To me @ KGA, the timeline may have to read as followed about the Isleys:

*1954 - O'Kelly, 16; Rudolph, 15; Ronald, 13 and Vernon Isley, 12, forms the Isley Brothers initially as a gospel quartet. Their father wanted them to be the next Mills Brothers because he wanted all his children to be boys (and that they were, there were six sons, no daughters I don't think) and when the older four were walking and talking, they sang together. They once sang for Mahalia Jackson and Dinah Washington and Ronald won some kind of price during a talent show when he was seven.

*1955 - Vernon suddenly dies when he gets hit by a car while riding his bike in Cincinatti, this leads to an early departure for the other brothers and they stop singing together until 1956 or 1957.

*1957 - Sensing their sights on the doo-wop market, O'Kelly, 19; Rudolph, 18 and Ronald, just 16 (I don't know if either of them graduated from high school) move out of Cincinatti and move to New York to find work and they record for small labels.

*1959 - They get spotted by an RCA scout while opening for Jackie Wilson at a club and get signed to RCA. "Shout", their second single, puts them on the charts but the label struggles to find out what to do with them (they never had a follow-up though "Respectable", their non-charted single became a hit thanks to the Outsiders' version). Before "Shout" is released, O'Kelly, Sr. dies of a heart attack.

*1961 - "Shout" sells a million copies after two artists have hits with it (Lulu and Joey Dee and the Starlighters). A year later the brothers re-release it hoping it'll spark re-interest in the original but it bombs. They leave RCA and sign with Scepter/Wand.

*1962 - "Twist & Shout" becomes their first international charted single (#42 UK) and also their first top 40 pop hit. Their version was actually their gospel-based response to the Topnotes' original (the Topnotes' version wasn't successful at all).

*1964 - Follow-up releases don't go well, they sign with United Artists and release the original version of "Who's That Lady" but it don't sell, frustrated, they look to Berry Gordy and Sam Cooke as inspirations to start their own label (T-Neck) in their new home base, Teaneck, New Jersey (by now the other Isleys have moved there). They hire Jimi Hendrix as their lead guitarist and with him record "Testify", which includes Ron's imitations of soul legends like James Brown, Ray Charles, Jackie Wilson and then-"Little" Stevie Wonder and even slightly disses the Beatles at the end ("those kids with long hair sure got some soul NOW!" yells Rudolph).

*1965 - Their T-Neck releases don't sell, Jimi leaves to tour with Little Richard (though he later left Richard and returned to the Isleys briefly again), they sign with Atlantic Records. Again they don't attract a lot of attention. The end of the year, Berry Gordy, long a fan of them (most of the Motown acts had covered their songs), convinces them to sign with Motown.

*1966 - "This Old Heart of Mine" brings them back to the top 40. However, tensions between the Isleys and other Motown acts lead to later disenfranchisement with the label (like Gladys Knight & The Pips, the Isleys complained that they were being treated as second-class citizens in Motown). Because their rawer sound fails to get the Motown polish, they never have another hit. They would leave two years later.

*1967-1968 - The Isleys move to England where Elton John's Bluesology becomes their backing band. They find out that their Motown singles have gotten airplay in the UK. Returning back to America in 1968, they convinced Berry Gordy to let them go from their contract. Reaching a breaking point, the group decided to reinstall T-Neck and sign with Neil Bogart's Buddah Records label at the end of the year.

*1969 - The Isleys release their biggest hit yet with "It's Your Thing", a song that seemed to signal the funk movement that was being pushed forward by James Brown and Sly Stone. They later win a Grammy for "It's Your Thing". "I Turned You On" becomes a follow-up hit. Though they would struggle with reaching the pop charts, they produce a good number of charted singles on the R&B chart.

*1971 - The group reaches the top 40 again with "Love the One You're With" off their rock covers album, Givin' It Back. It's around this time that Ernie Isley (who had played bass on "It's Your Thing"), Marvin Isley and Chris Jasper began to assert themselves as backing musicians.

*1972 - The group reaches a turning point with their Brother, Brother, Brother album with Ernie, Marvin and Chris taking more active roles in constructing the songs though I don't think they were really credited at the time. The album launches three top 40 R&B hits ("Lay-Away", "Pop That Thang" and "Work to Do"). After revising their priorities, by the end of the year, Ernie, Marvin and Chris become full-fledged members.

*1973 - The renewed lineup release their first gold-certified album, 3 + 3, hence the fortunes of the Isley Brothers become mainly positive after that. "That Lady" is among one of the first to mix funk and rock elements together.

*1974-1983 - From then on, most of their albums reach gold, platinum or multi-platinum status and the brothers' audience extends to all races for a period (according to someone talking about Marvin Isley's death, the Isleys were played on rock radio as much as Led Zeppelin and the Stones). 1975's The Heat Is On becomes the group's first to reach number-one (a rarity for an R&B act).

*1984 - After reaching financial problems and due to friction over financial difficulties (the younger brothers and brother-in-law refusing to file for bankruptcy alongside the older brothers), Chris Jasper, Marvin Isley and Ernie Isley is recommended to leave the group. They later find success as Isley-Jasper-Isley until splitting up over Ernie Isley's hasty exit.

*1985 - The Isley Brothers sign with Warner Bros. and release what would be their final album with eldest brother O'Kelly Isley, Jr. (who is ailing with cancer at this point), Masterpiece.

*1986 - O'Kelly Isley, Jr. dies of a heart attack in his home in Alpine, New Jersey at the age of just 48. Rudolph contemplates retirement.

*1987-2010 - From then on it becomes a mess, but mainly after Rudolph retires, Ronald is mainly on his own. Though Ernie (and Marvin) eventually return, I think it's clear it's simply when Ronald's ego gets out of control to the point where now, as you said, KGA, there is no more Isley Brothers. Still they do get inducted to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1992, so that's a big highlight.

U 4got about these:

Do you remember this anti-apartheid song by Isley-Jasper-Isley? Unfortunately it didn't get much attention back then:

KGA said:

Your timeline (Timmy84) looks pretty accurate...good job.

Thanks.

[Edited 1/16/11 19:25pm]

Gotta love Chris on the vocoder!

Howard Kramer, the curatorial director of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame museum said:

The Isley Brothers are shockingly under-appreciated. When Marvin was in the band they were played on white rock ’n’ roll stations, right next to the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin, and their records are every bit as good.

From Marvin Isley's obituary.

his appreciation thread turned out very nice Is Groove With You up in here?

nursev said:

his appreciation thread turned out very nice Is Groove With You up in here?

No but I can fix that.

Timmy84 said:

nursev said:

his appreciation thread turned out very nice Is Groove With You up in here?

No but I can fix that.

Yeah that's the jam

The Isleys in London doing "Stagger Lee".

The Isleys kicking it on Soul Train, 1972:

Lay Away:

Pop That Thang:

Timmy84 said:

[Edited 1/16/11 19:25pm]

This song and Midnight Sky are my favorites off of Live It Up

The Isley Brothers should've been with the first group of inductess in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame; I know call it the Rock & Roll Hall of Shame.

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[Edited 1/17/11 15:42pm]

TD3 said:

The Isely Brothers should've been with the first group of inductess in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame; I know call it the Rock & Roll Hall of Shame.

Yeah, they waited six years to induct them... travesty.

The same song with different lyrics and different musical styles:

Who's That Lady (1964):

(Who's) That Lady, Pt. I & II (1973):

[Edited 1/17/11 14:13pm]

Timmy84 said:

[Edited 1/16/11 19:25pm]

Always wish they had extended pt. 1 of this tune...

Such a groove

One of my all-time favorite bands. Great thread!

Love love love them. My favorite song besides Sensuality and Let Me Down Easy and I Hope You Feel Better is this one:

MickyDolenz said:

What, no Marva Whitney?

The alternate take of "Testify" with Jimi.

The single version of "Testify" with Ron imitating Uncle Ray, Little Stevie, Mr. Excitement and Soul Brother No. 1 and Rudy imitating a minister lol and Jimi Hendrix of course.

Look at how skinny all three of them were!