The Isley Brothers are a hugely popular African-American music group from Cincinnati, Ohio, who hold the record for being the longest-running charted group in music history. Starting in 1954 and lasting into the new millennium, the group has spanned decades, two generations of members and music genres as diverse as gospel, doo-wop, R&B, soul, funk, rock, adult contemporary and even hip-hop. Their early hits, "Shout!", "Twist & Shout" and "Nobody But Me", laid the groundwork for 1960s rock acts and became soul standards in the process. They also pioneered the ground for other artists and bands to form their own labels forming T-Neck Records in the mid-1960s. They also helped pave the way for self-contained funk bands after Sly & the Family Stone with the release of their groundbreaking 1969 single, "It's Your Thing". Founded in 1954, the original members were brothers O'Kelly, Jr., Rudolph, Ronald and Vernon Isley, singing just gospel until Vernon's death from a car accident in 1955.
T-Neck went on to chart more than 20 pop titles in the '70s (and nearly twice that many on the R&B side), a litany of hits that included Stephen Stills' "Love The One You're With", "Spill The Wine" (originally recorded by Eric Burdon & War), "That Lady," Seals & Crofts' "Summer Breeze," the message-driven "Harvest For The World," funky groove "Fight The Power Part 1," classic slow jam "For the Love Of You," "The Pride," "Take Me To the Next Phase," and "I Wanna Be With You," among the group's many hit singles. From 1973 to 1980, the group scored an amazing two gold and five platinum albums (starting with the groundbreaking 3+3) and the platinum run continued in the '80s with Go All The Way and Between The Sheets, like five of their predecessors, No. 1 R&B chart-topping albums. The '80s also included hit singles "Don't Say Goodnight (It's Time For Love)" and "Hurry Up And Wait," followed by "Inside You" and "Smooth Sailin' Tonight."
Now comes BABY MAKIN' MUSIC, the team's first CD for Def Soul, following in the tradition of great Isley Brothers' records, filled with new love odes, hit cuts and future classics. From the album's first single, the inviting, instantly memorable "Just Came Here To Chill" - a tune Ron says "sounds like vintage Isley Brothers" - written and produced by Troy Taylor (known for his work with Mary J. Blige, Whitney Houston and Yolanda Adams among others) and Gordon Chambers (Grammy-award winning writer for Anita Baker and producer for Aretha Franklin, Brandy and others) to the insistent "Blast Off," a new duet between "Mr. Biggs" and R. Kelly, completed just weeks before the album's release, BABY MAKIN' MUSIC continues the Isleys' legacy without missing a beat.
