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Ronald Isley and 'The Isley Brothers' have spanned several musical decades and remain as potent a musical force today as the original Isley line-up was back in 1959!
Gospel music formed the backbone to the initial three-man Isley group...pictured here in the days when their debut hit SHOUT was echoing around the world for the first time. EMI also publishes the songs with which The Isleys found success during their brief stint at Motown in the mid-60's (including the Holland/Dozier/Holland/Moy composition THIS OLD HEART OF MINE) but we particularly want to draw your attention here to the funk-filled hits which the Isleys wrote themselves such as the hypnotic THAT LADY - their major million-selling 1973 single, although it was a remake of a song they'd created almost a decade earlier under the longer title, WHO'S THAT LADY.
Another highspot is the insistent IT'S YOUR THING which marked the first chart success on the Isley's own T-Neck label back in 1969; the song lost none of its powerful punch when Salt-N-Pepa set the world alight in 1988 by reworking it under the title SHAKE YOUR THANG. And then there's TAKE ME TO THE NEXT PHASE (the Isleys' 1978 R&B chart-topper), the lyric of which tips its hat to Sly Stone when it delivers the "Thank You for letting me do it all again" line. Our Isley Brothers copyrights cover the early songs of Ronald, Rudolph and the late O'Kelly Isley through to the days when the group expanded to include younger brothers Ernie and Marvin along with brother-in-law Chris Jasper. The musical styles and instrumentation changed dramatically but the standard of songwriting never fluctuated and a dip into any part of The Isley Brothers catalog is always rewarding.
We publish many of the Isley Brothers' greatest songs of which the following is just a selection. Please note that this only includes songs written by the Isleys and not their Motown hits such as the Holland/Dozier/Holland composition THIS OLD HEART OF MINE.
AIN'T I BEEN GOOD TO YOU
by The Isley Brothers (T-Neck: 1974)
Sampled in RECIPE OF A HOE by Boss (DJ West: 1993) US #73 R&B
(AT YOUR BEST) YOU ARE LOVE
by The Isley Brothers (T-Neck: 1976)
by Aaliyah (Blackground: 1994) US #2 R&B, #6 Pop
BALLAD OF THE FALLEN SOLDIER
by The Isley Brothers (T-Neck: 1983)
Sampled in A WEEK AGO by Jay-Z (Roc-A-Fella: 1998)
BETWEEN THE SHEETS
by The Isley Brothers (T-Neck: 1983) US #3 R&B
by Fourplay with Chaka Khan (Warner Bros: 1993) US #72 R&B
Sampled in FUNKDAFIED by Da Brat (So So Def: 1994) US #2 R&B
Sampled in THE MOST BEAUTIFULLEST THING IN THE WORLD by Keith Murray
(Jive: 1994) US #19 R&B
Sampled in NIKA by Vicious (Epic: 1995) US #39 R&B
Sampled in BIG POPPA by The Notorious B.I.G.
(Bad Boy: 1995) US #4 R&B, #6 Pop
Sampled in BONITA APPLEBUM by A Tribe Called Quest (Jive: 1990) US #50 R&B
Sampled in WHAT'S GOING ON by Canibus (Universal: 1998)
CHOOSEY LOVER
by The Isley Brothers (T-Neck: 1983) US #6 R&B
Sampled in BUDDAH LOVAZ by Bone Thugs-N-Harmony (Ruthless: 1995)
COOLIN' ME OUT
by The Isley Brothers (T-Neck: 1978)
Sampled in SMOKIN' ME OUT by Warren G Featuring Ronald Isley (Def Jam: 1997) US #20 R&B
DON'T SAY GOODNIGHT (IT'S TIME FOR LOVE) (Parts 1 & 2)
by The Isley Brothers (T-Neck: 1980) US #1 R&B, #39 Pop
FIGHT THE POWER (Part 1)
by The Isley Brothers (T-Neck: 1975) US #1 R&B, #4 Pop
by Public Enemy (Motown: 1989) US #20 R&B
FOOTSTEPS IN THE DARK
by The Isley Brothers (1977)
by Body (MCA: 1990) US #15 R&B
Sampled in IT WAS A GOOD DAY by Ice Cube (Priority: 1993) US #7 R&B
Sampled in ONE DAY YOU'LL BE MINE by Usher (LaFace: 1998) US #45 R&B
FOR THE LOVE OF YOU (Pts.1 & 2)
by The Isley Brothers (T-Neck: 1975) #10 R&B, #22 Pop
by Whitney Houston (Arista: 1987)
Sampled in FOR THE LOVE OF YOU by Doctor Dre & Ed Lover
(Relativity: 1995) US #91 R&B
Sampled in MIND BLOWIN' by Smooth (TNT/Jive: 1995) US #31 R&B
Sampled in TRYIN' 2 DO SOMETHING by Master P (No Limit: 1997)
FREEDOM
by The Isley Brothers (T-Neck: 1971) US #16 R&B, #72 Pop
GROOVE WITH YOU
by The Isley Brothers (T-Neck: 1978) US #15 R&B
Sampled in O'L SKOOL by Isaac 2 Isaac (Mercury: 1995) US #52 R&B
HARVEST FOR THE WORLD
by The Isley Brothers (T-Neck: 1976) US #9 R&B, #63 Pop
by Christians (UK Island: 1988) UK #8
by Terry Hunter (Delirious: 1997) UK #48
HERE WE GO AGAIN (Part 1)
by The Isley Brothers (T-Neck: 1980) US #11 R&B
Sampled in YES, YES Y'ALL by Will Smith (Columbia: 1997)
I TURNED YOU ON
by The Isley Brothers (T-Neck: 1969) US #6 R&B, #23 Pop
I WANNA BE WITH YOU (Part 1)
by The Isley Brothers (T-Neck: 1979) US #1 R&B
INSIDE YOU (Part 1)
by The Isley Brothers (T-Neck: 1981) US #10 R&B
IT'S YOUR THING
by The Isley Brothers (T-Neck: 1969) US #1 R&B, #2 Pop
by Senor Soul (Whiz: 1969) US #39 R&B
As SHAKE YOUR THANG by Salt-N-Pepa (Next Plateau: 1988) US #4 R&B, UK #22
Sampled in PUNKS JUMP UP TO GET BEAT DOWN by Brand Nubian
(Elektra: 1993) US #42 R&B
Sampled in I'D RATHER BE YOUR LOVER by Madonna (Maverick:
1994)
Sampled in EVERYDAY IT RAINS by Mary J. Blige (Def Jam: 1995)
US #48 R&B
KEEP ON DOIN'
by The Isley Brothers (T-Neck: 1970) US #17 R&B, #75 Pop
LAY-AWAY
by The Isley Brothers (T-Neck: 1972) US #6 R&B, #54 Pop
LIVE IT UP (Part 1)
by The Isley Brothers (T-Neck: 1974) US #4 R&B, #52 Pop
LIVIN' IN THE LIFE
by The Isley Brothers (T-Neck: 1977) US #4 R&B, #40 Pop
MAKE ME SAY IT AGAIN GIRL
by The Isley Brothers (T-Neck: 1975)
Sampled in HIP HIP HOORAY by Naughty By Nature
(Tommy Boy: 1993) US #1 R&B
Sampled in TURN IT UP by Raja-Nee (Perspective: 1994)
US #31 R&B
Sampled in FOR MY SISTAS by Coolio (Tommy Boy: 1995)
Sampled in THA CROSSROADS by Bone Thugs-N-Harmony
(Ruthless: 1996) US #1 R&B
MIDNIGHT SKY (Part 1)
by The Isley Brothers (T-Neck: 1975) US #8 R&B, #73 Pop
NEED A LITTLE TASTE OF LOVE
by The Isley Brothers (T-Neck: 1974)
by The Doobie Brothers (Capitol: 1989) US #45 Pop, #27 AC
NOBODY BUT ME
by The Isley Brothers (Wand: 1962)
by Human Beinz (Capitol: 1968) US #8 Pop
POP THAT THANG
by The Isley Brothers (T-Neck: 1972) US #3 R&B, #24 Pop
THE PRIDE (Part 1)
by The Isley Brothers (T-Neck: 1977) US #1 R&B, #63 Pop
SHOUT (Parts 1 & 2)
by The Isley Brothers (RCA: 1959) US #47 Pop
by Joey Dee & The Starliters (Roulette: 1962) US #6 Pop
by Lulu (UK Decca: 1964) UK #7, US #94 Pop
by The Chambers Brothers (Vault: 1969) US #83 Pop
by Lulu (UK Decca re-issue: 1986) UK #8
by Lulu (Jive: 1986 re-recording) UK #8
TAKE ME TO THE NEXT PHASE (Part 1)
by The Isley Brothers (T-Neck: 1978) US #1 R&B
THAT LADY (Part 1)
by The Isley Brothers (T-Neck: 1973) US #2 R&B, #6 Pop
*Originally recorded by The Isley Brothers as WHO'S THAT LADY
(UA: 1964)
VOYAGE TO ATLANTIS
by The Isley Brothers (T-Neck: 1977) US #50 R&B
WHAT IT COMES DOWN TO
by The Isley Brothers (T-Neck: 1974) US #5 R&B, #55 Pop
WHO LOVES YOU BETTER (Part 1)
by The Isley Brothers (T-Neck: 1976) US #3 R&B, #47 Pop
WORK TO DO
by The Isley Brothers (T-Neck: 1972) #11 R&B, #51 Pop
by Vanessa Williams featuring Black Sheep (Wing: 1992)
US #3 R&B, #52 Pop
*Capitol owns 19 tracks which The Isleys recorded for United Artists in 1963 and 1964.
In addition to WHO'S THAT LADY, the Bert Berns-produced sessions featured covers of
James Brown, Hank Ballard & Lloyd Price songs plus 11 other Isley originals including
LOVE IS A WONDERFUL THING which resulted in the lawsuit between Ronald Isley
and Michael Bolton.
Audio clips of many of the above recordings are available on EMI MP's website.
Remixes of the key Isley Brothers tracks also exist; they were released in 2004 by Sony Urban/Legacy.
Biography courtesy of Alan Warner
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Alan Warner
