• 1957-

  Rudolph IsleyVocals1957-1989

  Ronald IsleyVocals1957-

  Kelly IsleyVocals1957-1986

  Ernie IsleyBass, guitar1969-1984, 1990-

  Marvin IsleyBass, percussion1969-1984, 1990-

  Chris JasperKeyboards1969-1984

  Everett CollinsDrums1969-
• According to Isley lore, when their father, O'Kelly Sr., met their mother, Sallye, he told her he would marry her and she would bear four sons who would become a famous singing group. They ended up having six sons and becoming one of the most famous and enduring groups in soul music.
  
  O'Kelly didn't get to see his sons' success. He died of a heart attack in 1957.
• They developed their sound and stage presence by singing in church.
• The fourth Isley son, Vernon, died in 1955 at 13 when he lost control of his bicycle and slammed into an oncoming truck. The other brothers were devastated and did not work on their music for a year.
• They formed their own record label, T-neck (named after Teaneck, New Jersey, where they lived), in 1964, but put it aside to sign with Motown a year later. They left Motown after only a year and reformed the T-neck label in 1969.
• The Isley Brothers have a deep catalog filled with grooves that make tasty samples. Their 1983 song "Between The Sheets" is one of the most popular. It's was sampled in "Luxurious" by Gwen Stefani, "Big Poppa" by The Notorious B.I.G., and "Breaker 1/9" by Common. Naughty By Nature's "Hip Hop Hooray" is built on a sample of their song "Make Me Say It Again Girl (Part 1 & 2)."
• The Isley Brothers were the trio of Ronald, Rudolph, and Kelly for about 15 years. In 1969 their younger brother Ernie joined, making his first appearance on the hit "It's Your Thing," playing bass. Marvin joined the following year along with their brother-in-law, Chris Jasper (his sister was married to Rudolph). This threesome became the rhythm section for the older Isleys, but they didn't appear on an album cover until 3 + 3 in 1973, the title a reference to the two generations in the lineup.
• In 1984, Ernie, Marvin, and Chris Jasper left to form Isley-Jasper-Isley. They released three albums and had a #1 R&B hit with "Caravan Of Love."
• When Kelly Isley died of heart failure in 1986, it reduced the group to the duo of Rudolph and Ronald Isley. They released an album in 1987, then another in 1989 with just Ronald on the cover, as Rudolph left that year. For their next album, Tracks Of Life in 1992, they were the trio of Ronald, Ernie, and Marvin.
  
  The Isley Brothers are the only group we know of that has album covers with one, two, three and six members.
• Ronald, who sings in a tenor, is lead singer.
• 21-year-old Jimi Hendrix, known then as Jimmy Hendricks, played on their stage shows in 1964.
• They've released transformative covers of some very popular songs, including "Love The One You're With," "Summer Breeze," and "Lay Lady Lay." Their songs have often been covered as well, most famously by The Beatles on "Twist and Shout."
• Youngest brother Marvin lost his legs below the knees to diabetes in 1996 and died from the disease in 2010 at 56.
• They won a lawsuit from Michael Bolton in 1994 when his "Love Is A Wonderful Thing" was ruled too similar to the Isley's song of the same title. The Isley's were awarded all profits from the single and 28% of album profits.
• They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.
• The Isleys became the first band to score a Top 50 hit in six consecutive decades on Billboard's Hot 100 when "Contagious" climbed to #19 in 2001.

Comments: 6

• The Dr. from Usa Great band with Chris Jasper (keyboards) writing most of those great songs and Ernie Isley (guitar) writing songs and lyrics. Of course Ronald Isley's singing made The Isley Brothers one of my favorite R&B groups of all time! Especially during their run in the 70s! Timeless ballads like " For the Love of You ", " Make Me Say it Again ", "Sensuality " and many many more. Using a Fender Rhoades, Moog, acoustic and electric guitar for great track backing.They increased the baby making scene exponentially!
• Simon from Atlanta, GaLiquid Love is about, hmm, how shall I put this? A moist vagina, more or less. "Liquid love is a tell tell sign of desire."
• Minna from Joplin, MoOne of the longest lasting groups in history!!! From the early days of rock with "shout!", moving into the most awesome funky remake of all time. "Summer Breeze","Love the One Your With", plus thier own rocked out "Who's That Lady', which NEVER gets old to me. And who can forget the sexy transition they laid on soul in the 80's with hot tracks like "Between the Sheets" and my personal favorite "Living For the Love of You". And, HELLO??? Mr Ron Isley reinventing himself as MR BIGGS and ushering in a whole new wave of young fans thru R.Kelly and many samples used in countless hip hop songs. Thank you for the funk, Isley. Thanks to you, I will always POP THAT THANG
• John from Nashville, TnAnother act the Isleys produced for their T-Neck label was the Vandals, a sweet soul group who had three minor r&b hits in 1970. Group members included future Temptation Damon Harris and future post-Smokey Robinson Miracles member Billy Griffin.
• John from Nashville, TnThe Isley Brothers produced an album for Privilege, a psychedelic rock band featuring two members from the Soul Survivors (of "Expressway To Your Heart" fame), and future Aerosmith producer Jack Douglas. The self-titled album was released in 1969 on the Isleys own T-Neck label. The album is available as a cd import.
• Meme from Gallatin, TnI would just like to say that my mom loves ur music alot and i like some of it. Keep doing what u do.

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