It’s Tuesday and this week’s theme focuses on the Isley Brothers and their contribution to music.
Via the Wiki…
Early formation and career: 1954-1959
Brothers O’Kelly “Kelly” Isley , Rudolph “Rudy” Isley , Ronald “Ronnie” Isley and Vernon Isley grew up in the predominantly black section of Lincoln Heights, Cincinnati, Ohio and were raised by Christian-reared parents O’Kelly Isley, Sr. and Sallye Bernice Bell. Sallye would later tell interviews how her husband, a gospel singer, wanted to have sons to become “the next Mills Brothers”. As soon as all four boys were able to walk and talk, they were immediately trained by their parents to sing songs together as a group. From the beginning, Ronald Isley, considered to have the best voice, was positioned as the group’s lead singer and front man (Vernon shared co-lead duties with him while O’Kelly and Rudy had some sporadic leads). As a child he entered talent contests winning most of them and even opened for several musicians includingMahalia Jackson and Dinah Washington.
In 1954, the Isley Brothers were officially formed and the quartet toured the gospel circuit. Their success was short-lived, however, when in 1955, 13-year-old Vernon Isley was suddenly struck by a car while riding on his bicycle and was killed instantly. Devastated, the boys withdrew from singing. Eventually encouraged by their parents, the three eldest Isleys returned to music but were now being buoyed by the potential secular market of doo-wop. With their parents’ blessings, in 1956, the brothers left for New York where they auditioned for, and eventually, landed their first recording deal. In 1957, the group released their first single, “The Cow Jumped Over the Moon”, which had a strong sound similar to that of The Teenagers. The record flopped. Two years later, the group faced tragedy again when their father died after a struggle with cancer. Moving on, the group built a local fan base due to their energetic live performances. James Brown once described the Isleys entering the stage flying through ramps “like Tarzan” and this was before they began performing.
While opening for Jackie Wilson, the group did a cover of Wilson’s “Lonely Teardrops”, which got a notice from a scout who was working for RCA Records. He brought the group to RCA’s main headquarters and the group was immediately offered a contract. While their first single with the label failed to make an impact, their second single, “Shout”, a song the three brothers had composed almost spontaneously, found chart traction eventually peaking just above the top fifty on the Billboard Hot 100.
Early success: 1960-1972
In 1960, the group released the original version of the song, “Respectable”, a doo-wop ballad they had also had a hand in writing. While their version failed to chart, another group, the Outsiders, had success with it, as did The Yardbirds several years later. By 1961, “Shout” had been covered successfully by the likes of singers such as Joey Dee and the Starlighters and Lulu, it was also covered as a live version by an earlier incarnation of The Beatles during their developing careers. Because of this success, the song became a million-seller and prompted RCA to re-release the Isley Brothers’ original in 1962. The group even made live appearances on local rock and roll-based television shows to promote the song. However, the song failed to reignite for the group and they soon left RCA.
In 1962, they signed with the Scepter subsidiary, Wand Records, and that year, scored their first top 40 hit with “Twist & Shout”. Much like “Shout” and “Respectable” before, the Isleys’ R&B; version of “Twist & Shout” would be covered successfully, this time by the Beatles. Their version reached number two on the Hot 100 in 1964. Much like their earlier success, the group struggled with a follow-up and left Wand Records for United Artists Records in 1964. That would also turn out to be short-lived and feeling they had nothing to lose, the group, who was now living in Teaneck, New Jersey, living off their early successes, formed their own label, T-Neck Records, becoming the first recording group to do so and just one of only a few black recording acts (Sam Cooke, Ray Charles, and later Curtis Mayfield) to do so.
In 1964, the group hired a young guitarist who had been in several rhythm and blues groups as a backing guitarist. His name was Jimi Hendrix but was then going by his nickname at the time, Jimmy James. Hendrix, who was homeless when O’Kelly Isley saw him while at a store, was brought in to the Isleys’ family home and soon Hendrix was included in recordings the group was doing for T-Neck. Two of which, “Testify” and “Move Over and Let Me Dance”, was released locally. By 1966, Hendrix had left the group to tour with Little Richard and the group signed with Motown Records after accepting a deal from Berry Gordy, who had promised to bring the group crossover success. That year, they had their first hit in four years with the pop-friendly “This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You)”, which peaked at number eleven on the Hot 100.
