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Carlo was a band mate of Susan's for many years with the Continental Drifters.
Russ Broussard posted this tribute to him:
Carlo Nuccio. That's what's on my mind, heart . . . everything. My heart breaks for us all. Additionally for the too-many-to-name friends and family who's lives were rightly interwoven with him. I am so grateful I was able to hang some more with him last week, and see him again the last couple nights. He will be missed by soooo many. But man . . . Congratulations Carlo for dismounting in style; 12(+/-?) years sobriety, 4 years marriage to Carmen - a match made in heaven, first time home owner, getting their house Just Right, and to putting on one of the best festivals I've ever been to; Carlo Fest, July 4, 2022. So proud of you brother. I doubt you'll have to flap your wings once as you are lifted by all of our love. Man . . . You were like a tree. No ordinary tree, but one of those giant Oaks. And we all know how empty an area looks and feels after one of those grandfather oaks is no longer there. Yeah . . . his Larger than life energy isn't going anywhere for a longtime. That body gave out, but man . . . Glide On while we reel and soak you up for years to come, my brother.
Vicki Peterson Cowsill wrote:
It's been a day, and those of us who knew Carlo Nuccio are still trying to imagine a world without him. One of the best drummers and musicians, yes, but also a monster singer and song maker, he played with pretty much everyone in New Orleans, adding his distinctive groove and at-the-very-last-second snare hits. He was an original - - maybe THEE original - - Continental Drifter, and the first time i heard his songs, i was amazed that they weren't lost classics newly discovered. He lived a life full of noise and risk, cheating death more than once, coming out the other end with joy and clarity. And now he's gone. Still hard to imagine.
nola.com writes:
Carlo Nuccio, larger-than-life New Orleans drummer and character, dies at 61
He co-founded the Continental Drifters, played on albums by Tori Amos, Dr. John, Emmylou Harris
Carlo Nuccio, the celebrated New Orleans drummer, singer and songwriter whose musicianship was as large, complex and all-consuming as his personality, died Wednesday at his home of complications related to liver cancer. He was 61.
One of New Orleans nightlife's great characters, Nuccio helped create the 1983 recording that popularized the phrase "Who Dat."
He co-founded Americana ensemble the Continental Drifters and powered Anders Osborne's, John Mooney's and Alex McMurray's bands, Royal Fingerbowl, Paul Sanchez's Rolling Roadshow, Benny Grunch & the Bunch, Lulu & the Broadsides and dozens of other acts.
As a drummer for hire, he performed on pop singer Tori Amos' 1992 debut album, "Little Earthquakes," and 1994's "Under the Pink," which sold more than 2 million copies.
He contributed to Emmylou Harris' Grammy-winning 2000 album "Red Dirt Girl," Buckwheat Zydeco's "Five Card Stud" and albums by Nashville songwriter Pat McLaughlin. He appears on Dr. John's final studio album, "Things Happen That Way," scheduled for release Sept. 23.
"The first time I heard his songs, I was amazed that they weren't lost classics newly discovered," Vicki Peterson, his Continental Drifters bandmate and a member of the Bangles, wrote on Facebook.
"He lived a life full of noise and risk, cheating death more than once, coming out the other end with joy and clarity. And now he's gone. Still hard to imagine."
Finding the 'Who Dat' beat
Born in New Orleans, Nuccio spent the early years of his career on Bourbon Street and working the sound at Jimmy's Music Club.
A diehard Saints fan, he and his buddy Steve Monistere mashed up "When the Saints Go Marching In" with the refrain, "Who dat say dey gonna beat dem Saints?" They recruited Aaron Neville and several Saints players to sing it and, with Nuccio on drums and co-producing, a Saints anthem was born.
"The best records I've ever played on, the ones that win awards, it seems like you walk in and get busy, get excited about it and while the excitement's there you (record) it," Nuccio once said. "When it comes out, I think that really comes across."
He lived in Los Angeles in the early 1990s. The original roster of the Continental Drifters coalesced around Nuccio and a Tuesday night residency at the bar Raji's. With multiple singers and songwriters, the Drifters took inspiration from The Band and other rootsy rock acts, in contrast to L.A.'s glitzy hair metal scene.
By the mid-'90s, Nuccio had returned to New Orleans, followed by most of the Drifters. He left the band after its self-titled debut album, but would participate in reunions years later.
For the next two-plus decades, he was a fixture of local bandstands and bars. Behind the drums, he combined fluidity, power and feel in such a way that it felt like it could all fall apart at any moment, but never did.
He credited his unique perspective on percussion to his extensive training on other instruments and to his songwriting, which he showcased with the Drifters and on his 1998 solo album "Loose Strings."
"Personally, I don't think I have a single thing in common with other drummers," Nuccio said in 2008. "What most drummers are missing is a song sensibility. It's like they're up there just to boom, whack and beat their stuff. They're not thinking about the lyrics or dimension of the song - bringing it up, bringing it down, staying off the lyrics. Most guys just seem to clobber right through.
"When you're just clobbering everything, that's work. But if you're just listening to everybody else in the band, listening to the lyrics and you're not thinking about what you're doing, then it's easy."
He was the proverbial larger-than-life figure, especially during a long stretch of alcohol and drug abuse. One acquaintance likened a young Nuccio to John Belushi crossed with Meatloaf's "Eddie" character in "The Rocky Horror Picture Show."
His ability to keep the beat regardless of whatever else was going on was legendary.
"He made me laugh on and off stage," the Dream Syndicate's Steve Wynn, who played with Nuccio at Raji's, wrote this week on Facebook. "His drumming was definitely an extension of his personality - outsized, comical, often unexpected, swinging behind and under and over and around the beat to bend reality to where he saw fit."
Nuccio got clean and sober more than a decade ago. He helped inspire and guide other musicians and friends on their own journeys to sobriety.
"He became a living example of the possibilities on the other side of it," said accordionist and keyboardist Glenn Hartman, a close friend. "The list of people he helped . . . I was on it."
Nuccio got married for the first time in his mid-50s, after meeting the love of his life, Carmen Peruyero Gomez, a Spanish teacher.
His health deteriorated rapidly in recent months. He couldn't qualify for the liver transplant he needed because of cancer and other health issues.
Knowing his time was short, he threw himself a July 4 farewell party. Bandmates from throughout his career performed in his backyard.
His final gig was Aug. 20, when he backed Hartman, Alex McMurray and Joe Cabral at BJ's Lounge in Bywater.
He was hospitalized the next day and died Aug. 24 at home as Peruyero Gomez serenaded him.
In addition to his wife, survivors include three sisters, Lena, Deanna and Deborah; and two brothers, Jerry and Frank.
Funeral arrangements are incomplete.
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