The Meters are an American funk band formed in 1965 by Zigaboo Modeliste (d… Read Full Bio ↴The Meters are an American funk band formed in 1965 by Zigaboo Modeliste (drums), George Porter Jr. (bass), Leo Nocentelli (guitar), and Art Neville (keyboards) in New Orleans. The band performed and recorded their own music from the late 1960s until 1977 and played an influential role as backing musicians for other artists, including Lee Dorsey, Robert Palmer, Dr. John, and Allen Toussaint. Their original songs "Cissy Strut" and "Look-Ka Py Py" are considered funk classics.
While they rarely enjoyed significant mainstream success, they are considered originators of funk along with artists like James Brown, and their work is influential on many other bands, both their contemporaries and modern musicians. Their sound is defined by a combination of tight melodic grooves and syncopated New Orleans "second line" rhythms under highly charged guitar and keyboard riffing. The band has been nominated four times for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, most recently in 2017. In 2018 the band was presented the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
The Meters were a band that performed and recorded from the late 1960s until 1977. They were based in New Orleans. While the band never enjoyed huge popular success, it was nonetheless greatly admired by cognoscenti and is considered one of progenitors of funk in the 1970s.
The Meters formed in 1965, with a line up of keyboardist and vocalist Art Neville, guitarist Leo Nocentelli, bassist George Porter Jr. and drummer Zigaboo Modeliste, and became the house band for Sansu Enterprises, an Allen Toussaint-owned label. 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. After a label shift in 1972, the Meters had difficulty returning to the charts, though they played on many important records by Dr. John, Paul McCartney, King Biscuit Boy, Labelle and Robert Palmer. The band broke up in 1977 after Toussaint claimed the rights to the name and they played as various incarnations of the Neville Brothers and with other bands. In 1989, The Meters reformed with the new official name, The Funky Meters, after an informal jam during the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.
Original drummer Ziggy Modeliste, who started out with the group as a 17-year-old, laid down some very influential rhythms. His beats have been sampled by numerous hip hop groups including Ice Cube, Run DMC, NWA, A Tribe Called Quest, Beastie Boys, Queen Latifah, and EPMD. Modeliste relocated to Oakland, California, in the '80s where he teaches drumming, releases new music, and performs around the San Francisco Bay Area and the world with his band "Zigaboo Modeliste and The New Aahkesstra".
The Meters gained new-found notoriety in 2001, winning a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Jammys. Their music has been used in films and commercials, and in 2005 drum and guitar breaks from their 1970 version of "Oh, Calcutta!" (reinterpreted from the stage musical, and appearing on their "Look-Ka Py Py" album), were sampled by producer Rich Harrison, to provide the main loops of the hit song "1 Thing" by Amerie. A re-engineered version of "Cissy Strut" was released by Butch Cassidy Sound System in 2005
At the 2005 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival the original Meters reformed for a special performance. This went so well that the original group decided to play further dates in Las Vegas, Chicago, San Francisco and New York later in the year, including a benefit for Gulf Coast victims of Hurricane Katrina.
The Meter Men is a currently gigging band (2013) featuring a nearly complete original Meters line-up: Porter, Modeliste, and Nocentelli.
(2) The Meters defined New Orleans funk, not only on their own recordings, but also as the backing band for numerous artists, including many produced by Allen Toussaint. Where the funk of Sly Stone and James Brown was wild, careening, and determinedly urban, the Meters were down-home and earthy. Nearly all of their own recordings were instrumentals, putting the emphasis on the organic and complex rhythms. The syncopated, layered percussion intertwined with the gritty grooves of the guitar and organ, creating a distinctive sound that earned a small, devoted cult during the '70s, including musicians like Paul McCartney and Robert Palmer, both of whom used the group as a backing band for recording. Despite their reputation as an extraordinary live band, the Meters never broke into the mainstream, but their sound provided the basis for much of the funk and hip-hop of the '80s and '90s.
Throughout their career, the Meters were always led by Art Neville (keyboard, vocals), one of the leading figures of the New Orleans musical community. As a teenager in high school, he recorded the seminal "Mardi Gras Mambo" with his group, the Hawketts, for Chess Records. The exposure with the Hawketts led to solo contracts with Specialty and Instant, where he released a handful of singles that became regional hits in the early '60s. Around 1966, he formed Art Neville & the Sounds with his brothers Aaron and Charles (both vocals), guitarist Leo Nocentelli, drummer Joseph "Zigaboo" Modeliste, and bassist George Porter. The band grew out of informal jam sessions the musicians held in local New Orleans nightclubs. After spending a few months playing under the Sounds name, producer Allen Toussaint and Marshall Sehorn hired the group -- without the vocalists -- to be the house band for their label Sansu Enterprises.
As the house band for Sansu, the Meters played on records by Earl King, Lee Dorsey, Chris Kenner, and Betty Harris, as well as Toussaint himself. They also performed and recorded on their own, releasing danceable instrumental singles on Josie Records. "Sophisticated Cissy" and "Cissy Strut" became Top Ten R&B hits in the spring of 1969, followed by the number 11 hits "Look-Ka Py Py" and "Chicken Strut" a year later. The Meters stayed at Josie until 1972, and during that entire time they reached the R&B Top 50 consistently, usually placing within the Top 40. In 1972, the group moved to Reprise Records, yet they didn't sever their ties with Sansu, electing to keep Toussaint as their producer and Sehon as their manager. Ironically, the Meters didn't have nearly as many hit singles at Reprise, yet their profile remained remarkably high. If anything, the group became hipper, performing on records by Robert Palmer, Dr. John, LaBelle, King Biscuit Boy, and Paul McCartney. By the release of 1975's Fire on the Bayou, the Meters had a Top 40 hit with Rejuvenation's "Hey Pocky A-Way" (1974), and they had gained a significant following among rock audience and critics. Fire on the Bayou received significant praise, and the group opened for the Rolling Stones on the British band's 1975 and 1976 tours.
During 1975, the Meters embarked on the Wild Tchoupitoulas project with Art's uncle and cousin George and Amos Landry, two members of the Mardi Gras ceremonial black Indian tribe, the Wild Tchoupitoulas. The Meters, the Landrys, and the Neville brothers -- Aaron, Charles, Art, and Cyril -- were all involved in the recording of the album, which received enthusiastic reviews upon its release in 1976. Cyril joined the Meters after the record's release. Despite all of the acclaim for The Wild Tchoupitoulas, its adventurous tendencies indicated that the group was feeling constrained by its signature sound. Such suspicions were confirmed the following year, when they separated from Toussaint and Sehorn, claiming they needed to take control of their artistic direction. Following the split, the Meters released New Directions in 1977, but shortly after its appearance, Toussaint and Sehorn claimed the rights to the group's name. Instead of fighting, the band broke up, with Art and Cyril forming the Neville Brothers with Aaron and Charles, while the remaining trio became session musicians in New Orleans. Modeliste, in particular, became a well-known professional musician, touring with the New Barbarians in 1979 and moving to L.A. during the '80s.
The Meters reunited as a touring unit in 1990 with Russell Batiste taking over the drum duties from Modeliste. Four years later, Nocentelli left the band, allegedly because he and Art disagreed whether the band should be paid for samples hip-hop groups took from their old records; he was replaced by Brian Stoltz, who had played with the Neville Brothers. The Meters continued to tour throughout the '90s. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi
While they rarely enjoyed significant mainstream success, they are considered originators of funk along with artists like James Brown, and their work is influential on many other bands, both their contemporaries and modern musicians. Their sound is defined by a combination of tight melodic grooves and syncopated New Orleans "second line" rhythms under highly charged guitar and keyboard riffing. The band has been nominated four times for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, most recently in 2017. In 2018 the band was presented the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
The Meters were a band that performed and recorded from the late 1960s until 1977. They were based in New Orleans. While the band never enjoyed huge popular success, it was nonetheless greatly admired by cognoscenti and is considered one of progenitors of funk in the 1970s.
The Meters formed in 1965, with a line up of keyboardist and vocalist Art Neville, guitarist Leo Nocentelli, bassist George Porter Jr. and drummer Zigaboo Modeliste, and became the house band for Sansu Enterprises, an Allen Toussaint-owned label. 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. After a label shift in 1972, the Meters had difficulty returning to the charts, though they played on many important records by Dr. John, Paul McCartney, King Biscuit Boy, Labelle and Robert Palmer. The band broke up in 1977 after Toussaint claimed the rights to the name and they played as various incarnations of the Neville Brothers and with other bands. In 1989, The Meters reformed with the new official name, The Funky Meters, after an informal jam during the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.
Original drummer Ziggy Modeliste, who started out with the group as a 17-year-old, laid down some very influential rhythms. His beats have been sampled by numerous hip hop groups including Ice Cube, Run DMC, NWA, A Tribe Called Quest, Beastie Boys, Queen Latifah, and EPMD. Modeliste relocated to Oakland, California, in the '80s where he teaches drumming, releases new music, and performs around the San Francisco Bay Area and the world with his band "Zigaboo Modeliste and The New Aahkesstra".
The Meters gained new-found notoriety in 2001, winning a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Jammys. Their music has been used in films and commercials, and in 2005 drum and guitar breaks from their 1970 version of "Oh, Calcutta!" (reinterpreted from the stage musical, and appearing on their "Look-Ka Py Py" album), were sampled by producer Rich Harrison, to provide the main loops of the hit song "1 Thing" by Amerie. A re-engineered version of "Cissy Strut" was released by Butch Cassidy Sound System in 2005
At the 2005 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival the original Meters reformed for a special performance. This went so well that the original group decided to play further dates in Las Vegas, Chicago, San Francisco and New York later in the year, including a benefit for Gulf Coast victims of Hurricane Katrina.
The Meter Men is a currently gigging band (2013) featuring a nearly complete original Meters line-up: Porter, Modeliste, and Nocentelli.
(2) The Meters defined New Orleans funk, not only on their own recordings, but also as the backing band for numerous artists, including many produced by Allen Toussaint. Where the funk of Sly Stone and James Brown was wild, careening, and determinedly urban, the Meters were down-home and earthy. Nearly all of their own recordings were instrumentals, putting the emphasis on the organic and complex rhythms. The syncopated, layered percussion intertwined with the gritty grooves of the guitar and organ, creating a distinctive sound that earned a small, devoted cult during the '70s, including musicians like Paul McCartney and Robert Palmer, both of whom used the group as a backing band for recording. Despite their reputation as an extraordinary live band, the Meters never broke into the mainstream, but their sound provided the basis for much of the funk and hip-hop of the '80s and '90s.
Throughout their career, the Meters were always led by Art Neville (keyboard, vocals), one of the leading figures of the New Orleans musical community. As a teenager in high school, he recorded the seminal "Mardi Gras Mambo" with his group, the Hawketts, for Chess Records. The exposure with the Hawketts led to solo contracts with Specialty and Instant, where he released a handful of singles that became regional hits in the early '60s. Around 1966, he formed Art Neville & the Sounds with his brothers Aaron and Charles (both vocals), guitarist Leo Nocentelli, drummer Joseph "Zigaboo" Modeliste, and bassist George Porter. The band grew out of informal jam sessions the musicians held in local New Orleans nightclubs. After spending a few months playing under the Sounds name, producer Allen Toussaint and Marshall Sehorn hired the group -- without the vocalists -- to be the house band for their label Sansu Enterprises.
As the house band for Sansu, the Meters played on records by Earl King, Lee Dorsey, Chris Kenner, and Betty Harris, as well as Toussaint himself. They also performed and recorded on their own, releasing danceable instrumental singles on Josie Records. "Sophisticated Cissy" and "Cissy Strut" became Top Ten R&B hits in the spring of 1969, followed by the number 11 hits "Look-Ka Py Py" and "Chicken Strut" a year later. The Meters stayed at Josie until 1972, and during that entire time they reached the R&B Top 50 consistently, usually placing within the Top 40. In 1972, the group moved to Reprise Records, yet they didn't sever their ties with Sansu, electing to keep Toussaint as their producer and Sehon as their manager. Ironically, the Meters didn't have nearly as many hit singles at Reprise, yet their profile remained remarkably high. If anything, the group became hipper, performing on records by Robert Palmer, Dr. John, LaBelle, King Biscuit Boy, and Paul McCartney. By the release of 1975's Fire on the Bayou, the Meters had a Top 40 hit with Rejuvenation's "Hey Pocky A-Way" (1974), and they had gained a significant following among rock audience and critics. Fire on the Bayou received significant praise, and the group opened for the Rolling Stones on the British band's 1975 and 1976 tours.
During 1975, the Meters embarked on the Wild Tchoupitoulas project with Art's uncle and cousin George and Amos Landry, two members of the Mardi Gras ceremonial black Indian tribe, the Wild Tchoupitoulas. The Meters, the Landrys, and the Neville brothers -- Aaron, Charles, Art, and Cyril -- were all involved in the recording of the album, which received enthusiastic reviews upon its release in 1976. Cyril joined the Meters after the record's release. Despite all of the acclaim for The Wild Tchoupitoulas, its adventurous tendencies indicated that the group was feeling constrained by its signature sound. Such suspicions were confirmed the following year, when they separated from Toussaint and Sehorn, claiming they needed to take control of their artistic direction. Following the split, the Meters released New Directions in 1977, but shortly after its appearance, Toussaint and Sehorn claimed the rights to the group's name. Instead of fighting, the band broke up, with Art and Cyril forming the Neville Brothers with Aaron and Charles, while the remaining trio became session musicians in New Orleans. Modeliste, in particular, became a well-known professional musician, touring with the New Barbarians in 1979 and moving to L.A. during the '80s.
The Meters reunited as a touring unit in 1990 with Russell Batiste taking over the drum duties from Modeliste. Four years later, Nocentelli left the band, allegedly because he and Art disagreed whether the band should be paid for samples hip-hop groups took from their old records; he was replaced by Brian Stoltz, who had played with the Neville Brothers. The Meters continued to tour throughout the '90s. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi
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The Meters Lyrics
We have lyrics for these tracks by The Meters:
14 Dry Spell If it was for me, I thought it would come so…
9 People Say Powers of today so pretty darnn confused Giving everybody …
A Mother's Love Hang that wreath so I can Have a Happy New Year You′re…
Africa Take me back Hold my hand All the way back To the motherl…
All These Things The touch of your lips next to mine Gets me excited,…
Be My Lady wouldf you be my lady for the life time with this…
Big Chief - Previously Unreleased Me got fire and cant put it out now Chief moe…
Birds Lover, there will be another one OOh lover, over you, beneat…
Chicken Strut (just keep on strutting, repeated... *brak-bra-ackkk* the ch…
Come Together Here come old flat top He come groovin' up slowly He got…
Darling Darling Darling oh darlin darlin darlin, dont you know i love you... i…
Disco Is The Thing Today Disco is the thing today Yes it is Yes it is Disco is…
Do The Dirt Listen people, come on listen good We're gonna dance, gossa …
Doodle-Oop how much time does a man need before his dreams…
Dry Spell If it was for me, I thought it would come so…
Find Yourself All you've gotta do is find yourself You lose all the…
Fire on the Bayou Fire on the bayou Fire on the bayou Fire on the bayou Fir…
Funkify Your Life Funkify Your Life get on down you can be the funkiest…
Gettin' Funkier All the Time gettin' funky gettin' funky all the time funky music is so v…
Go for Yourself Yeah we're the bad boys, cowboys Throw 'em back right boys K…
Good Old Funky Maniac One, two- one, two, three, four! Hey bro, what kinda music…
Hand Clapping Song Clap your hands now; people clap now. Clap your hands now;…
He Bite Me This is the story about the knight and the dragon. The…
Here Comes the Meter Man Streets are invaded by thousands of killers Total damnation'…
Hey Pock A-Way Live a boy with a heart of steel He can't move…
Hey Pocky A-Way Live a boy with a heart of steel He can't move…
Hey Pocky A-Way (Remastered Album Version) Little bitty boy, with a heart of steel You can't boogie…
Hey Pocky Away Live a boy with a heart of steel He can't move…
Intro И пусть опять во рту вкус крови, И раны не на…
It Ain't No Use Ain't no use, to cut you loose. I wouldn't last a…
Jungle Man I'm the jungle man that's what I am I'm the jungle man that'…
Just Kissed My Baby I feel like a king 'Cause I just kissed my baby And…
Let I've been really tryin', baby Tryin' to hold back this feel…
Live Wire Well if you're looking for trouble I'm the man to see If…
Look อกเอ๋ยหัวอกลูกจ้างอย่างเรา ชีวิตมีแต่เศร้า เป็นบ่าวคนเขามองผ…
Look-Ka Py Py 'Cause Downtown Brooklyn Is Where I Was Born = but When…
Love Is for Me Skin so soft Smile so new It's all these things I see in…
Loving You Is on My Mind loving you is on my mind loving you always on my…
Mardi Gras Mambo (Uuh!) Down in New Orleans Where the blues was born It ta…
Out In The Country got to move out into the country hop onto a merry…
People Say Powers of today so pretty darnn confused Giving everybody i…
Ride Your Pony ride your pony get on your pony and ride you got…
Soul Island soul island soul island…
Stop That Train Stop that train I′m leaving Stop that train I'm leaving Stop…
The Look of Love The look of love Is in your eyes A look your smile…
The World Is A Little Bit Under The Weather how much time does a man need before his dreams…
They All Ask'd For You Hey, Lamba Crawfish etouffee They all asked for you I went …
Tippi-Toes Badlees, The Miscellaneous The Best Damn Things In Life Ar…
Trick Bag Twelve o' clock at night, you walk out the door. You…
Wichita Lineman I am a lineman for the county And I drive…
Zony Mash people all over the land now there is a new…
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Cenica Edwards
You are absolutely right! He did sample this track, and it is FIRE all by itself!!!
chris edwards
Yessir!!!
charnero
Thank you for the GREAT selection!
Zesty Brown
Walk that bass till you reach outer space!
Joint2Joint
That's a heavy riff. With a fat groove. Can't beat that combo.
Swan Electro
I lost so many cars in GTA3 because of this cut. I'd forget about driving, or game play, and just groove till the track was done.
" Hey,What happened? My car's in flames, the cops are after me with 5 stars, and there's an un-explained wet-spot on my slacks... and I feel great!"
7 Screaming Dizbusters
needs more views man...this is really fucking cool!!
Diego Morera
Epic riffs on this track
Kevin Douglas
True innovators! Yet someone takes the time to say these guys are ugly dudes? C'mon man!
David Paul Jones Jr
This band was pre-MTV. In those days, how you played was what mattered.