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Isley Brothers music biography continued...

members were brothers O'Kelly, Jr., Rudolph, Ronald and Vernon Isley, singing just gospel until Vernon's death from a car accident in 1955. An RCA executive saw them performing in New York, and signed them to a record deal, but the Isleys wouldn't see their first real hit until they left RCA in 1962 and recorded a cover of "Twist and Shout," (which would go on to be a megahit with The Beatles). They subsequently signed to the Motown subsidiary Tamla in 1965, where they joined forces with the famed Holland-Dozier-Holland writing and production team. Their first single, "This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You)," was their finest moment yet, and barely missed the pop Top Ten. Their next hit, the powerful and funky "It's Your Thing," hit number two on the U.S. charts in 1969, and became their most successful record. That year, the Isleys also took on a number of new members, and the group began incorporating more and more rock material into its repertoire. As the 1970s dawned, they scored hits with covers of Stephen Stills' "Love the One You're With," Eric Burdon & War's "Spill the Wine," and Bob Dylan's "Lay Lady Lay." In 1973, the Isleys scored a massive hit with their rock-funk fusion cover of their own earlier single "Who's That Lady," retitled "That Lady, Pt. 1"; the album 3 + 3 also proved highly successful, as did 1975's The Heat Is On, which yielded the smash "Fight the Power, Pt. 1." As the decade progressed, the group again altered its sound to fit into the booming disco market, and had several more hit singles. Through it all, critics celebrated the terrific versatility which let the Isleys move with ease from one genre to the next.



While the Isleys' popularity continued into the 1980s, several members of the group started to branch out for solo projects during this time. In March1986, O'Kelly died of a heart attack; Rudolph soon left to join the ministry, but the group reunited in 1990. Although the individual members continued with solo work and side projects, the Isley Brothers soldiered on in one form or another throughout the decade and well into the new millennium. Critics have noted that albums like Mission to Please (1996) and Eternal (2001) demonstrate the Isleys' continuing relevance as well as their influence on today's neosoul crop of artists.