On March 4, 1972, John “Scarface” Williams was stabbed in the heart with a seven-inch butcher knife during a New Orleans bar fight. He died on the spot.
Born to a sixteen-year-old mother in 1938 and adopted by a gospel singer, Williams sang all his life and was a revered fixture of the New Orleans music scene. As a member of Huey Smith and the Clowns, Williams sang lead vocals on “Rockin’ Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu,” which peaked at #52 in 1957.
Mourned by fellow New Orleans legends Dr. John, The Neville Brothers, and others, Williams’ was memorialized in song by Cyril Neville, who set his lyrics to a popular African rhythm used in songs like “Jock-a-Mo” and “Iko Iko.” Neville gave the song to his uncle, George “Big Chief Jolly” Landry, who led a Mardi Gras Indian group called The Wild Tchoupitoulas.
Cyril and his brothers Art, Charles, and Aaron joined their uncle’s group in the studio, and the result was their 1976 recording of “Brother John.”
Although all of the Nevilles had been recording and performing for some time, “Brother John” was the first time they’d come together in the studio. Pleased with both the process and the result, the brothers decided to band together and formed The Neville Brothers. They released their first album two years later and kicked off a long run of more than three decades together.
The Nevilles released their second album, Fiyo on the Bayou in April 1981, with “Sitting in Limbo” serving as the lead single. It was the B-side that caught on, however: The Nevilles’ own recording of “Brother John” mashed up with “Iko Iko.”
Just two months after the release of that new version of “Brother John,” Bruce Springsteen joined Jackson Browne, Graham Nash, Stephen Stills, Bonnie Raitt, Gary U.S. Bonds, and other notable artists at an anti-nuclear benefit concert called “Survival Sunday.”
When it came time to close the show, the artists all assembled on stage for one final number: a joyful, celebratory cover of The Neville Brothers’ “Brother John.” To date, it’s the only time Bruce has ever performed it.
Brother John
First performed: June 14, 1981 (Los Angeles, CA)
Last performed: June 14, 1981 (Los Angeles, CA)
