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The Isley Brothers

Isley Brothers, The

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The Isley Brothers: Go For Your Guns (Epic)

Review by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 9 July 1977

"YOU GET some writers saying, 'Why don't you do something like you did before?' They think they really want it but at the same time ...

Audio interviews

The Isley Brothers' Marvin Isley (1991)

Interview by Steve Roeser, Rock's Backpages audio, 1991

Second generation Isley Marvin looks back at his elder brothers' success in the late '50s, and the way he and brother Ernie and cousin Chris Jasper re-invigorated the band in the early '70s.

File format: mp3; file size: 83.8mb, interview length: 1h 31' 30" sound quality: ***

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Beatles Make Isleys' Hit

Report by Ian Dove, New Musical Express, 28 June 1963

THREE brothers, O'Kelly, Rudolph and Ronald — the surname is Isley — have to be very thankful to Liverpool's Beatles. For if the Beatles weren't ...

The Beatles did it on an LP, now the Isley Brothers and Tremeloes make the 30

Profile and Interview by June Harris, Disc, 6 July 1963

THERE ARE very few way-out, wild rhythm and blues numbers which hit the British charts. 'Twist And Shout' by The Isley Brothers is one of ...

The 'Twist And Shout' Battle Hots Up! (And How The NME Helped)

Report by Alan Smith, New Musical Express, 19 July 1963

THERE'S A long and fascinating story behind the big come-back success of 'Twist And Shout' (now with three versions in the best-sellers) — and it's ...

The Isley Brothers: The boys who put OOOOHHHH! into Pop

Profile by Maureen Cleave, The Evening Standard, 24 October 1964

THE ISLEY Brothers — Rudolph, Ronnie and O'Kelly Jr., but chiefly Rudolph — put the high-pitched, train noise OOOOHHHH into British pop music. The importance ...

Joe Tex, Little Richard, Robert Parker, the Isley Brothers et al: the Village Theater, New York NY

Live Review by Robert Shelton, The New York Times, 15 August 1966

KEY TO THE BLUES IS SHOWMANSHIP Dancing and Costumes Add Dash to 30 Singing Acts ...

Singles from the Supremes and Isley Brothers

Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 13 May 1967

The Supremes: 'The Happening'; 'All I Know About You' (Tamla Motown TMG 607). ...

For The Isley Brothers Better Late Than Never

Profile by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 9 November 1968

AFTER A tortoise-like two-and-a-half-year journey, the Isley Brothers' 'This Old Heart of Mine' has put the Tamla Motown insignia in the Pop 30 again. ...

Isleys and Peel 'Do Their Thing'

Interview by Richard Green, New Musical Express, 2 August 1969

THERE IS no obvious connection between John Peel and the Isley Brothers. Both are in a different "bag," yet both have one thing in common ...

The Isley Brothers

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 11 September 1970

The Isley Brothers, Ronnie, Rudolph and O'Kelly, have spent well over a decade at the top. Their success culminated in the formation of their own ...

The Pointers: Sign of a Wasted Rock Culture

Profile by Vernon Gibbs, New Musical Express, 29 September 1973

ANYTIME THE American media welcomes a new act with such an overt display of scraping and bowing for superlatives, it's time to be suspicious. ...

The Isleys: first time winners again!

Interview by John Abbey, Blues & Soul, 23 November 1973

THE SUCCESS of 'That Lady' keeps up quite a remarkable record for the stalwart three brothers, the Isleys. Over the years, the brothers have been ...

The Isley Brothers

Retrospective and Interview by Tony Cummings, Black Music, December 1973

Beginning a series of definitive studies of the giants of black music. This month: Tony Cummings traces the astonishing 15-year history of the brothers Isley... ...

The Isley Brothers: 3 + 3 (T-Neck/Epic)

Review by Tony Cummings, Black Music, December 1973

YEP, HERE'S one folks. A "classic" is claimed by some publicist somewhere everytime a disc is a hit. But 'That Lady' is the genuine article, ...

The Isley Brothers: 3+3 (Epic)

Review by Bob Fisher, New Musical Express, 2 February 1974

BLACK MUSIC is currently well entrenched in the process of mixing recent rock forms into the standard sound of soul, a process in which the ...

Phase Four — Isley Style

Overview by Robin Katz, Sounds, 21 September 1974

YOUR ROVING reporter ROBIN KATZ bought a copy of the Isley Brothers' first album, Shout for a mere quid, and upon her arrival home, it was ...

The Isley Brothers: Felt Forum, New York, NY

Live Review by Vernon Gibbs, Phonograph Record, December 1974

THE ISLEY Brothers have demonstrated a level of tenacity that can only be considered remarkable in a business marked by overnight successes and instant failures. ...

Isley Brothers, Graham Central Station: Felt Forum, New York NY

Live Review by Vicki Wickham, Melody Maker, 7 December 1974

NEW YORK: Graham Central Station kicked off the show at the Felt Forum last Sunday with their brand of Sly funk They aren't really like ...

The Isley Brothers: 3 + 3 = Super Success

Interview by Vernon Gibbs, Essence, May 1975

UNTIL 3+3, the career of the Isley Brothers had been marked by a strange pattern; after a tremendous hit record, the group would seemingly disappear ...

The Isley Brothers: The Heat Is On (Epic) ****

Review by Tony Cummings, Black Music, August 1975

BLACK MUSIC generally chooses not to join the rock musicians' never-ending search to find new styles and influences — a search which usually ends up ...

The Isley Brothers: The Heat Is On (T-Neck)

Review by Vernon Gibbs, The Village Voice, 18 August 1975

The Isleys Play With Themselves ...

The Isley Brothers: Churnin' of Fraternal Funk

Retrospective by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 30 August 1975

From mock gospel to hypnotic energy, via an engagement with Jimi Hendrix and a 16-year track record that few groups can emulate; CLIFF WHITE charts ...

Isley Brothers: Heat's Still On Isleys

Interview by Harvey Kubernik, Melody Maker, 11 October 1975

LOS ANGELES: The Isleys' latest album, The Heat Is On, recently hit number one in America, but for as long as there's been rock and ...

The Isley Brothers: Twist And Shout, Super Hits

Review by Cliff White, New Musical Express, 14 February 1976

SOME RECORDINGS CRY out to be reissued. In fact they never should have been deleted in the first place. Others should never even have been ...

The Isley Brothers: Two Generations Of Innovation

Report and Interview by Joe McEwen, Phonograph Record, June 1976

A SHORT HOP across the George Washington Bridge, Teaneck, New Jersey is a crowded suburban community, dominated by upwardly mobile black families. In the past ...

The Isley Brothers: Reflections Of Love And Life

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 8 June 1976

The Brothers Isley are really tuned in to life around them and this awareness is the prime source of inspiration in their music. Eavesdrop as ...

Ernie Isley: Pride of the Isleys

Interview by Davitt Sigerson, Black Music, September 1977

"THE ALBUM, 3+3, featuring 'That Lady', was in '73, but since 1969, we've been more or less involved with the Isley Brothers. My father was ...

Go for your guns, amigo. Them thar Isleys are due back in town with a new album...

Interview by David Nathan, Blues & Soul, 25 October 1977

Go For Your Guns Amigo: Them thar Isleys are due back in town with a new album... ...

The Isley Brothers: Winner Takes All

Review by Davitt Sigerson, Melody Maker, 16 June 1979

3 + 3 DON'T MIND they just keep on jamming. Strings and horns? Uh-uh. They just go up to Bearsville. Ernie puts down the drums ...

The Isley Brothers: Between the Sheets (Epic)

Review by Richard Cook, New Musical Express, 9 July 1983

SOME SOUL groups have their own continuum. If a senior vocal unit like The Temptations has to suffer a producer's — and hence a popular ...

Isley Jasper Isley: 3 Go Wild Between The Sheets

Interview by Paul Sexton, Record Mirror, 7 December 1985

BACK IN 1973, the Isley Brothers brought out an album called 3+3. You might remember it, 'specially if you were partaking of all the soul ...

The Isley Brothers: Mission to Please (T-Neck/Island)

Review by Michael A. Gonzales, Vibe, June 1996

MY MAMA HAS informed me that when I was six and shaking my booty in front of the stereo, whenever the radio DJ played the ...

It Don't Mean A Thing...

Review and Interview by Andy Gill, MOJO, July 1996

...if it ain't got that swingbeat, say The Isley Brothers, who have updated their sound with producers R. Kelly and Keith Sweat. Andy Gill asks ...

Venus fires and retro rockets

Report and Interview by Paul Sexton, The Times, 29 November 1996

Graphic sex is out and good, old-fashioned lurve is in for America's latest soul stars. Paul Sexton meets some of them ...

The Isley Brothers Reissues

Review by Jim Irvin, MOJO, August 1997

Isley; Get Into Something; Givin' It Back; Brother, Brother, BrotherFour long-lost albums, each one worth £20 or more on vinyl. Originally on the Isleys' own ...

The Isley Brothers: It's Your Thing: The Story of the Isley Brothers (Epic) *****

Review by Tom Cox, The Guardian, 19 November 1999

THE MOST DEFINITIVE summation of The Isley Brothers' career so far begins not with a song but a real, live shriek. ...

The Isley Brothers: "We-e-e-e-e-e-elll!"

Retrospective and Interview by Ben Edmonds, MOJO, January 2000

Their cry was first heard in 1959. The Isley Brothers are about to enter their sixth decade of pop stardom. They inspired The Beatles, employed Hendrix, funked-up Neil Young and ...

The Isley Brothers: It's Your Thing – The Story Of The Isley Brothers

Review by Chris Roberts, Uncut, January 2000

A COLOSSAL, combustible funk-fest; enough for a throbbing theme-night in your very own living room. Furry kaftans and diamante-encrusted bomber jackets optional. Emerging from Lincoln ...

The Isley Brothers: Carling Apollo, London

Live Review by Simon Price, Independent on Sunday, 4 October 2003

REGULAR READERS may recall my feature of a fortnight ago, wherein I detailed the nefarious activities of America's Clear Channel group, and added: "Britain does ...

At 72, Ron Isley Remains Contagious

Interview by Michael A. Gonzales, Ebony, 15 July 2013

With one more solo album, This Song Is for You, dropping tomorrow, the Isley Brothers legend stays true to his soulful roots ...

The Isley Brothers: 10 Of The Best

Guide by Stevie Chick, The Guardian, 7 January 2014

1. 'Shout (Parts 1 & 2)' The Brothers Isley (Kelly, Rudy and Ron) started out singing gospel music before embarking upon a pop career that would ...

Chris Jasper on Playing Synths for the Isleys

Interview by Michael A. Gonzales, Red Bull Academy Magazine, 20 January 2015

Michael A. Gonzales talks to the inventive, classically-trained keyboardist behind some of the Isley’s most indelible hits ...

The Isley Brothers: The RCA-Victor And T-Neck Album Masters (1959-1983)

Review and Interview by Daryl Easlea, Record Collector, September 2015

MORPHING FROM their roots in gospel and doo-wop through funk, rock and then, finally, into slow-jam R&B, the Isley Brothers remain one of the most ...

Why the early '70s was the greatest period for live soul albums

Guide by Mitchell Cohen, Music Aficionado, December 2016

JAMES BROWN invented the modern live soul album with the release of Live at the Apollo in 1963, and Sam Cooke, Otis Redding, and Etta ...

How 'Twist and Shout' Shook the World

Retrospective by Mitchell Cohen, Music Aficionado, November 2019

UNLIKE MOST stories, this one begins with a twist. "Come on, baby," Hank Ballard commanded, "let's do the Twist," immortalizing a dance that was catching ...

see also Isley Jasper Isley

see also Ronald Isley

see also Dave "Baby" Cortez

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