The third of four bothers, Aaron Neville - whose voice at times seems to on loan from a higher power - was born January 24, 1941, and grew up in a close knit family on Valence Street in Uptown New Orleans before moving to the newly constructed Calliope Projects. Neville's father, Arthur, worked in the merchant marine and drove a cab; his mother, Amelia, took care of rearing the children.

"My mother was the sweetest and most understanding woman I ever knew," said Neville. "She read us Peter Rabbit. I've always felt I got my strength from my father, my compassion from my mother."

As a youth, Neville was a fan of radio serials, especially those with a Western theme. When he had some change in his pocket, he'd go to the Carver or the nearby Gallo Theater to watch Roy Rogers, Lone Ranger, Hop Along Cassidy and Gene Autry films. Inspired by what he say at the movies, Neville organized games of Cowboys and Indians in the Calliope's courtyard. He referred to himself as "Apache Red" and terrorized his playmates on a stick horse he made from his mother's floor mop.