TheMeters

The Meters formed in New Orleans in 1965, coalescing around keyboardist Art Neville, guitarist Leo Nocentelli, bassist George Porter Jr., and drummer Joseph 'Zigaboo' Modeliste. As the house band for Allen Toussaint and Marshall Sehorn's productions, they played on dozens of the era's most important New Orleans recordings before recording under their own name.

Their debut single 'Sophisticated Cissy' and its follow-up 'Cissy Strut' (both 1969) established the template for what would become known as New Orleans funk — a spare, syncopated approach built on the interlocking rhythms of Modeliste's drums and Porter's bass, with Neville's organ and Nocentelli's guitar weaving around them.

Through the early 1970s the band developed their sound with a series of landmark albums on Josie Records, before moving to Reprise and recording with Dr. John and the Rolling Stones' touring production. 'Look-Ka Py Py,' 'Hand Clapping Song,' and 'Hey Pocky A-Way' became standards in the New Orleans canon.

The original Meters broke up in 1977, but various reunions and configurations have continued to perform. Their influence is foundational: on hip-hop (their records are among the most sampled in history), on jam bands, and on the entire lineage of New Orleans funk that runs through the Neville Brothers, Galactic, and countless contemporary artists.