Biography of Ernie Isley

Isley's Hendrixesque guitar style added hard-rock grit to '70s Isley Brothers hits such as "Who's That Lady" and "Fight the Power." On his own, Isley delves even deeper into his impressive bag of tricks, pulling out searing licks on each track; his only weakness is the tendency to play too much, but for guitar fanatics, that might not be such a bad thing. ~ John Floyd

Biography of Ronald Isley

The longtime lead vocalist for the Isley Brothers, Ronald Isley helmed the influential family group for close to a half century, a period spanning not only two generations of siblings but also massive cultural shifts that heralded their music's transformation from gritty R&B to Motown soul to blistering funk. Born in Cincinnati, OH, on May 21, 1941, as a preteen he joined siblings Rudolph, O'Kelly, and Vernon to form the earliest incarnation of the group. After Vernon's 1955 death in a bicycling accident, Ronald was tapped as the remaining trio's lead vocalist. Early singles stiffed, but "Shout" -- their 1959 debut for RCA -- sold a million copies, despite failing to crack the Top 40. Only after the Isleys left RCA for the Wand label did they have another hit, this time with their seminal 1962 cover of the Top Notes' "Twist and Shout." After recording for their own T-Neck label, they signed to the Motown subsidiary Tamla in 1965, joining forces with the famed Holland-Dozier-Holland writing and production team. The Isleys' first single, the shimmering "This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You)," was their finest moment yet and barely missed the pop Top Ten. The group still felt straitjacketed by the Motown assembly line production formula and in 1969, they exited Tamla to resuscitate the T-Bone label. Their next release, the muscular and funky "It's Your Thing," hit number two on the U.S. charts in 1969 and became their most successful record. In 1973, the Isleys scored a massive hit with their rock-funk fusion cover of their own earlier single "Who's That Lady," retitled "That Lady (Pt. 1)." The album 3 + 3 also proved highly successful, as did 1975's The Heat Is On, which spawned the smash "Fight the Power (Pt. 1)." As the decade wore on, the group again altered its sound to fit into the booming disco market; while their success on pop radio ran dry, they frequently topped the R&B charts with singles like 1977's "The Pride," 1978's "Take Me to the Next Phase (Pt. 1)," 1979's "I Wanna Be With You (Pt. 1)," and 1980's "Don't Say Goodnight." In 1986, O'Kelly Isley died of a heart attack and brother Rudolph left to join the ministry soon after; Ronald forged on, however, teaming with younger siblings Ernie and Marvin for albums, including 1996's Mission to Please. ~ Jason Ankeny

Biography of R. Kelly

Urban R&B producer/vocalist/multi-instrumentalist/songwriter R. Kelly was born in a housing project on Chicago's South Side. He was raised by his mother who took jobs in record stores and hospitals to support her family. She also sang in the local church, where Kelly first got exposed to the spiritual side of music. Growing up, Kelly ran with his own posse, basically good kids. He was drawn to basketball and built his own court in a vacant lot, using a garbage can for a hoop calling it "Planet Dunk-A-Lot." He developed a good reputation as a basketball player. Avoiding gang activity, Kelly discovered that he was earning respect from some of the hardest dudes in the 'hood. In 1985, Kelly took a spin on his new Huffy bike. A couple of thugs decided that Kelly's life didn't mean as much as the bike and shot at him. A bullet caught him in the shoulder sending him sprawling and bleeding to the concrete. Lying there, Kelly suddenly knew what death felt like and refused to die. A burst of energy from God filled his aching body and Kelly managed to sprint home. Fearful that removing the bullet would sever a nerve, the medics opted to leave the slug embedded in Kelly's shoulder. It sits there to this day, a grim reminder of the reality of the streets. At 17, Kelly joined the high school glee club where a teacher asked him if he knew how to play a piano. Never having set on a piano bench in his life, Kelly began tinkling the ivories with the prowess of a seasoned pro. Kelly was awestruck -- a world of music was opening beneath his fingertips. Kelly, the teacher, and everybody in that glee club rehearsal knew exactly the same thing at exactly the same second: R. Kelly was going places. Buying himself a battery-operated Casio keyboard, Kelly started singing in the streets in 1987 and passers-by found themselves reaching into their wallets to drop some cash into Kelly's hat. Understanding that sometimes you have to move down in order to move up, Kelly took his act into the subway, often pulling down two to four hundred bucks a day. He'd take the money and pay his mother's rent or take care of a friend's phone bill. The boys in blue didn't dig his act or the huge crowds that would cluster around him during rush hour. He'd pull an impromptu Stevie Wonder act, but he got arrested anyway. About three times. He'd get cuffed, the Casio would get confiscated, and Kelly would get yanked downtown for fingerprints and greasy jail food. Kelly started a group called MGM and performed on Natalie Cole's Big Break. Fueled by Kelly's songs, choreography, and sizzling charisma, the group won everything that Big Break had to offer, but the real big break came when the friction-packed group disintegrated. Flat broke, he walked into the office of impressario Barry Hankerson, who was auditioning for a play. Hankerson, wowed by Kelly, struck a business relationship. After a brief stint with an independent label, Kelly was signed to Jive Records. Kelly, with vocals by Public Announcement, was a one-man band on his debut, Born Into the '90's, released at the beginning of 1992. It was a huge R&B smash receiving pop airplay with the two singles "Honey Love" and "Slow Dance (Hey Mr. DJ)" (both went number one R&B), and "Dedicated," the biggest pop hit from the album, peaked at number 31. With the fall 1993 release of the double-pocket 12 Play, Kelly went from romantic crooning to salacious come-ons and also to superstardom. Both "Sex Me (Parts I & II)" and "Bump n' Grind" went gold and hit number one on both the pop and R&B charts in 1994, with "Bump n' Grind" sitting on the top of the R&B charts for a mind-boggling 12 weeks and four weeks at the top of the pop charts. The third gold single, "Your Body's Callin'," peaked at number 13 on the pop charts. 12 Play went multi-platinum. In 1994, Kelly produced the debut album Age Ain't Nothin' but a Number for Aaliyah, a 15-year-old R&B singer from Detroit. The album yielded two Top Ten pop singles, "Back & Forth" and "At Your Best (You Are Love)," originally done by the Isley Brothers on their Harvest for the World album. In the summer of 1995, Kelly wrote and co-produced "You Are Not Alone," the second single from Michael Jackson's HIStory album. In 1996, Kelly wrote, sang, and produced the gold hit "I Believe I Can Fly" for the soundtrack of the Michael Jordan/Bugs Bunny movie Space Jam. The single won Grammy Awards for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance, Best R&B Song, and Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or for Television. The song was adapted by church choirs around the world. Committed to his personal growth, Kelly announced at a hip-hop gospel concert with Kirk Franklin that he "used to be flying in sin -- now I'm flying in Jesus," sending a shockwave through the audience, his fans, his record label, and the whole record industry. Some wondered whether it meant that he was going to start singing gospel. Kelly assured all that he wasn't going start singing gospel anytime soon since that's something you have to be "called" to do. ~ Ed Hogan