Ernie Isley | |
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 Isley in 1996 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Ernest Isley |
| Born | March 7, 1952 Cincinnati, Ohio, United States |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, singer, songwriter |
| Instrument(s) | Guitar, drums, vocals |
| Years active | 1969–present |
Ernest Isley (born March 7, 1952) is an American musician, best known as a member of the musical ensemble The Isley Brothers, [2] and also the splinter group Isley-Jasper-Isley.
Ernie was born in Cincinnati, where his older brothers formed The Isley Brothers, first as a gospel group, then as a secular singing group. In 1960, his family moved to Englewood/Teaneck, New Jersey. He attended Dwight Morrow High School. [3] During this period, Jimi Hendrix (known then as Jimmy Hendrix) joined the group and lived with the family from Spring of 1963 through Thanksgiving of 1965. [4] Young Ernie was fascinated watching Hendrix practice and play. It was a great influence on his guitar playing. [5] "While their older brothers toured America, the younger Isley boys enrolled successively in Englewood Junior High and Dwight Morrow High School. 'We always had lots of instruments lying around the house—Stratocaster Fenders and jazz instruments—so naturally we were interested and decided to learn how to play,' Ernie Isley said." He resides in St. Louis, Missouri. [6] Ernie started playing drums at 12. His first live gig as a member of his brothers' band was as a drummer in 1966 at the age of 14. Ernie was influenced by José Feliciano's version of "Light My Fire" and in 1968 got his first guitar. He is a self-taught musician. In 1968 he did his first professional recording, playing bass on the Isley Brothers' breakthrough funk smash "It's Your Thing", released in 1969. He played electric guitar, acoustic guitar, and drums on the group's early 1970s albums Get Into Something , Givin' It Back , and Brother, Brother, Brother , before fully joining the group in 1973, becoming a multi-instrumentalist playing acoustic guitar, electric guitar, drums and percussion. [7]
Ernie is a prolific songwriter, penning, among others, "Fight the Power (Part 1 & 2)", "Harvest for the World", "Voyage to Atlantis", "(At Your Best) You Are Love", "Footsteps In the Dark", "Brown Eyed Girl" and co-writing "That Lady", "Between the Sheets" and "Take Me To The Next Phase". His guitar riffs are recognizable on "Summer Breeze", "That Lady", "Voyage To Atlantis" and "Choosey Lover". In 1984, Ernie, Marvin and Chris formed the group Isley-Jasper-Isley, releasing three albums. In 1990, Ernie released his first solo album, High Wire . In the same year he recorded a cover version of The Cars' "Let's Go" for the compilation album Rubáiyát . In 1991, he rejoined Ronald and Marvin on tour and in the studio. In 1996 they released their platinum CD Mission to Please , and in 2001 "Eternal", the lyrics to the title track is co-written by Ernie. [8] [9]
The Isley Brothers were inducted into the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame in 1992. [10] In 2014 the Isley Brothers received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. [11] In 2010 and 2011 he participated on the Experience Hendrix Tour. He is a musician on the Janet Jackson album Discipline , on the tracks "Never Letchu Go" and "The 1". He performed on the majority of the 2012 Joss Stone CD The Soul Sessions Vol. 2 .[ citation needed ] Ernie and Ronald continue to work together on tour and in the studio. Ernie and Ronald teamed up with Carlos Santana, releasing the 13 track The Power of Peace in 2017. In 2022, the Isley Brothers teamed with Beyoncé to remake "Make Me Say It Again, Girl", originally released in 1975. [12]
In 2020, Ernie was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame as a member of the Isley Brothers, and is currently touring domestically and internationally with Ronald on The Isley Brothers 60th Anniversary Tour.
Fender Custom Shop has built for him three custom Zeal Stratocasters, using his personal design. [13] Ernie is active as a musical mentor in schools and community music programs. He has been a returning guest lecturer at Berklee School of Music in Boston. He is married and has one daughter, Alexandra Isley (Alex Isley) who is also an R&B artist. [14] He was awarded an honorary doctorate of music by the Berklee College of Music on May 7, 2016. [15]
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist, songwriter and singer. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as the greatest and one of the most influential electric guitarists in the history of popular music, and one of the most celebrated musicians of the 20th century. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame describes him as "arguably the greatest instrumentalist in the history of rock music."
Eric Johnson is an American guitarist, vocalist and composer. His 1990 album Ah Via Musicom was certified platinum by the RIAA, and the single "Cliffs of Dover" won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance.
The Isley Brothers are an American musical 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".
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Ronald Isley is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Isley is the lead singer and founding member of the family music group The Isley Brothers.
T-Neck Records was a record label founded by members of the R&B/soul group The Isley Brothers in 1964, which became notable for distributing the first nationally-released recordings of Jimi Hendrix, their guitarist, and which later became a successful label after the Isleys began releasing their own works after years of recording for other labels, scoring hits such as "It's Your Thing" (1969) and "That Lady" (1973).
Blackie is the nickname given by Eric Clapton to his favorite Fender Stratocaster.
O'Kelly "Kelly" Isley Jr. was an American singer and one of the founding members of the family group the Isley Brothers.
Marvin Isley was an American musician best known as the youngest member of the family music group the Isley Brothers and its bass guitarist.
"That Lady" is a song by the Isley Brothers, made famous in 1973 when it was reworked in a funk rock style. It was originally performed as "Who's That Lady?" in a classic R&B vocal style by the Isley Brothers in 1964, inspired by the Impressions.
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Givin' It Back is the ninth album released by The Isley Brothers on their T-Neck imprint on September 25, 1971. After years of having white rock acts covering their most famed material, particularly, "Shout" (1959) and "Twist and Shout" (1961), the Isleys decided to do the same to music made famous by white artists such as Stephen Stills, Eric Burdon and Neil Young. Among the songs they covered were "Spill the Wine", "Love the One You're With", the social commentary medley of "Ohio" and "Machine Gun", "Fire and Rain" by James Taylor and Bob Dylan's "Lay Lady Lay". The Isleys' perseverance paid off when their covers of "Love the One You're With", "Lay Lady Lay" and "Spill the Wine" became charted hits. Bill Withers plays guitar on the Isleys' version of his "Cold Bologna".
The Heat Is On is the thirteenth studio album by American soul and funk group the Isley Brothers, released June 7, 1975, on T-Neck Records and Epic Records. Written and produced entirely by the group, the album was recorded in 1975 at Kendum Recorders in Burbank, California. The Heat Is On features musical elements of rock, and is divided between uptempo funk songs and soul ballads.
The Real Deal is an album by the Isley Brothers, released on August 7, 1982. The album is notable for the group's decision to alter their trademark funk rock sound in the 1970s with the then-current early 1980s electro funk scene dominated by Rick James, Prince, Zapp and the Gap Band.
"Testify" is an uptempo soul song by the American rhythm and blues group the Isley Brothers. Written by the Isleys and recorded in 1964, it followed several successful singles by the group and was the first single to appear on their own T-Neck record label.
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