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The Isley Brothers - Fight The Power (Part I)

The Isley Brothers - Fight The Power (Part I) Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: The Heat Is On
Released: 1975

Fight The Power (Part I) Lyrics

Fight The Power (Part I) Song Chart

Often thought of as a song about the black experience, "Fight The Power" is more of a general statement on rising above the powers that be. The youngest Isley Brother, Marvin, explained in a 1976 interview with Blues & Soul: "We don't close ourselves away like some entertainers do – we listen to the radio, read the newspapers and generally get into what's happening out there in an attempt to reflect the world as it is. With The Heat Is On, we wanted to be as funky as possible musically, and yet for the lyrics to say something unusual. 'Fight The Power'? Well, we decided not to be passive, to take a stand. And we met hardly any resistance because that power could be anything – we all have our different conceptions of what it is to each of us. And just letting it out – about the bulls--t that does go down – is something that everyone wants to do."

Yes, there was a "Fight The Power (Part II)." It was the b-side of the single.

The Isley Brothers - Who's That Lady

The Isley Brothers - Who's That Lady Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Best Of The Isley Brothers
Released: 1964

Who's That Lady Lyrics

Who's That Lady (who's that lady)
Beautiful lady (who's that lady)
Lovely lady (who's that lady)
Real fine lady (who's that lady)
Hear me callin' out to you
'Cause it's all that I can do
Your eyes tell me to pursue
But you say look yeah, but don't touch, baby
nah, nah, nah don't touch
Who's that lady (who's that lady)
Sexy lady (who's that lady)
Beautiful lady (who's that lady)
Real fine lady (who's that lady)
I would dance upon a string
Any gift she'd want to bring
I would give her anything
If she would just do what I say
Come 'round my way, baby
Shine my way
Who's that lady (who's that lady)
Beautiful lady (who's that lady)
Lovely lady (who's that lady)
Real fine lady (who's that lady)
I would love to take her home
But her heart is made of stone
I would keep on keepin' on
If I don't she'll do me wrong
Do me wrong, yeah

Writer/s: ISLEY, ERNIE/ISLEY, MARVIN/ISLEY, RONALD/ISLEY, RUDOLPH
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Who's That Lady Song Chart

This song went nowhere when it was released as a single in 1964, but when the Isley Brothers reworked the song in 1973 and released it as "That Lady," it became a huge hit for the band. The new version features younger brother Ernie on guitar.

A soul trio called The Impressions inspired this song. The Isleys were big fans.

The Isley Brothers - It's Your Thing

The Isley Brothers - It's Your Thing Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: It's Our Thing
Released: 1969

It's Your Thing Lyrics

[Chorus]
It's Your Thing, do what you want to do.
I can't tell you, who to sock it to.

If you want me to love you, maybe I will.
Believe me woman, it ain't no big deal.
You need love now, just as bad as I do.
Make's me no difference now, who you give your thing to.

[Chorusx2]

I'm not trying to run your life,I know you want to do what's right.
Give your love now, to whoever you choose.
How can you love, with the stuff you use now.

[Chorusx2]

If you want me to love you, maybe I will.
Believe me woman, it ain't no big deal.
You need love now, just as bad as I do.
Make's me no difference now, who you give your thing to.

[Chorusx2]

I'm not trying to run your life,I know you want to do what's right.
Give your love now, to whoever you choose.
How can you love, with the stuff you use now.

[Chorusx2]

If you want me to love you, maybe I will.
Believe me woman, it ain't no big deal.
You need love now, just as bad as I do.
Make's me no difference now, who you give your thing to.

[Chorusx2]

I'm not trying to run your life,I know you want to do what's right.
Give your love now, to whoever you choose.
How can you love, with the stuff you use now.

[Chorusx2... Fade]

Writer/s: Isley, O'Kelly / Isley, Ronald / Isley, Rudolph
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

It's Your Thing Song Chart

In this song, Ronald Isley is letting a girl know that she is free to spread her love around, as long as he gets some of it too. "It's Your Thing" was a popular saying at the time and wonderfully ambiguous, so it could have a sexual connotation or simply be about personal independence. Another line in the song is similarly ambiguous:

I can't tell you who to sock it to

Aretha Franklin had popularized the "sock it to me" line in her version of "Respect," clearly with prurient intent.

Ronald, who wrote most of the song, liked the double-meaning of these lines, which made the song risqué and radio-friendly at the same time.

This was the first hit the Isleys wrote and produced themselves. They had been recording for Motown, but left the label in 1968 to take more control of their music. This was their first release after leaving Motown, and it was a huge success, hitting #1 on the R&B charts and selling over two million copies. The group never had a bigger chart hit in America, but became one of the top acts of the '70s, enjoying the creative control that came with recording on their own label.

In an interview on The Isley Brothers: Summer Breeze Greatest Hits Live DVD, Ronald Isley says he wrote this song while dropping his daughter off at school one day. He didn't want to forget the lyrics so he hummed it in his head and rushed straight to his mother's house to write it out. He sang it for his eldest brother O'Kelly, who thought it to be a hit, so they set up studio time to record it.

Ronald, O'Kelly and Rudolph Isley are the credited writers on the song.

This won the Grammy for best R&B vocal by group or duo in 1970.

The Isley Brothers recorded this song at A&R Studios in New York using musicians who played on the road with Wilson Pickett. Charles Pitts Jr. played the lead guitar - he later played the famous wah-wah on "Theme From Shaft" by Isaac Hayes. George Patterson did the arrangement and also played alto sax.

Ernie Isley, just 16 years old, played bass - his first time playing that instrument on a recording. Isley had played the bass when they were rehearsing the song, but a studio musician was supposed to handle it on the recording. When this hired hand couldn't match what Ernie did at rehearsal, Ronald Isley made the call to have his younger brother play it instead. Ernie later said he was in "complete fear" during the recording.

There was a big legal kerfuffle over this song, as Motown Records claimed they owned it. The Isleys formed their own label, T-neck Records (named for their town: Teaneck, New Jersey), in 1964, but signed with Atlantic later that year. In 1965, Atlantic dropped them and Motown picked them up, putting them on their Tamla imprint and having them record songs written by the Holland-Dozier-Holland team. They had a minor hit for the label with "This Old Heart Of Mine," but in December 1968 they left Motown to once again record on T-neck.

When this song took off, Motwon head Berry Gordy filed a lawsuit claiming The Isley's were still under contract when they recorded it. The court case went on for 18 years before a federal judge ruled that The Isley Brothers had recorded it after the Motown contract had lapsed.

The soul singer Betty Moorer recorded an answer song called "It's My Thing," where she takes the woman's point of view, telling the man that he needs to buck up and marry her or she's going to leave.

Salt 'N Pepa with EU used this on their song "Shake Your Thang." It had different lyrics, but the same refrain line melody. (thanks, Jeff - Scottsdale, AZ)

The Isley Brothers - Testify

The Isley Brothers - Testify Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: It's Our Thing
Released: 1964

Testify Lyrics

Testify Song Chart

To "Testify" is to speak in church about a religious experience. The practice is common in black churches and is a very powerful spiritual experience, as members of the congregation share their stories of how God has touched their lives.

This was the first single released on The Isley Brothers' own label, T-neck records.

Jimi Hendrix, known then as Jimmy Hendricks, is featured on guitar. The 21 year-old unknown was touring as a backup musician with The Isleys at the time.

The Isley Brothers - Shout

The Isley Brothers - Shout Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Shout
Released: 1959

Shout Lyrics

Well
You know you make me wanna
(Shout)
Kick my heels up and
(Shout)
Throw my hands up and
(Shout)
Throw my head back and
(Shout)
Come on now

(Shout)
Don't forget to say you will
Don't forget to say, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah
(Say you will)

Say it right now baby
(Say you will)
Come on, come on
(Say you will)
Say it, that you
(Say you will)
Come on now

(Say)
Say that you love me
(Say)
Say that you need me
(Say)
Say that you want me
(Say)
You wanna please me

(Say)
Come on now
(Say)
Come on now
(Say)
Come on now
(Say)

I still remember
(Shooby doo wop do wop bop bop bop)
When you used to be nine years old
(Shooby doo wop do wop bop bop bop)
Yeah-yeah, I was a fool for you
(Shooby doo wop do wop bop bop bop)
From the bottom of my soul, yeah
(Shooby doo wop do wop bop bop bop)

Now that you've grown, up
(Shooby doo wop do wop bop bop bop)
Grown enough to know, yeah yeah
(Shooby doo wop do wop bop bop bop)
You wanna leave me, you wanna
(Shooby doo wop do wop bop bop bop)
Let me go
(Shooby doo wop do wop)

I want you to know
I said, I want you to know right now, yeah
You been good to me baby
Better than I been to myself, hey hey

And if you ever leave me
I don't want nobody else, hey hey
I said, I want you to know, hey
I said, I want you to know right now, hey hey

You know you make me wanna
(Shout woo)
Hey yeah
(Shout woo)
Yeah yeah yeah
(Shout woo)
All right
(Shout woo)
All right

(Shout woo)
Come on now
(Shout)
Come on now
(Sound good)
Yeah, yeah, yeah
(Shout)
Yeah, yeah, yeah
(Sound good)

(Shout)
Yeah, yeah, yeah
(Shout, woo)
Yeah, yeah, yeah
(Sound good)

All alright
(Shout)
Alright
(Sound good)
Alright
(Shout)
Alright

Now wait a minute
I feel alright
(Yeah yeah, yeah yeah, yeah yeah!)
(Ooo)
Now that I got my woman
I feel alright
(Yeah yeah, yeah yeah)

Every time I think about you
You been so good to me
You know you make me wanna

(Shout woo)
Lift my heels up and
(Shout woo)
Throw my head back and
(Shout woo)
Kick my heels up and
(Shout woo)
Come on now

(Shout woo)
Take it easy
(Shout woo)
Take it easy
(Shout woo)
Take it easy
(Higher)

(Shout)
A little bit softer now
(Woo)
(Shout)
A little bit softer now
(Shout)
A little bit softer now
(Shout)
A little bit softer now

(Shout)
A little bit softer now
(Shout)
A little bit softer now
(Shout)
A little bit softer now
(Shout)
A little bit softer now

(Shout)
A little bit softer now
(Shout)
A little bit softer now
(Shout)
A little bit softer now
(Shout)
A little bit softer now

(Shout)
A little bit softer now
(Shout)
A little bit softer now
(Shout)
A little bit softer now
(Shout)
A little bit softer now

(Shout)
A little bit louder now
(Shout)
A little bit louder now
(Shout)
A little bit louder now
(Ooo, shout)
A little bit louder now

(Shout)
A little bit louder now
(Shout)
A little bit louder now
(Shout)
A little bit louder now
(Woo)

(Shout)
A little bit louder now
(Woo)
(Shout)
A little bit louder now
(Woo)

(Shout)
A little bit louder now
(Woo)
(Shout)
A little bit louder now
(Woo)

(Shout)
A little bit louder now
(Woo)
(Shout)

Hey a, hey a
(Hey a, hey a)
Hey a, hey a
(Hey a, hey a)

Hey a, a, a
(Hey a, a, a)
Hey a, a, a
(Hey a, a, a)

Shout now
Jump up and shout now
(Woo)
Jump up and shout now
(Woo)
Jump up and shout now
(Woo)

Jump up and shout now
(Woo)
Jump up and shout now
(Woo)
Everybody shout now
(Woo)
Everybody shout now
(Woo)

Everybody, shout, shout
Shout, shout, shout, shout
Shout, shout, shout, shout
Shout, shout, shout, shout
(Oh whoa, yeah)

Shout, shout, shout, shout
Shout, shout, shout, shout
Everybody shout now

Writer/s: ISLEY, RONALD/ISLEY, RUDOLPH/ISLEY, O'KELLY
Publisher: EMI Music Publishing
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Shout Song Chart

The Isleys wrote this on the spur of the moment at a Washington, DC, concert in mid-1959. As they performed Jackie Wilson's "Lonely Teardrops," Ronald Isley ad-libbed, "WELLLLLLLLLLL... you know you make me want to SHOUT" and Rudy and O'Kelly joined in on the improvisation. The audience went wild and afterwards, RCA executive Howard Bloom suggested putting it out as their first RCA single. (thanks, Brad Wind - Miami, FL)

This evolved out of the call-and-response style The Isleys grew up singing in church. The organist from their church, Professor Herman Stephens, played on the song.

The Isley Brothers did not consider this a song at first. It was just a "thing" they would do onstage and the crowd would go nuts. They knew they were onto something when Jackie Wilson, who they were opening for, started using the stop-and-go style in his show.

This song has its own dance. When The Isleys sing the "little bit softer now" part, you go a little lower, then gradually rise up for the "little bit louder now part." For the rest of the song, you just jump around and go crazy. It's an easy dance, which makes it popular at weddings, proms, and other events where many rhythmically-challenged people end up on the dance floor.

The 1978 movie Animal House featured this in a famous scene where the frat brothers danced to it. The movie starred John Belushi and became a classic, helping revive interest in the song as well as the dance associated with it. In 2003, the group MxPx recorded a new version for the 25th anniversary DVD release of the movie.

The version in Animal House was performed by a fictional band called Otis Day And The Knights. The movie became a huge hit, and many people thought Otis Day And The Knights were a real group, so they went on tour. They did very well, selling out many of the places they played, and released an album in 1989 called Shout. Otis Day's real name is DeWayne Jessie.

In the UK, this is the song that introduced the singing sensation Lulu. The Scottish singer came to London at age 15 and recorded a version of the song with her group Lulu & The Luvvers that made it to #7 on the UK charts. Early on, Lulu often performed in Blues clubs where the song was a great fit. She soon became a very successful actress as well, appearing in the film To Sir With Love and scoring a #1 US hit with the title track.

Lulu, just 13 at the time, was introduced to the song by the Scottish rocker Alex Harvey, who she saw perform it in a Glasgow club called The Scene. Lulu added it to her act with The Luvvers, and it became their first hit when Lulu sang it at an audition for Decca records. She had a terrible cold when she recorded it, which gave her a rougher sound that suited the song.

This was never a chart success, but it sold over a million copies and became a rock and R&B classic. The Brothers bought their mother a house in New Jersey with the proceeds from this. She was living in Cincinnati.

After this got some attention, RCA records signed the Isleys to a record deal despite concerns that people would not understand what they were singing.

According to The Isley Brothers: Summer Breeze Greatest Hits Live DVD, this song was recorded in its first take during the studio session. (thanks, Rudy - bako, CA)

The Isleys developed this on tours of black theaters in the late '50s. They were usually low on the bill with other R&B acts.

The B-side of the single was "Shout Part 2," an even wilder version.

The Isley Brothers next 4 singles tanked. They did not have another hit until "Twist And Shout" in 1962.

A cover version by Joey Dee And The Starlighters was a US Top 10 hit in 1962.