Whether someone is 25 or 65, it is very likely they have enjoyed a song performed by Ronald Isley.
Currently the legendary singer is promoting his new album, “This Song Is for You,” which has reached the Top 10 of Billboard’s R&B charts.
“I wanted this album to be like a real Grammy Award-winning album, with all the records sounding like number ones,” Isley said. “I wanted each of the songs to be like singles without any album fillers. I wanted every song to be special, and that is what we accomplished.”
As shown by the positive reception for the album and its first single, “Dinner and a Movie,” Isley’s vocals are still in fine form after more than 50 years in the music business.
He is joined on the project by special guests such as Kem for the radio friendly second single “My Favorite Thing,” and Trey Songz on “Lay You Down.”
“This Song Is for You” is Isley’s second solo project. He is best known as lead singer of the popular family group The Isley Brothers, an act that has had a major impact on pop culture, influencing artists ranging from the Beatles, Green Day and Jimi Hendrix, to the Notorious B.I.G., Ice Cube and Kelly Price.
With Ronald Isley’s velvety tenor on lead vocals, and background harmony by older brothers O’Kelly and Rudolph, The Isley Brothers scored their first major hits with 1958’s “Shout” and “Twist and Shout” (1962), party favorites that continue to be sampled by numerous artists.
In 1969, the Isleys received a Grammy Award for the song “It’s Your Thing,” then expanded to add younger brothers Ernie (guitar/drums), Marvin (bass) and in-law Chris Jasper (keyboards) to the band.
Between 1973 and 1983 the brothers’ six-member lineup, the most famous, released well-known classics ranging from funky uptempo, rock flavored R&B dance songs such as “That Lady,” “Fight the Power” and “The Pride,” to romantic bedroom staples like “For the Love of You,” “Don’t Say Goodnight” and “Between the Sheets.”
“It is amazing how many people have come up and said they were born because of one of our songs,” said Isley, 72. “I’m not talking hundreds, but thousands.”
In the mid-1980s The Isley Brothers split up, allegedly over contractual and financial disagreements, with Ernie and Marvin Isley and Chris Jasper leaving to form Isley-Jasper-Isley, best known for the 1985 peace anthem “Caravan of Love.”
Ronald Isley later reformed The Isley Brothers with Ernie and Marvin. They enjoyed a major comeback with the R. Kelly produced 1996 hit “Keep It on the Down Low,” which helped Ronald Isley attract a younger generation of fans with his “Mr. Biggs” alter ego.
In 2001, the album “Eternal” made its debut on the top of the R&B charts on the strength of the single “Contagious.” However, Ronald Isley’s career was halted after a 2004 stroke and a three-year prison sentence for income tax evasion that began in a minimum-security facility in 2007.
“If I could do it all over again I’d have pled guilty and done 90 days or whatever,” Isley said. “Instead, I fought it and lost three years. Kandy (wife) visited me with our son – four days a week for the entire time. She saved me. Now the money goes to accountants first. They take care of the IRS and pay me what’s left.”
Upon his release in 2010, Isley put out his first solo album, “Mr. I,” and since then he and Ernie have continued to perform for audiences worldwide as The Isley Brothers. This summer they have been on tour with Kem and Frankie Beverly and Maze.
Through the doo-wop era of the ‘50s, the Motown sound of the ‘60s, the funky grooves of the ‘70s, the smooth soul of the ‘80s and the hip-hop flavored sounds of today, Isley has continued to top the charts by making quality music, but also keeping his sound fresh.
He also credits faithful supporters and a higher power for his success.
“I’m thankful and happy to be alive and still doing what I love,” Isley said. “Through life’s ups and downs, I can say that God is always with me. When I look back at all the things I have accomplished, I know I could not have done it without him and my fans.”
