The Meters have been funk giants and pioneers, although known and appreciated mostly by genre aficionados!

They started out as New Orleans night club hawks and jam session regulars, playing initially under a name Art Neville & the Sound, that was changed to The Sounds, when they were recruited by a prolific producer/songwriter Allen Toussaint to become a house band for his label Sansu Enterprises.

They became The Meters in 1969, when they released their self-titled debut album for Josie Records featuring a classic Cissy Strut, which sold 200,000 copies, and became a major R&B hit in US!

Fast forward to 1974 and The Meters cook up one of their most renowned albums, Rejuvenation. It's a parade of southern flavoured floor smashers such as Hey Pocky-A Way, but the coolest must be seminal Africa, that was later covered by Red Hot Chili Peppers on their album Freaky Styley (1985).