The Isley Brothers

Originally formed by brothers O'Kelly, Rudolph and Ronald Isley in 1954, The Isley Brothers formulated their close harmony style in the early days of rock & roll before breaking into the charts with the Motown single 'This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You)'. Expanding their line-up (which once included Jimi Hendrix as backing guitarist) and refining their funky style, the brothers had a major international hit with 'That Lady' in 1973 - notable for Ernie Isley's compelling guitar solo - and a number one album in 1975 with 'The Heat Is On', featuring 'Fight the Power' and 'For the Love of You'. The hits continued through the 1980s, the best-loved being 'Harvest for the World', but in 1984 Ernie and Marvin Isley and Chris Jasper split to form Isley-Jasper-Isley and released the classic 'Caravan of Love'. The Isleys reunited in 1992 to record the 'Tracks of Life' album, returning to the album charts with the 1996 album 'Mission to Please'. By the 2000s only two Isleys - Ron and Ernie - remained and they went on to have major hits in 2001 with a cover of R Kelly's 'Contagious' and the albums 'Body Kiss' in 2003, 'Baby Makin' Music' in 2005 and the festive 'I'll Be Home for Christmas' in 2007. Later that year, Ron was arrested and imprisoned for tax evasion, with a three-year sentence given for his crimes. Shortly after his release in 2010, the youngest brother Marvin passed away after a long battle with diabetes. Ron released his debut solo album, 'Mr. I', in 2010 and he reunited with Ernie the following year and began to tour once more as The Isley Brothers.

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