The group dates back to 1976, when the four brothers of the Neville family, Art (b. 1937), Charles (b. 1938), Aaron (b. 1941), and Cyril (b. 1948) got together to take part in the recording session of The Wild Tchoupitoulas, a Mardi Gras Indian group led by their uncle Big Chief Jolly. This experience lead them to form the group the following year. Their debut album was released from Capitol Records in 1978. In 1988, the group released Uptown from EMI featuring guests including Branford Marsalis, Keith Richards and Carlos Santana.