Tell It Like It Is: My Story

NAMED A BEST BOOK OF 2023 BY BEST CLASSIC BANDS For the first time, legendary singer and songwriter and Grammy Hall-of-Famer Aaron Neville tells his personal story of overcoming poverty, racism, addiction, and loss through faith, family, and music. Aaron Neville's first #1 hit, Tell It Like it Is, was released in 1966. In the mid-70s he formed the Neville Brothers with Art, Charles, and Cyril--now known as the First Family of New Orleans--and they released more than a dozen influential albums. Given his one-of-a-kind, soaring falsetto, Aaron was the breakout star, and over the next six decades, he had four platinum albums, three #1 songs, numerous film and television appearances, and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2014. His triple-platinum duets with Linda Ronstadt (including the Grammy-Award-winning hit I Don't Know Much) showcased the softer side of his voice, and the smoking hot funky soul of the Neville Brothers cemented his legacy as an R&B legend. But few people know the challenging and circuitous road Aaron took to fame. Born in a housing project in New Orleans of Black and Native American heritage, Aaron struggled as a teenage father working to raise a family while building his career as a musician, surviving a stint in jail for car theft and many years battling heroin addiction. ​Recognized by the dagger tattoo on his cheek and his St. Jude medallion earring, Neville credits St. Jude--the patron saint of lost cases--for turning his life around. He found healing and salvation in music. Aaron Neville is a man who by all accounts should not have made it. Tell It Like It Is shares his story for the first time.