The Isley Brothers are from Cincinnati, Ohio. The original
group consisted of the three elder sons of O'Kelly Isley, Sr. and Sally
Bell Isley: O'Kelly Jr., Rudy and Ronnie, who formed in 1957 and
recorded with small labels singing doo-wop and rock 'n' roll. A few
years after the death of younger brother Vernon from a road accident,
Kelly, Rudy and Ron were convinced by their parents to form a new
singing group together. After forming the group in 1957, the brothers
immediately moved to New York and began recording in the doo-wop music
genre. In 1959, RCA Records signed the group after catching them in
concert where they had opened for Jackie Wilson. Their second release
from the label, "Shout", became the group's first charted
single, reaching number 47. The single, written by the three brothers,
was a modest single when the group released it but the song gained a
mainstream following after cover versions by singers such as Lulu and
Joey Dee and the Starlighters helped the song eventually sell over a
million copies. Motivated by its success, RCA later re-released the
group's original version in 1961 but the song only peaked at number 92.
A follow-up success to "Shout!" never came and the group was
released from their contract.
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reminder of the music we listened to 50 years ago. Use of copyrighted
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