The Meters formed in 1965, with a line-up that included keyboardist and vocalist Art Neville, guitarist Leo Nocentelli, bassist George Porter Jr. and drummer Joseph "Zigaboo" Modeliste later joined by percussionist/vocalist Cyril Neville. They became the house band for Allen Toussaint and his record label, Sansu Enterprises. In 1969, the Meters released Sophisticated Cissy and Cissy Strut, both major R&B chart hits. Look-Ka Py Py and Chicken Strut were also hits the following year. The following albums were recorded by The Meters; The Meters (1969), Look-Ka Py Py (1970), Struttin' (1970), Cabbage Alley (1972), Rejuvenation (1974), Fire On The Bayou (1975), Trick Bag (1976), and New Directions (1977).
Leo Nocentelli was born in New Orleans, LA and is one of the founding members of The Meters. He has been credited for popular funk songs such as "Cissy Strut", "People Say" and "Hey Pocky Way". Leo’s guitar sampling can be heard on many recordings by Dr. John, Leo Dorsey,Allen Toussaint, The Wild Tchoupitoulas, Professor Longhair, Patti Labelle, just to name a few. Leo talks with Howard Burchette about his career, the Meters, New Orleans, The Mardi Gras Indians and what he doing today.
SEGMENT #1- Leo talks about the Meters albums and singers.SEGMENT #2 - In my discussion with Leo, he talks about Dr. John, Labelle (Patti Labelle, Sarah Dash and Nona Hendrix) and his new solo CD.
SEGMENT #3 - In our discussion Leo talks about Black New Orleans and the Mardi Gras Inidians.
The official WEB site for Leo Norcentelli
