Growing up in the Calliope Housing Project in New Orleans, Aaron Neville seemed torn between two very different worlds. There were the tough years spent growing up in the talented Neville family, gifted but unknown, scraping by in the Southern Louisiana of the 40's and 50's.

The when limited recognition eventually came to a young Aaron Neville through the hit single "Tell It Like It Is," the notoriety was short-lived, and none of the money seemed to find its way back to the singer. He was still scraping to get by and provide for his family as a freight handler, longshoreman, ditch digger, or steel mill worker - whatever it took to pay the bills. But he never quit singing. In fact, he couldn't quit singing. You might say Aaron Neville's distinctive, floating, iconic voice was already the stuff of legend - -even when he was just singing in out-of-the-way venues on his off nights, or wandering the streets harmonizing with his three brothers. Now as a four-time Grammy winner with 25+ million albums sold, numerous #1 hits, unending critical accolades, material success, and millions of devoted fans around the world, Aaron Neville seems light years from where he began. And yet, in some ways, he hasn't traveled all that far. His new EMI Gospel debut, Devotion, comes as an evocative, stirring collection of spirituals, hymns, and original songs of testimony and thanksgiving that lay bare the deeper sources of peace and yearning evident in all of Aaron's music, even from the earliest days. Co-produced by Aaron and longtime collaborator Steve Lindsey (Neville Brothers, Peter Gabriel, Leonard Cohen), and with special guest appearances by stellar CCM artists like Avalon and Rachel Lampa, Devotion reaches far and wide to paint a backdrop for Aaron's entire life. "Making a Gospel record isn't a return to my roots, because I never left my roots," Aaron says in a soft, New Orleans drawl. "I just finally got a chance to do what I've always wanted. Even when my brothers and I signed our first deal with A&M we talked to them about doing a gospel record, but the record company just wasn't ready for it." For Aaron Neville, the motivation to sing Gospel isn't simply a love for a particular kind of musical expression (though that love is tangibly real and present throughout the record) rather, it's the desire to express and celebrate a lifelong faith in God - -a faith that Aaron describes as the foundation of, and stabilizing factor in, a long and sometimes difficult life's journey.

"Jesus Loves Me is really the center of the record," Aaron explains. "It takes me back to the innocence of my childhood when I was just a little kid rocking on my grandmother's lap, singing along to the spirituals on the radio. Even that far back there was a deep connection that went beyond the music." Raised by a Methodist father and a Catholic mother, Aaron attended both churches and felt at home in either. Belief in God and His sustaining power was something that was ingrained and lived out. In fact, when Aaron began to choose songs for this Gospel project, he was immediately drawn towards many of the songs that had touched his own soul during difficult seasons. "On The Banks Of The River Jordan", for instance, which Aaron delivers here with emotive but understated ease, became a healing agent during the months of grief after his mother's death. Another musical balm, the worship-directed "Morning Has Broken", kept hope alive in Aaron's heart as he wandered the streets at a low point in his life, singing the words to himself with every step. "People come up to me sometimes and say, 'I wish I could tell you what your voice does for me when you sing that song...'," Aaron says. "I answer 'I wish I could tell you what it means to be able to sing it!' At times in my life my voice has been medicine to me, it's been the thing that has made me believe. When I didn't have anything left but my voice, I still felt rich." You don't have to talk long with Aaron Neville to realize that he sees and experiences his voice as something a bit foreign to himself, as something deposited in him, as a divine gift. He recognizes himself as both a steward, and a beneficiary of that gift. "I don't know for what reason God put in me the voice that he did," Aaron muses. "All I know is that I'm glad he did because it's brought me through some rough waters. I've questioned why, but I don't have an answer." The recognition of God's provision in a turbulent world served as Aaron's inspiration to include a graceful remake of "Bridge Over Troubled Water" on his new project. Coupled with the personal testimony expressed in the spoken poetry of "Jesus Is A Friend Of Mine," "Bridge Over Troubled Water" provides a compelling insight into Aaron's faith experience.

"'Jesus Is A Friend Of Mine' is a song I lived," Aaron says. "It's my life put to words. Maybe not everybody who just knows my name knows my story, but anyone who knows me at all won't be surprised about how straightforward this record is about what I believe. I couldn't have made it through my life if Jesus hadn't been there with me. I've been through some things and had my share of problems, but Jesus was the one I always leaned on." Another of the originals included on Devotion is the swooning ballad "What Would Jesus Do?" "I had been wearing one of those WWJD bracelets for I don't know how long," Aaron explains, "when I finally decided I should write a song about it. 'What would Jesus do?' I definitely want to encourage people to ask that question in their own lives today." While some of the project's most inspired moments - such as "Mary, Don't You Weep" - -are drawn from the roots of yesterday, others seem more of an investment in tomorrow. "Singing A Prayer To You" stands out, not only as a collaboration between Aaron and his son Ivan, who wrote it, but as a song that deftly captures the heart of every parent praying for their child. Likewise, "There Is Still A Dream" is included as an encouragement to the rising generation. Recorded as a duet with 14-year-old Rachel Lampa, the infectious pop anthem will be included as part of the World Catholic Youth Day festivities in Rome this August. "There's so much negative stuff going on in the world that it's easy for kids to feel hopeless about the future," Aaron says, "but I want them to know there's a life worth living."