That Lady

The Isley Brothers, on stage with Jimi Hendrix, 1964

The Isley Brothers have had one of the most influential and lengthy careers in the music industry; spanning over 50 years, and touching on nearly every musical genre that came along, including R&B, Rock, Funk, Soul, Disco, Quiet Storm, and beyond.

Most everybody knows their 1973 hit single ,"That Lady", but few except the most avid collectors of Soul 45's were aware that this record was actually a remake of a song the Isleys recorded a decade earlier as "Who's That Lady". At least, until very recently.

The album, "3+3" dropped in 1973 and represented a commercial re-awakening for the Isleys, who last had a major hit in 1969, with the unstoppable "It's Your Thing". The Isleys had signed a distribution deal with Epic Records and added younger brothers Ernie, Marvin and Chris, as official band members. Incorporating harder rock textures as well as funk and soulful balladry, the album became their breakthrough hit, selling over two million copies in short order.

The Isleys in the early 70's. Ernie Isley at right.

Those harder sounds were directly attributable to Ernie Isley, whose overtly Hendrixian guitar work propelled the "3+3" album into new territory. It's no small coincidence that Jimi Hendrix lived in the Isley home and played guitar for The Isley Brothers band during 1963-65. Ernie, who is self-taught, but did not pick up the guitar until 1968, had his recording debut playing the bass on "It's Your Thing". He played electric guitar, acoustic guitar, and drums on the group's early 1970's albums "Get Into Something", "Givin' It Back", and "Brother, Brother, Brother", before fully joining The Isley Brothers in 1973 as a multi-instrumentalist, playing acoustic guitar, electric guitar, drums and percussion.

It's important to recall that not only was Jimi Hendrix an important part of the Isleys' early success, but in 1973, the memory of his passing in 1970 was still fresh on the mind of the record buying public, who were snapping up a litany of hastily assembled albums of his last recorded works. Anything that sounded remotely like Hendrix had sales potential. The Isleys were able to outdo all the others by coupling that sound with their legitimate lineage to Jimi.

Here's "That Lady" from the excellent "3+3" album. Enjoy!

Ok, so now, through the magic of digital media, we have the original version from 1963 to examine. This early take is a more jazzy, doo-wop style workout, possibly inspired by The Impressions. This single has been considered impossibly rare for a very long time, as most copies have disappeared into the hands of serious collectors. It's nice to hear a rarity like this in master tape quality; sounding far better than an original 45 in any sort of decent condition. I am not aware of this recordings' release on any Isleys album from any era of the band. It's likely that the Isleys don't own the rights to the master, as was often the case for R&B musicians in the early 1960's.

If you want to get your own copy of this original 1963 recording, just head on over to see our friends at Bandcamp. It's the only place I know of to get it.

The extensive library of recordings by The Isley Brothers, going back to the 60's, are all available at Amazon. Your best budget-conscious bet would be this excellent and comprehensive "Essential" collection, or the "3+3" album, which is available new for a stupidly cheap price. Great soul music is so good for what ails you, and The Isleys are a very good prescription indeed. Do partake.