The Isley Brothers are an American musical group originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, that started as a vocal trio consisting of brothers O'Kelly Isley Jr., Rudolph Isley and Ronald Isley in the 1950s. With a career spanning over eight decades, the group has enjoyed one of the "longest, most influential, and most diverse careers in the pantheon of popular music".
"Fight the Power" is a song recorded by the Isley Brothers, who released the song as the first single off their landmark album, The Heat Is On. The song is notable for the usage of the word bullshit, which was censored during radio airplay.
"Live It Up, Pt. 1 & 2" is a funk/rock song released by the Isley Brothers, on their album of the same name in 1974 on their T-Neck imprint.
"(At Your Best) You Are Love" is a song by The Isley Brothers, originally a radio hit in 1976. It was originally dedicated to their mother.
The Brothers: Isley is the seventh album released by The Isley Brothers on their own T-Neck label on October 18, 1969. After years with other labels and fresh off the success of the It's Our Thing (1969) album, which included the hit title track, "It's Your Thing", the Isley Brothers celebrated their newfound independence by releasing another new album that year with this LP. The album yielded the Billboard Top 40 pop hit, "I Turned You On" and subsequent charters, "Was It Good to You?" and "Black Berries". It was also their second full venture into funk music, a genre they would dominate in the coming years. The album was remastered and expanded for inclusion in the 2015 released CD box set The RCA Victor & T-Neck Album Masters (1959-1983).
Givin' It Back is the ninth album released by The Isley Brothers on their T-Neck imprint on September 25, 1971. After years of having white rock acts covering their most famed material, particularly, "Shout" (1959) and "Twist and Shout" (1961), the Isleys decided to do the same to music made famous by white artists such as Stephen Stills, Eric Burdon and Neil Young. Among the songs they covered were "Spill the Wine", "Love the One You're With", the social commentary medley of "Ohio" and "Machine Gun", "Fire and Rain" by James Taylor and Bob Dylan's "Lay Lady Lay". The Isleys' perseverance paid off when their covers of "Love the One You're With", "Lay Lady Lay" and "Spill the Wine" became charted hits. Bill Withers plays guitar on the Isleys' version of his "Cold Bologna".
Brother, Brother, Brother is the tenth album released by The Isley Brothers on their T-Neck imprint on May 2, 1972. It was to be the Isleys' last studio record with Buddah Records before moving on to Epic in the middle of 1973.
Live It Up is the twelfth album by the Isley Brothers, released on September 7, 1974. It was their second major-distributed album with Epic Records under their T-Neck subsidiary.
Harvest for the World is the fourteenth album released by The Isley Brothers on their T-Neck imprint in May 1976.
Go for Your Guns is the fifteenth album by the Isley Brothers. Released on April 16, 1977, on their T-Neck label, it was also the band's fifth album to be distributed by their deal with Epic. Released in mid-April 1977, the album peaked a month later at No. 1 on Billboard's Top Soul chart, and at No. 6 on the Billboard 200.
The Real Deal is the 21st album released by The Isley Brothers on August 7, 1982. The album is notable for the group's decision to alter their trademark funk rock sound in the 1970s with the then-current early 1980s electro funk scene dominated by Rick James, Prince, Zapp and The Gap Band.
Between the Sheets is the 22nd album released by The Isley Brothers on their T-Neck imprint on April 24, 1983. The album is notable for the title track, the follow-up hit "Choosey Lover", and the ballad "Touch Me". The song also appeared in the 2007 comedy film, Norbit.
Masterpiece is the 23rd album released by The Isley Brothers on Warner Bros. Records on April 29, 1985. For the first time since 1973, the Isley Brothers were a trio composed of the original members O'Kelly, Rudolph and Ronald Isley. It was the last album with O'Kelly Isley; he died a year after the album's release from a heart attack. The fall of 1985 also saw the elder Isleys release Masterpiece. The album is dedicated to their late brother Vernon Isley and their parents Sally & O'Kelly Isley Sr. The album liner notes were written by Elaine Isley.
It's Our Thing is the sixth album released by The Isley Brothers on their own T-Neck Records imprint on April 26, 1969. Fully emancipated from three and a half years in Motown Records and encouraged by their international success in the United Kingdom, the Isleys composed this album in the style of Sly & the Family Stone/James Brown funk that was dominating the music industry at the time but with their own flair as explained in their smash "It's Your Thing". Other hits off the album though it didn't chart included "I Know Who You Been Socking It To" and "Give the Women What They Want". This album was also the Isleys' first Top 40 record reaching #22 on the pop albums chart. Curiously, despite its importance in the career of the seminal group, this album was not released in CD format until 2008. The album was remastered and expanded for inclusion in the 2015 released CD box set "The RCA Victor & T-Neck Album Masters, 1959-1983". Although not featured on the album's cover, It's Our Thing marks the first Isley Brothers album to feature Ernie Isley on bass guitar.
"Harvest for the World" is a 1976 single released by American musical group The Isley Brothers on their T-Neck imprint. It was the title track from their 1976 album Harvest for the World.
"Pop That Thang" is a 1972 funk song released by The Isley Brothers on their T-Neck imprint. Co-written by the three Isley brothers: O'Kelly, Rudolph and Ronald, Howard Kelly and Clive Otis, the song is an uptempo dance number that was featured on the group's 1972 album, Brother, Brother, Brother. A successful record, it reached #3 on the national R&B charts and #24 on the pop singles chart. Billboard ranked it as the No. 100 song for 1972.
"Don't Say Goodnight " is a 1980 soul and quiet storm record by the Isley Brothers, released on their T-Neck imprint. The track was released as the first single from their 1980 platinum album, Go All the Way.
"The Pride" is a 1977 funk song by The Isley Brothers, released on their T-Neck imprint. The song, which was the first single released from their album, Go For Your Guns, was written as a warning to politicians to be the leader that the people need and to others who want change reminding them that "the pride makes (them) feel that (they) belong". The song was one of several socially conscious political songs the Isleys recorded throughout the 1970s including "Fight the Power Pts. 1 & 2" and "Harvest for the World". While the song peaked at sixty-three on the pop charts, it reached number-one on the R&B singles chart becoming the group's third number one on the chart.
"Livin' in the Life" is the second song released from The Isley Brothers' 1977 album, Go for Your Guns. It was also the next-to-last song on the album, which only included seven tracks, with the last track actually a "part two" version of the song under the title of the album, in which was led by Ernie Isley, brother Marvin and Chris Jasper.
"It's a Disco Night " is a 1979 club hit for The Isley Brothers, released on their T-Neck label as the second single from their gold-certified album, Winner Takes All. The song is notable for being one of the few disco-based songs the Isley Brothers released. Beforehand, the group were known for their mixture of funk, rhythm and blues and rock. The song was led by brother Ronald Isley while his brothers Kelly and Rudolph Isley chanted "rock don't stop" in the background. The song briefly charted on the Billboard Hot 100 peaking at number 90, hitting number 27 on the R&B chart. Outside the US, "It's a Disco Night" reached number 14 on the UK Singles chart.
