Isley Brothers – (1973) 3 + 3
They've been around longer than the Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix played in their backing band, and they were funking before James Brown. The Isley Brothers are by far the longest-lasting soul group.
Father O'Kelly Isley, a professional singer himself, knew it the day he met his wife Sallye Bernice in the mid-1930s. She would bear him four sons, who would form a vocal quartet called The Isley Brothers.
At the First Baptist Church of Lincoln Heights, near Cincinatti, Ohio, where their mother was an organist and choir director, the foundation was laid for their musical career. There they began performing, although their musical education was certainly not limited to gospel. Pa Isley deliberately introduced them to as many genres as possible, including classical, country, evergreens and show numbers. The first talent show they won had jazz diva Dinah Washington on the jury. She told Isley Sr. Nothing new when she assured him that these four boys would become very popular and that four-year-old Ronnie would be the big star in their midst. This prophecy also came true, because what Michael was to the Jacksons, Ronald has always been to the Isleys.
The Isley Brothers' career has seen many highs, not only commercially, but especially artistically. But with high peaks inevitably come low valleys, and for the Isleys, these were mainly in the form of personal tragedies. Incidentally, these were never the result of excessive alcohol and/or drug use, because from the beginning until now—and the end is not yet in sight—the Isleys have maintained an iron discipline.
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