The Isley Brothers and Stephanie Mills

The band was originally formed of the four brothers O’Kelly Isley, Jr., Rudolph Isley, Ronald Isley and Vernon Isley until Vernon’s death a few years after the band’s advent. Hailing from Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S., the band moved to New York City, U.S. in 1957.

In 1959 The Isley Brothers secured a recording deal with RCA Records and their first glimpse of success came with their fourth single “Shout”, which after charting modestly eventually went on to sell over a million copies. The band’s first top 40 hit came with the Bert Berns song “Twist & Shout” in 1962 reaching No. 17 and the Hot 100 and No. 2 on the R&B chart.

After this success the band moved to New Jersey in the U.S. and enlisted the help of Jimi Hendrix on lead guitar and recorded the song “Testify” and later “Move On Over and Let Me Dance” on their own label T-Neck Records. Neither song charted and the band signed with Motown Records which they left in 1968.

The Isley Brothers’ biggest success came in February 1969 when the brothers signed a distribution deal with Buddha Records, the song “It’s Your Thing” charted at No. 2 on the Hot 100 and No.1 on the R&B chart, and even won the band a Grammy Award.

Shortly after, younger brothers of the band Ernie Isley, Marvin Isley and brother-in-law Chris Jasper added their own music impetus to the group on the 1971 album “Givin’ It Back.” With Ernie’s notable hard-rock guitar leads the brothers mixed notable rock songs with funk, gospel and Motown elements, and the younger brothers became official members in 1973 scoring hits with covers of Bob Dylan’s “Lay Lady Lay” and Stephen Stills’ “Love the One You’re With”.

The 1973 album “3+3” which featured the fusion track “Who’s That Lady” later renamed to “That Lady Pt. 1” proved a massive hit as did the 1975 follow up album “The Heat Is On” featuring the track “Fight the Power, Pt. 1”. The band’s ability to adopt their sound with the times was made obvious with their late 1970s disco induced tracks like “The Pride”, “Take Me to the Next Phase, Pt. 1” and “I Wanna Be With You Pt. 1”. The Isley Brother’s continued to be at the forefront of music until 1984 when Ernie, Marvin and Chris Jasper left the group to start Isley Jasper Isley with which they topped the R&B charts with the track “Caravan of Love”.

In 1996 The Isley Brothers consisting of Ronnie, Marvin and Ernie released the album “Mission to Please” and later without Marvin due to health complications the 2001 album “Eternal”. Ronald under the alter-ego Mr. Biggs released the album “Body Kiss” in 2003 and “Baby Makin’ Music” in 2006.

Stephanie Mills was in the music business from a very young age, performing in the Broadway play, “Maggie Flynn,” at the age of nine. That same year, she won first prize at New York’s Apollo Theater at the ‘Amateur Hour’ competition, which led to her being chosen as the opening act for the Isley Brothers. Her debut album, “Moving in the Right Direction,” for ABC Records was released in 1974. Her rich, soulful voice won her the role as Dorothy in the hit Broadway production, “The Wiz,” in 1975, whom she performed with for a number of years.

Mills moved to Motown in 1976, releasing her second album, “For the First Time,” which was written and produced by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. The album was full of sweet, tender songs showcasing her emotive voice. In 1978, Mills moved labels again to 20th Century Records, releasing “Watcha Gonna Do with my Lovin’” which went Gold and peaked at number 12 in the R&B charts and number 22 in the Billboard 200 in 1979. Her next releases, “Sweet Sensation” and “Stephanie” kept Mills’ music in the Top 40, receiving significant airplay with tracks such as “Two Hearts,” a duet with Teddy Pendergrass and “Don’t Stop Doin’ What Cha Do.”

Mills continued to have hit albums and singles throughout the 80s, having moved to MCA Records in 1983. Hits include “I have Learned to Respect the Power of love” (1985) spent two weeks at the R&B chart’s top spot, whereas “I Feel Good All Over” (1987) bettered that record with three weeks spent at number one. In the 90s, her recorded output lessened and also moved towards a more gospel-influenced sound, with her 1995 record, “Personal Inspirations.” Mills made a comeback in 2008, having recorded songs with BeBe Winans and DMX, as well as her independently released record, “Born For This” in 2004. She was also given the opportunity to display her talents to Pope Benedict XVI in 2008, when she performed in front of him at the Yankee Stadium in New York, USA. In 2012, she released a Christmas themed single, “So In Love This Christmas,” available as a download on ITunes.