“It’s important to meeeeeeeeee…that you know you are freeeeeeeeeeee…” “Hello, It’s Me” is dedicated to someone who wants to be a free spirit. I can appreciate the lyrical sentiment; wanting to love and enjoy someone for the time you share as opposed to thinking of them as belonging to you. It was the first song… Read More “Hello It’s Me” by Todd Rundgren (1972)/The Isley Brothers (1974)
In 1976, the Isleys took a short break from epic funk/rock workouts and baby-making slow jams to deliver this inspiring slice of folk/soul. “Harvest For The World” is a hopeful anthem in which Ronald Isley puts on his preacher’s hat and testifies for brotherhood and world peace. As one might sadly expect, those who were… Read More “Harvest For The World” by The Isley Brothers (1976)
Hey! It’s the first instance I can think of in which the “A” and the “B” side of a 45 single appear on this list. “Footsteps In The Dark” was the flip side of “Groove With You”. I played the ever loving junk out of this 45 as a teenager. Isley Brothers ballads went two… Read More “Groove With You” by The Isley Brothers (1978)
“Drifting on a memory/Ain’t no place I’d rather be/Than with you.” I can visualize Ronald Isley closing his eyes and allowing himself to sink into a reverie as he sings “For The Love of You”. His voice practically floats over his brothers’ mellow groove. If ever a song existed that was capable of bringing down… Read More “For The Love Of You” by The Isley Brothers (1975)
“Footsteps In The Dark” has an intriguing title, a rock-solid drum part (provided by Ernie Isley) and a unique guitar riff (also provided by Ernie Isley) that pitches this Isley Brothers track just about smack dab in the middle of the rock/soul fusion they pioneered with their “3 + 3” lineup in the ’70s. It’s… Read More “Footsteps In The Dark” by The Isley Brothers (1977)
Most of my early memories of The Isley Brothers center around their slow jams. And truthfully, slow jams are what Ronald Isley’s voice is most suited for. “For The Love Of You”? “Voyage To Atlantis”? “Don’t Say Goodnight”? All big “yes”ses in my personal library. “Fight The Power” finds The Isleys in unusually aggressive funk/rock… Read More “Fight The Power” by The Isley Brothers (1975)
Ronald Isley and his brothers (and brother-in-law Chris Jasper) have a lengthy list of bedroom bangers, but none of them bangs as hard as 1980’s “Don’t Say Goodnight (It’s Time For Love)”, a song that spent a month as the #1 R&B record in the nation (and peaked in the lower reaches of the pop… Read More “Don’t Say Goodnight (It’s Time For Love)” by The Isley Brothers (1980)
As I write this, there’s a major R. Kelly moment happening in the public discourse and it feels really weird to celebrate anything that man has ever been a part of. Although I guess that makes this moment no different from a million other moments that have occurred between 1994 and now. It should go… Read More “Contagious” by The Isley Brothers (featuring Chante Moore and R. Kelly) (2001)
Enough of this singin’…let’s make luuuuuuuv! This line, delivered (uttered? mumbled?) by Ron Isley 2/3 of the way into “Between The Sheets,” sums up the purpose of this song without the extra five minutes and thirty-five seconds attached to that line. But you NEED that extra five minutes and thirty-five seconds. Recorded as a response to… Read More “Between The Sheets” by The Isley Brothers (1983)
Five Star Jamz 