The Isley Brothers : It's Your Thing : The Story Of The Isley Brothers (Best of The Box)

 

IT'S YOUR THING

DO WHAT YOU WANNA DO

I CAN'T TELL YOU 

WHO TO SOCK IT TO

The Isley Brothers 

 are an 

American

 soul group

 originally from

 Cincinnati, Ohio, 

that began as a

 vocal trio 

consisting of

 the brothers 

O'Kelly Isley Jr.,

 Rudolph Isley

 and

 Ronald Isley

 in the 1950s. 

With a career 

spanning over 

seven decades,

 the group has enjoyed 

one of the

 "longest,

 most influential, 

and most 

diverse careers

 in the pantheon 

of popular music".

Together with a 

fourth brother,

 Vernon,

 the group 

performed 

gospel music 

until Vernon's death 

a few years after

 its formation.

 After moving to

 New York City

 in the late 1950s,

 the group had

 their first successes 

during these early years, 

and rose to prominence

 in 1959 

with their

 fourth single, 

"Shout", 

written by the

 three brothers, 

which became

 their first single to chart 

on the

 Billboard Hot 100, 

and sold over

 a million copies.

 In the 1960s,

 the group recorded 

songs for a 

variety of labels,

 including the 

top 20 single

 "Twist and Shout" 

and

 the Motown single

 "This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You)", 

before recording 

and releasing

 the Grammy Award-winning hit

 "It's Your Thing" 

on their own label,

 T-Neck Records.

The inclusion of 

younger brothers 

Ernie Isley

 (lead guitar, drums) 

and 

Marvin Isley

 (bass guitar), 

and 

Rudolph's 

brother-in-law 

Chris Jasper 

(keyboards, synthesizers), 

in 1973

 turned the

 original vocal trio 

into a complete band

 and led to

 the group's 

reaching the height

 of their success.

 For the next full decade,

 they recorded a 

string of top-selling albums 

including

 3 + 3, 

Between the Sheets, 

and 

The Heat Is On, 

with the latter

 peaking at

 number one 

on the

 Billboard 200 chart. 

The six-member band 

splintered in 1983, 

with 

Ernie, Marvin, 

and

 Chris Jasper

forming the

 short-lived 

spinoff group

 Isley-Jasper-Isley.

 The oldest member, 

O'Kelly, 

died in 1986. 

Afterwards 

Rudolph and Ronald 

released a pair of albums 

as a duo 

before Rudolph

 retired to a life

 in the Christian ministry

 in 1989. 

After multiple

 lineup changes,

 the remaining duo of 

Ronald and Ernie 

achieved mainstream success

 with the albums 

Mission to Please 

(1996), 

Eternal

 (2001) 

and 

Body Kiss

 (2003).

 Eternal 

spawned the top 20 hit 

"Contagious". 

As of 2025, 

the Isley Brothers continue 

to perform under

 the lineup of

 Ronald and Ernie.

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