Post by Carl LaFong on Oct 13, 2023 16:47:08 GMT
Flamboyant founder member of the Isley Brothers whose hits included This Old Heart of Mine and It’s Your Thing
In their prime, when they were making such global hits as That Lady and Harvest for the World, the most physically imposing of the Isley Brothers – sharply bearded, stern of countenance, wearing embroidered capes and shirts with billowing collars, and carrying a jewelled walking cane that might have been the symbol of office of an elder of the group – was Rudolph Isley, who has died aged 84.
The Isleys had the distinction of enjoying hits across six consecutive decades, from Shout in 1959 to Contagious in 2001, after Rudolph had departed. Spanning the evolution in Black American popular music from doo-wop to hip-hop, their successes during his active years included genre-defining hits with This Old Heart of Mine (1966), a Motown classic, the funk favourite It’s Your Thing (1969), and the boudoir soul of Between the Sheets (1983).
Although not their regular lead voice, a function belonging to his younger brother Ronald, Rudolph was present from their beginnings in 1954 until he left to become a Baptist minister in 1989. His occasional appearances as lead singer included It’s a Disco Night, a Top 20 hit in the UK at the height of the disco era in 1979.
Church was where the brothers had first sung, during their childhood in Cincinnati, Ohio, under the supervision of their mother, Sallye (nee Bell), and their father, O’Kelly Isley, a former US Navy sailor and vaudeville performer. Vernon, the eldest brother of six sons, was the original lead singer when they made their debut in 1954, at first supported by Rudolph and O’Kelly Jr, with Ronald joining two years later. When Vernon was killed in a road accident, aged 13, Ronald took over.….
www.theguardian.com/music/2023/oct/13/rudolph-isley-obituary
In their prime, when they were making such global hits as That Lady and Harvest for the World, the most physically imposing of the Isley Brothers – sharply bearded, stern of countenance, wearing embroidered capes and shirts with billowing collars, and carrying a jewelled walking cane that might have been the symbol of office of an elder of the group – was Rudolph Isley, who has died aged 84.
The Isleys had the distinction of enjoying hits across six consecutive decades, from Shout in 1959 to Contagious in 2001, after Rudolph had departed. Spanning the evolution in Black American popular music from doo-wop to hip-hop, their successes during his active years included genre-defining hits with This Old Heart of Mine (1966), a Motown classic, the funk favourite It’s Your Thing (1969), and the boudoir soul of Between the Sheets (1983).
Although not their regular lead voice, a function belonging to his younger brother Ronald, Rudolph was present from their beginnings in 1954 until he left to become a Baptist minister in 1989. His occasional appearances as lead singer included It’s a Disco Night, a Top 20 hit in the UK at the height of the disco era in 1979.
Church was where the brothers had first sung, during their childhood in Cincinnati, Ohio, under the supervision of their mother, Sallye (nee Bell), and their father, O’Kelly Isley, a former US Navy sailor and vaudeville performer. Vernon, the eldest brother of six sons, was the original lead singer when they made their debut in 1954, at first supported by Rudolph and O’Kelly Jr, with Ronald joining two years later. When Vernon was killed in a road accident, aged 13, Ronald took over.….
www.theguardian.com/music/2023/oct/13/rudolph-isley-obituary
