Wave Wire Services
HOLLYWOOD — A star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame was unveiled Jan. 28 honoring the Isley Brothers, the latest honor for the soulful pioneering R&B and funk group which also includes induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.
Ronald and Ernie Isley were joined at the ceremony at 7051 Hollywood Blvd., near Sycamore Avenue, by producer and songwriter Terry Lewis, a fellow member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and Jon Platt, chairman & CEO of Sony Music Publishing.
“I want to thank all of our fans, all of our fans, each and every one of them,” Ronald Isley said. “We’ve been doing this for 67 years, and God bless you all. God bless every one of you. … I want to say, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. And my family out there, my grandkids, my son, my daughter, my wife and mother-in-law, thank you, thank you, thank you.”
Ernie Isley said the honor “is unspeakable. I really don’t have the words for it.”
“I guess I would like to thank the Lord for extending to the Isley Brothers and the Isley family his divine grace that helped us stay together and helped us with the inspiration of the music. … You all have been wonderful. I wish I had the words actually to be able to completely express it the way I desire. But God bless each and every one of you.”
He concluded his remarks by saying, “My heart’s full.”
Formed in the mid-1950s as a teenage gospel quartet by the eldest four Isley Brothers — O’Kelly, Rudolph, Ronald and Vernon — the original configuration of the group quit performing when Vernon, the lead vocalist, was killed at age 13 when riding his bicycle.
In 1957, at the urging of their parents, the remaining three brothers moved from Cincinnati to New York City to make it as a rock ‘n’ roll band, with Ronald becoming the lead vocalist. The first song they wrote together was “Shout!” which would be recorded by the Beatles in 1964 for the television special “Around the Beatles,” and included on their album “Anthology 1.”
“Shout” was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999 and included in the 1978 film “Animal House.”
Their next single, “Twist and Shout,” released in 1962, rose to 17th in the Billboard Top 100 and was inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2010.
In 1973, Ernie Isley joined what had been a trio as lead guitarist and drummer, along with brother Marvin Isley on bass guitar and Rudolph’s brother-in-law Chris Jasper on keyboards and synthesizers.
Over the next decade, the band recorded the top-selling albums “3 +3,” “Between the Sheets” and “The Heat Is On,” which ranked first on the Billboard 200 chart.
Ernie, Marvin and Chris Jasper formed the short-lived spinoff group Isley-Jasper-Isley in 1983. The oldest member, O’Kelly, died in 1986. Rudolph retired in 1989 to become a minister.
The remaining duo of Ronald and Ernie achieved mainstream success with the albums “Mission to Please,” “Eternal” and “Body Kiss.”
The Isley Brothers are considered one the most influential bands in American musical history, with Ernie saying that Paul McCartney told him, “If it were not for the Isley Brothers, the Beatles would still be in Liverpool.”
Jimi Hendrix toured as their backing guitarist in the early 1960s. Elton John was their keyboard player during a tour of the United Kingdom.
The Isley Brothers are the only band that has been sampled by the rapper Notorious B.I.G. and covered by the English rock band the Yardbirds.
The Isley Brothers won the best R&B vocal performance by a duo or group Grammy in 1970 for “It’s Your Thing.” They have three other nominations — best R&B performance by a duo or group with vocals in 2002 for “Contagious” and in 2004 for “Busted” and for best R&B album for “Body Kiss” in 2004.
The Isley Brothers were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2020, the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2003 and Hollywood’s Rockwalk in 1997. They received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014.
The Isley Brothers also have a Guinness world record — the longest span on the U.S. R&B album chart by a group, 45 years, first making the chart in September 1959 with “Shout” and again making it in May 2006 with “Baby Makin’ Music.”
