O’Kelly Isley, Member of Isley Brothers Group, Dies
O’Kelly Isley, one of the six Isley Brothers who sold more than 12 million records including the Grammy Award winning “It’s Your Thing,” is dead, it was learned Wednesday.
Isley, 48, suffered a heart attack Monday night at his home in Alpine, N.J.
Isley and his brothers, sons of a professional singer, grew up in Cincinnati, where they began a musical career singing gospel songs with their mother accompanying on piano.
Their first hit, “Shout,” recorded in 1959, sold more than 1 million records and launched a 25-year career.
Other hits included “Twist and Shout,” later recorded by the Beatles, and “Love the One You’re With.”
In the late 1970s, the group adapted its style more to disco, and such albums as “Go for Your Guns” and “Showdown” were big sellers.
In 1984, two younger Isleys and a brother-in-law, Chris Jasper, struck off on their own as Isley-Jasper-Isley, and their current “Caravan,” from an album by the same name, is a Top 10 single.
The older three Isleys continued to perform, and last December their album “Masterpiece,” a collection of ballads, was released.
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