WATCH: The Isley Brothers in Their Own Words

essencemagazine

They open up about their untold stories, favorite songs, timeless style, and why their music still hits differently.

Transcript

00:00i would say that the eisley's music is not bound by category we have influenced everybody

00:09literally from the beatles jimmy hendrix michael jackson and the jackson five we have all the rap

00:18culture yeah all the all the rappers you know biggie smalls uh yeah every everybody has in

00:26some way or another uh tapped into our catalog and to our performances we've not been limited

00:34by category and some people um don't know you know they they may know uh the eisley brothers from um

00:45you know between the sheets but they may not be aware of shout you know or twist and shout or this

00:51a heart of mine or it's your thing or that lady or fight the power you know on and on and on and on

00:58where our catalog is very expensive and it's uh been uh heard and appreciated by everyone and don't

01:05and don't forget mr biggs yeah amen i think i think he sold just as many records as ice

01:13a week amen yeah he's in there you know your music is the soundtrack to black life and but your legacy

01:25i'm sure it runs way deeper the music that we sing along to which makes me wonder what specific stain

01:32or impact do you wish to leave on the black culture come to think about it just want to let everybody know

01:39that we were here we did our thing and um we did what our family wanted us to do you know that was very

01:54important and that's still important right now you know and uh and just to thank so many fans for

02:03for letting us uh do this so for so long you know you know we're doing what we love to do and you mentioned

02:15you're doing what your your parents uh wanted you to do and i know that they really encourage you guys

02:22to explore different genres and i'm wondering do you think that you know emerging artists today should

02:30embrace the same thing like uh gospel funk rock soul to make sure they last this long or might that not

02:39be as important what would you say well ernie you can take that one i would say that the isley's music

02:49is not bound by category we have influenced everybody literally from the beatles

02:57jimmy hendrix michael jackson and the jackson five we have all the rap culture yeah all all the rappers

03:06you know biggie smalls uh yeah every everybody has in some way or another uh tapped into our catalog

03:17and to our performances we've not been limited by category and some people um don't know

03:25you know they they may know uh the isley brothers from um you know between the sheets but they may not

03:33be aware of shout you know or twist and shout or this a heart of mine or it's your thing or that lady

03:41or fight the power on and on and on and on where our catalog is very expensive and it's uh

03:47uh been uh heard and appreciated by everyone yes i agree and you've been so and don't forget mr big

03:55yeah i think i think he sold just as many records as i said amen yeah he's in there are you guys are

04:04you still open to more sampling or have we reached our quota on i'm saying

04:09i think we're open to it because uh you know that the rappers continue to lean on uh our music

04:23i agree yeah very needed for the future of music

04:28well you know they lean on it because of their mothers and their grandmothers you know they were

04:34brought up on that music you know that's that that's what was played in their house that's what

04:40they heard as kids uh on the stage uh you maybe on the stage when we're doing a show and and if my

04:52brother is playing uh his solos i'm being in i'm i'm i'm being entertained by that

04:59it's it's not it's i'm just like the audience when he's playing listening that right and their mind

05:09is you know like wow he's playing atlantis and everybody knows you know you made me want to

05:15kick my heels up you know uh when barack obama was being inaugurated as president the first time

05:23and they were sitting in front of the uh lincoln memorial garth brooks was on the stage he took his

05:31cowboy hat off and put his guitar down and said wait i'm watching this on tv i'm like oh my god

05:40you know you made me want it and barack obama said shout and the vice president the wife said shout all of

05:47up they all knew that song that's that song is everywhere football games baseball games weddings

05:56bar mitzvahs birthday parties that song is everywhere everybody knows it yeah we do a lot of people that's

06:05uh are well my personal favorite song uh for the love of you which i know also mama tina said that's her

06:13favorite song too and it's a lot of people's all-time favorites so what would you say um your music

06:20teaches future generations about black love they're gonna know uh for the love of you they're gonna know

06:25uh between the sheets they're gonna know uh choosy lover they're gonna know the isley versions of uh

06:34hello it's me uh so we're very well represented when it comes to the love angle when when it comes to

06:42our people our people they're gonna know everything that i've done here lately even all the r kelly stuff

06:54yeah we're gonna know that they know it every night when i say what the hell is going on between the

07:02sheets in my home and he's saying it and he's gonna be saying that when he comes out and we got we're

07:11gonna do some more stuff when he come out okay and so you would say uh songs like that you would like

07:20to for future generations to understand maybe vulnerability and love or you know like not being

07:28afraid to have our conversations or love out loud i feel is like things that come from your music

07:36from your love songs you sure yeah yes i i want them to know everything start at the beginning

07:44and come on up to the end and then then then then they will know the isley brothers

07:50yeah and throughout all of this music i'm sure you guys have one recording session that was like

07:58never you were never able to forget like was there like a specific recording process that was a crazy

08:06story or a really exciting moment specifically for you certainly it's your thing uh that was done in one

08:13take one vocal page uh and um but uh you know when you say one then you're leaving out you know

08:23uh another 59 as long as you could that you could call you know when you go back and check you know

08:32you go when you you go back and check other artists like sly stone and you check what we were doing when sly

08:40stone had his success you check what we were doing when uh the temptations had their success you check what we were

08:50what we were doing you check that by checking other people check what they were doing and then check

08:57what we were doing because we're gonna be there we go amen we will be there when beyonce was kicking it up

09:05yeah yeah and she kicked it up with us we will be there when ken when kendrick's kicked it up

09:13i got a grammy for a song with kendrick who's that lady uh i love myself we got a grammy for that

09:24and his mother sent him to my house to our studio to do that bucket was there was there ever a song

09:32that you guys hesitated on or something that you like you hope would do good and it did way better

09:38than you thought uh my brother who was an interesting uh rudolph honestly and it's a thin line between

09:47love and hate when the group did that and i said no man you know you know somebody singing about the

09:55hospital and somebody beating him up and that was a big record and uh and uh and there's something that

10:05the style that you're a big girl now we had a meeting about that and we kind of turned it

10:16you know the other way well i wish i wish we wouldn't

10:23so the music the music speaks for itself but the style i'm not sure if you've seen but when you get

10:30the chance please check out our fashion we we looked back at our favorite isley brother looks

10:35sometime last week so the sequins the open silk shirts the floor length furs and just the iconic

10:43isley brother style was its own statement and i wonder who you both would say was the most stylish offstage

10:52on the group that's a hard one no no no no no would you say that again offstage who had the most style in the group

11:06who had the most sound you're looking at him right now baby

11:11you're looking right at him right now no i i love it this this has truly been an honor and just hearing

11:21you reflect on the music the legacy the love the culture and uh as always you're still giving us so

11:27much to celebrate and i know you're taking the essence style uh festival stage uh coming up so we're just

11:36wondering uh when you're preparing for shows what what is your self-care routine or anything that you do

11:45that helps you lead up to these moments before we come out of the dressing room you know naturally we

11:50send our prayers of you know of uh you know uh wanting to go over wanting to make it a fun night for

11:59everybody you know and just try to try to think about all the things that can go right and all the

12:07things that can go wrong your microphone night may not work for the first seconds you know uh ernie might

12:16look at the guitar player didn't hook up something right you know he's got to straighten that out you

12:22know so all those things come to your mind but you know we we know for that 90 minutes that we're gonna

12:31be out there it's gonna be all right great and i just have one last question from our beauty team here

12:43and they were wondering do you have a go-to grooming product uh that you like to use like maybe your

12:51favorite cologne or your favorite favorite clippers favorite soap favorite lotion that you use um

12:59before you get dressed for your shows well i don't know what kind of lotion ernie use i've got a bunch of

13:12it you know you know or signature cologne one year i may be using dream dream dreamer from a

13:21versace and then the whatever my kid gave me for father's day you know you just be spraying it you

13:29know uh i got a cologne a boucheron something i may spray before uh you know going no thank you thank

13:39that's all i have for you today like i mentioned i mean it's not every day i get to speak with you

13:44living legends so thank you for everything that you've done and it's been an honor to talk with you

13:49today and i can't wait to see you on the essence stage

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