Tag: R.I.P.

We here at Austin City Limits pay our respects to country singer Joe Sun, who passed away of natural causes Oct. 25 at his home in Florida. He was 76. 

After a stint in the Air Force and as a radio DJ, the Minnesota native went to Nashville in the seventies in hopes of becoming a country singer, scoring a hit in 1978 with “Old Flames Can’t Hold a Candle to You.” Over the next few years Sun earned seven more top 40 country hits, before turning his attention to Europe. He also recorded ads for Budweiser and Timberline Boots, and appeared in the 1985 film Marie with Sissy Spacek, Jeff Daniels and Morgan Freeman. His rich, bluesy voice and rootsy honkytonk sound will be missed. 

Sun appeared on ACL in Season 5, 1980, paired with Carl Perkins. Here he is with his biggest hit, “Old Flames Can’t Hold a Candle to You.” 

We here at Austin City Limits are saddened by the passing of Little Feat singer, songwriter and guitarist Paul Barrere on Oct. 26. He was 71. No cause of death has been announced, but Barrere was undergoing treatment for liver cancer. 

The Burbank native joined Little Feat in 1972, just in time to record the band’s classic LP Dixie Chicken. Besides serving as an alternate singer and skilled guitar foil to bandleader Lowell George, Barrere wrote or co-wrote several Feat classics in its repertoire, including “Time Loves a Hero,” “Feats Don’t Fail Me Now,” “Old Folks Boogie,” “Down on the Farm,” “Skin It Back” and “All That You Dream.” When the band reconvened in 1988 following George’s death, Barrere assumed the frontman position, leading the Feat through a further nine albums, including the gold-selling Let It Roll and its most recent LP Rooster Rag. Barrere also played live and in the studio with Taj Mahal, Jack Bruce, Carly Simon, Chico Hamilton and Nicolette Larson, among others. In between the two eras of Little Feat, he recorded two solo albums and led the band the Bluesbusters. He will be missed by bandmates and fans alike. 

Little Feat performed on Austin City Limits in 1991. Here they are with the Barrere-led “Old Folks Boogie.”

Austin City Limits was saddened to learn of the death of ACL Hall of Famer Art Neville, keyboardist, songwriter, singer and co-founder of funk/soul legends the mighty, mighty Neville Brothers and the Meters, and an ambassador for New Orleans music worldwide, on July 22. He was 81. 

The eldest Neville Brother, Art was born in 1937 in the Big Easy. Though he claimed that the brothers had no radio or records growing up, Art still discovered music, falling under the spell of both the 1950s doo-wop groups like the Orioles and the Drifters and the New Orleans piano greats Professor Longhair and Fats Domino – obvious influences on both his instrument of choice and the R&B harmonies of his brothers’ band. He scored a regional hit early on with the Hawketts, recording “Mardi Gras Mambo” when he was only 16. The song is still a staple of New Orleans Fat Tuesday celebrations. 

Following a stint in the Navy, Art formed Art Neville & the Neville Sounds, becoming the house band for Allen Toussaint’s many productions and eventually evolving into the beloved funk outfit the Meters. With the Meters, Art contributed the classics “Hey Pocky Way” and “Cissy Strut” to the musical lexicon, recorded acclaimed instrumental albums like Rejuvenation (named one of Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time) and backed artists like the late Dr. John (“Right Place, Wrong Time”), LaBelle (“Lady Marmalade”) and Robert Palmer (Sneakin’ Sally Through the Alley). 

Following the expiration of a contractual obligation that prevented them from working together, Art joined forces with his younger brothers Cyril, Aaron and Charles, backing their uncle, Mardi Gras Indian Big Chief George “Jolly” Landry on the landmark 1976 Wild Tchoupitoulas album, and released their self-titled debut as the Neville Brothers in 1978. The siblings recorded frequently and toured relentlessly for over thirty years, issuing classic albums like Fiyo On the Bayou, Yellow Moon and Valence Street and iconic songs “Sitting in Limbo,” “Brother John,” “Yellow Moon,” “Congo Square” and, of course, the immortal N’awlins anthem “Iko Iko.” Art also resurrected the Meters as the Funky Meters, continuing to perform with both groups as his health allowed until he retired from the stage in 2018.  

Called “the captain of the ship” by New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival director Quint Davis, Art Neville made three iconic appearances on ACL with the Neville Brothers, the first Big Easy band to grace the ACL stage: in Season 4 (1979), Season 11 (1986) and Season 20 (1995).  We were proud to honor them with an induction into the ACL Hall of Fame in 2017, featuring tributes from some of New Orleans finest including Trombone Shorty and the late Dr. John.  Here is Art singing the first number in the band’s 1979 ACL debut: the Neville Brothers classic “Sitting in Limbo.” 

Austin City Limits was saddened to learn of the July 12 passing of Amazing Rhythm Aces singer Russell Smith of cancer. He was 70. The group appeared on Austin City Limits in our second season in 1977. 

Born in Nashville, the Tennessean started his music career in the state’s other Music City, Memphis and co-founded the eclectic roots rockers Amazing Rhythm Aces in 1972. The band scored two hits from their 1975 debut Stacked Deck: the top 20 pop hit “Third Rate Romance” and the top 10 country hit “Amazing Grace (Used to Be Her Favorite Song).” The Aces won a Grammy in 1976 for ‘The End is Not in Sight,” which took home the award for Best Country Vocal Performance By a Group. The band dissolved in 1980. 

Smith then moved into country music, writing songs for a wide variety of artists. He penned number 1 country hits for Randy Travis (“Look Heart, No Hands”), T. Graham Brown (“Don’t Go to Strangers”), Ricky Van Shelton (“Keep It Between the Lines”) and Don Williams (“Heartbeat in the Darkness”), as well as placing cuts with Tanya Tucker, Rosanne Cash, Kenny Rogers, the Oak Ridge Boys and many others. Smith even scored a hit of his own with 1989’s “I Wonder What She’s Doing Tonight.” 

Following two albums in the 1990s with the bluegrass novelty band Run C&W (which also included the Eagles’ Bernie Leadon), Smith rejoined the reformed Aces in 1994. The band continued to record and perform up to the present day. He will be missed by the Aces’ loyal fan base. 

Here he is from the Aces’ ACL episode, performing “Third Rate Romance”: