterwards. For someone who lived on the road so much in your career, explain to somebody who has never been a musician on the road,

how difficult and trying and taxing it is. Well, I'm so glad I'm not out there right now with all the stuff happening with the I call it airport agony. You know, they cancel flights at the drop of a hat and you just stuck. And if your luggage get lost, we don't know where it is. And, hey, you know, good luck. So, airport agony, I do not miss it at all. Lately, I mean, about people being in an airport for like a week trying to get out of that time, you know.

So it gets crazy. I don't miss the hotels. You know, I miss the crowd, you know, and that part. the rest of it, they can keep it. I used to say, I'll be glad when I can get, like, start to get being from my house to the gig, and I have to have to worry about the airport. They never worked that out. You know, as you're contemplating your faith every day,

do you find a way that maybe allows you to communicate with some of your either lost friends who have passed on or musicians who have passed on, do you get to communicate with them? Well, I don't know if I communicate, but I think about them a lot, you know, like my brothers, you know, Dr. John, Allen, Tucson, and my first wife, Joelle, and all her family. And, you know, yeah, you know, I think a big,

they're in my reverie and my remembrance, you know. And that's why I was able to just write the book like it, you know, like I lived it. So lastly, what would you tell a musician who is trying to find their voice who was starting out, what would you give them advice-wise in a very tough business? Be a plumber. You get it? Yeah.

That's a show job. Music business is so fickle now, you know. I love you to death. I love you to death. I'm so grateful for all the music that you've given us. And congratulations on the book, Tell It Like It Is. Aaron Neville, you are a treasure. Thank you, both.

Thank you, sir. What a joy talking with Aaron Neville. So grateful to have him on. Check out his book, Tell It Like It Is. If you like this podcast, please share it with a friend. Leave us a review. Thanks to Bob Malatesta for his production, excellence. And thanks for listening.

to take it a walk. When a group of women discover they've all dated the same prolific con artist, they take matters into their own hands. I vowed, I will be his last target. He is not going to get away with this. He's going to get what he deserves.

We always say that trust your girlfriends. Listen to the girlfriends. Trust me, babe. On the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, everybody? Everyone, I'm Ago Wodom. My next guest, it's Will Ferrell.

My dad gave me the best advice ever. He goes, just give it a shot. But if you ever reach a point where you're banging your head against the wall and it doesn't feel fun anymore, it's okay to quit. If you saw it written down, it would not be an inspiration. It would not be on a calendar of, you know, the cat. Just hang in there. Yeah, it would not be. Right. It wouldn't be that. a lot. Listen to Thanks, Dad, on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. In 2023, Bachelor star Clayton Eckerd was accused of fathering twins. But the pregnancy appeared to be a hoax. You doctored this particular test twice in so-ins, correct?

I doctored the test ones. It took an army of internet detectives to uncover a disturbing pattern. Two more men who'd been through the same thing. Greg Gillespie and Michael Mancini. My mind was blown. I'm Stephanie Young. This is Love Trapped. Laura, Scottsdale Police. As the season continues, Laura Owens finally faces consequences.

Listen to Love Trapped podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Readers, Katie's finalists, publicists. We have an incredible new episode this week for you guys. We have our girl Hillary Duff in here, and we can't wait for you to hear this episode. They put on Lizzie McGuire 2 a.m. Video on Demand. This guy's booboo-a-m. too a year, whatever time it is, Lizzie McGuire. And I'm like, the wild batch you were with.

It was like a first, like, closet moment from me where I was like, I don't feel like she's hot, like the rest of that. No, no, no. I was like, she's beautiful. But I'm appreciating her in a different way than these boys are. I'm not like, ugh. But listen to Los Coleristas on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or whatever you get your podcast.