1. Leo Nocentelli was born on June 15,1946 and is an American musician and songwriter best known as a founding member and lead guitarist of the funk band the Meters.
24 Facts About Leo Nocentelli
1. 2.
Leo Nocentelli wrote the original versions of several funk classics such as "Cissy Strut" and "Hey Pocky A-Way".
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Leo Nocentelli is the recipient of a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award as a member of the Meters.
4.
Leo Nocentelli was encouraged by his father to pursue music.
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Leo Nocentelli played ukulele at an early age and started on guitar at age twelve.
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Leo Nocentelli gravitated to jazz and was influenced by jazz guitarists Charlie Christian, Barney Kessel, Johnny Smith and Kenny Burrell.
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Leo Nocentelli played jazz, Dixieland, rhythm and blues, and rock.
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Leo Nocentelli joined the Hawketts and developed a reputation as a guitarist.
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Leo Nocentelli said his bandmates were his biggest influence and called his experience up to this point in time the learning phase of his career.
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Leo Nocentelli wrote the original versions of funk songs such as "People Say" and "Hey Pocky A-Way".
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Leo Nocentelli backed a variety of artists such as Dr John, Robert Palmer, Albert King, Etta James, Joe Cocker, Earl King, Chris Kenner, and Betty Harris.
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In 1971, Leo Nocentelli recorded a solo debut album titled Another Side.
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Leo Nocentelli wrote the album during a brief span when the Meters were split up.
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Leo Nocentelli sidelined the project because the Meters signed a record deal with Warner Records in 1972.
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Leo Nocentelli remained close with Modeliste, who had moved to the San Francisco Bay Area.
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Leo Nocentelli briefly moved back to New Orleans in the early 1990s and returned to Los Angeles in 1992.
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Leo Nocentelli continued to perform with two Meters-inspired lineups: The Meter Men and the Meters Experience.
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Early on, Leo Nocentelli used a Gibson ES-175 hollow body guitar.
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Leo Nocentelli switched to a semi-hollow Fender Starcaster in mid-1970s.
20.
Leo Nocentelli has performed in several reunions with the original Meters lineup.
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Leo Nocentelli moved to New Orleans in 2015 and continues to perform.
22.
Leo Nocentelli received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018 as a member of the Meters.
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Leo Nocentelli was drawn to jazz, but to survive professionally he had to become proficient in multiple genres.
24.
Leo Nocentelli said in funk as well as in rhythm guitar you have to complement and react to what you hear, and said that is not a teachable skill.