Mink DeVille was a house band at CBGB, the historic New York City nightclub where punk rock was born in the mid-1970s. DeVille helped redefine the Brill Building sound. In 1987 his song "Storybook Love" was nominated for an Academy Award. After his \n', 'move to New Orleans in 1988, he helped spark the roots revival of classic New Orleans R&B. His soulful lyrics and explorations in Latin rhythms and sounds helped define a new musical style sometimes called "Spanish-Americana".\n', '

DeVille died of pancreatic cancer on August 6, 2009 in a New York hospital. He was 58 years old. Although his commercial success waxed and waned over the years, his legacy as a songwriter has influenced many other musicians such as Mark Knopfler and Peter Wolf.\n', '

Willy DeVille was born in Stamford, Connecticut. The son of a carpenter, he grew up in the working-class Belltown district of Stamford. His maternal grandmother was a Pequot, and he was also of Basque and Irish descent. As he put it, "A little of this and a little of that; a real street dog." DeVille said about Stamford, "It was post-industrial. Everybody worked in factories, you know. Not me. I wouldn\'t have that. People from Stamford don\'t get too far. That\'s a place where you die." DeVille said about his youthful musical tastes, "I still remember listening to groups like the Drifters. It was like magic, there was drama, and it would hypnotise me."\n', '

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