Back in 2021, when The Isley Brothers and Earth Wind & Fire teamed on the television and web show Versuz, they posted on social media to some fanfare that they would be going into the studio together. Then fans waited for a big release announcement that never happened.
The recording finally – and quietly – came out a year later, buried nine songs deep on the Isleys album, Make Me Say It Again, Girl, and included El DeBarge to boot. Surprisingly, the mystery recording was a faithful cover of Switch’s iconic classic 1978 romantic ballad, “There’ll Never Be.” The addition of DeBarge to the fold was inspired, as he beautifully handled many of the vocals originally performed by his late brother Bobby, the lead singer for Switch. And with Ron Isley, Philip Bailey and DeBarge alternating leads, the song was a fun romp performed by a roomful of artists with too many classic hits to count.
It’s tough to find a soul music fan who didn’t dig the Switch original, and this cover felt like a warm, comfortable blanket wrapped around us by artists who’ve played such a big part of our musical lives. Most fans don’t even know the recording exists, which makes it a perfect SoulTracks Lost Gem. Check it out below.
By Chris Rizik
