That Lady

"That Lady"

[song written by the Isley Brothers]

‘That Lady' comes from the 1973 album by the Isley Brothers ‘3+3', and before proceeding to chart the discography of this timeless tune it is worth pausing to reflect upon the contribution the Isley Brothers have made to soul and adult contemporary music over a period now spanning forty years.

The group are known to all who have a love for soul music and are broadly bracketed as ‘Motown' performers.  However, how many people realise that although the Isley Brothers signed to Motown in 1965, and had their smash hit ‘This Old Heart of Mine' while with them, this was their only major hit on the label and that, in 1969, they moved on to resuscitate the T-Neck label.

Also perhaps not widely known is the fact that for a band that clearly revelled in moments of classic smooth music they had, during the mid sixties, a distinctly non smooth performer in their backing band.  This was none other than Jimmy James who went on to cut his first solo records on the Isley's T-Neck label under the name by which he was to become famous, Jimi Hendrix.

The Isley Brothers actually date back to the fifties.  Originally a quartet, they were reduced to a trio by the untimely death of Vernon Isley to a bicycling accident in 1955.  They scored a hit in 1959 with ‘Shout' and UK music fans will remember the cover version of this track by Lulu.  The Isleys went on to spend two years with RCA, made four singles with Atlantic where they worked with legendary producers Leiber and Stoller, and scored a hit with ‘Twist And Shout' on the Wand label.  The Beatles subsequently experienced great chart success with their cover version of the number.

In 1969, with the reformation of T-Neck, the three older brothers invited guitarist Ernie Isley and bass player Marvin Isley to join the group together with brother in law and keyboard player Chris Jasper.  Marvin was in a class with heavyweights like Larry Graham and Louis Johnson.  Ernie was a stunning guitarist heavily influenced by Jimi Hendrix but with a distinctive style of his own.  The Isleys had always been lovers of rock, but with the addition of Ernie, their sound became even more rock-influenced.  Nonetheless, the rock and pop elements didn't alienate R&B audiences, who loved the album ‘3+3', the title of which referred to the bands expansion.  They were now a self contained unit and it was this combination of musicians who penned ‘That Lady Parts One & Two'.  In fact this major hit of the year was a rock-funk fusion cover of their own earlier single ‘Who's That Lady', an Impressions-like gem that they had recorded back in 1964.

‘3+3' proved to be a major turning point for the Isley Brothers.  With this album they moved their T-Neck label from Buddah to Epic-CBS, later to be known as Epic-Sony.  It was at Epic that the Isley Brothers really used their new line-up to maximum effect.

The band went on recording into the eighties with varying success but hit a rocky road when O'Kelly Isley died of a heart attack in 1986.  Shortly afterwards Rudolph left to join the ministry but Ronald carried on, recording with Ernie and Marvin.  They released the album ‘Mission To Please' in 1996.

However, in 2001, with Marvin beset by diabetes and the band down to just Ronald and Ernie, they came roaring back with their CD ‘Eternal'.  It crashed straight into the top 5 of the US album charts and, by harnessing some of the best talent from modern R & B, served to reinvent the Isley's all over again.  Ronald even found time to revert back to his alter ego Mr. Biggs who had first surfaced on the 1995 hit by R Kelly ‘Down Low'.  This time around Ronald Isley, in Mr. Biggs mode, excelled on the track ‘Contagious', a story of discovered infidelity that featured Kelly as the other guy.  Anyone who saw the video of this one will know what I mean.

‘That Lady' has turned out to be equally long lived.  As well as being included on numerous Isley Brothers and soul compilations, the guitar legend Santana included it on his 1990 release ‘Spirits Dancing In The Flesh', an album that found him in unusually eclectic mood.

It can also be found on the 1986 ‘Midnight Cowboys From Ipanema' by the Sun City Girls and is on the soundtrack of the 1999 independent movie ‘Boys Don't Cry', a story of lesbian love and gender identity crisis in small town Nebraska that, at the time, received considerable critical acclaim.

One of the better covers of ‘That Lady' is that from Peter White.  This smooth jazz version is included to spectacular effect on his 2001 release ‘Glow' and often forms part of his live performances.  Most recently Mike Arneson included it on the 2005 release ‘Smooth Sax Tribute To The Isley Brothers', yet another recording that keeps alive the memory of one of the best tunes in soul music history.

By Denis Poole

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