A star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is set to be unveiled Wednesday honoring The Isley Brothers, the latest honor for the soulful pioneering R&B and funk group which also includes induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.
Ronald and Ernie Isley will be joined in speaking at an 11:30 a.m. ceremony at 7051 Hollywood Blvd., near Sycamore Avenue, by producer and songwriter Terry Lewis, a fellow member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and Jon Platt, chairman & CEO of Sony Music Publishing.
Formed in the mid-1950s as a teenage gospel quartet by the eldest four Isley Brothers — O’Kelly, Rudolph, Ronald and Vernon — the original configuration of the group quit performing when Vernon, the lead vocalist, was killed at age 13 when riding his bicycle.
In 1957, at the urging of their parents, the remaining three brothers moved from Cincinnati to New York City to make it as a rock ‘n’ roll band, with Ronald becoming the lead vocalist. The first song they wrote together was “Shout!” which would be recorded by The Beatles in 1964 for the television special “Around the Beatles,” and included on their album “Anthology 1.”
“Shout” was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999 and included in the 1978 film “Animal House.”
Their next single, “Twist and Shout,” released in 1962, rose to 17th in the Billboard Top 100 and was inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2010.
In 1973, Ernie Isley joined what had been a trio as lead guitarist and drummer, along with brother Marvin Isley on bass guitar and Rudolph’s brother-in-law Chris Jasper on keyboards and synthesizers.
Over the next decade, the band recorded the top-selling albums “3 + 3,” “Between the Sheets” and “The Heat Is On,” which ranked first on the Billboard 200 chart.
Ernie, Marvin and Chris Jasper formed the short-lived spinoff group Isley-Jasper-Isley in 1983. The oldest member, O’Kelly, died in 1986. Rudolph retired in 1989 to become a minister.
The remaining duo of Ronald and Ernie achieved mainstream success with the albums “Mission to Please,” “Eternal” and “Body Kiss.”
The Isley Brothers are considered one the most influential bands in American musical history, with Ernie saying that Paul McCartney told him, “If it were not for the Isley Brothers, the Beatles would still be in Liverpool.”
Jimi Hendrix toured as their backing guitarist in the early 1960s. Elton John was their keyboard player during a tour of the United Kingdom.
The Isley Brothers are the only band that has been sampled by the rapper Notorious B.I.G. and covered by the English rock band The Yardbirds.
The Isley Brothers won the best R&B vocal performance by a duo or group Grammy in 1970 for “It’s Your Thing.” They have three other nominations — best R&B performance by a duo or group with vocals in 2002 for “Contagious” and in 2004 for “Busted” and for best R&B album for “Body Kiss” in 2004.
The Isley Brothers were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2020, the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2003 and Hollywood’s Rockwalk in 1997. They received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014.
The Isley Brothers also have a Guinness world record — the longest span on the U.S. R&B album chart by a group, 45 years, first making the chart in September 1959 with “Shout” and again making it in May 2006 with ” Baby Makin’ Music.”
Their star is the 2,834th since the completion of the Walk of Fame in 1961 with the initial 1,558 stars.