Ernest Isley (born March 7, 1952) is an American musician best known as a member of the

musical ensemble A musical ensemble, also known as a music group, musical group, or a band is a group of people who perform Instrumental music, instrumental and/or vocal music, with the ensemble typically known by a distinct name. Some music ensembles consist ...

The Isley Brothers The Isley Brothers ( ) are an American soul group originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, that began as a vocal trio consisting of the brothers O'Kelly Isley Jr., Rudolph Isley and Ronald Isley in the 1950s. With a career spanning over seven decades, ...

, and also the splinter group

Isley-Jasper-Isley Isley-Jasper-Isley was a splinter group of the Isley Brothers The Isley Brothers ( ) are an American soul group originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, that began as a vocal trio consisting of the brothers O'Kelly Isley Jr., Rudolph Isley and Ro ...

Biography

Ernie was born in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

, where his older brothers formed

. In 1960, his family moved to Englewood/

Teaneck, New Jersey Teaneck () is a Township (New Jersey), township in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a bedroom community in the New York metropolitan area. The town is know for their pancake throwing contest held ...

. He attended Dwight Morrow High School. During this period, Jimi Hendrix (known then as Jimmy Hendrix) joined the group and lived with the family from Spring of 1963 through Thanksgiving of 1965. "While their older brothers toured America, the younger Isley boys enrolled successively in Englewood Junior High and Dwight Morrow High School. He holds a BA in Music from C.W. Post (Long Island University). 'We always had lots of instruments lying around the house—Stratocaster Fenders and jazz instruments—so naturally we were interested and decided to learn how to play,' Ernie Isley said." He resides in

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

. Ernie started playing drums at 12. His first live gig as a member of his brothers' band was as a drummer in 1966 at the age of 14. Ernie was influenced by

José Feliciano José Montserrate Feliciano García (; born September 10, 1945) is a Puerto Rican musician. He recorded many international hits, including his rendition of the Doors' " Light My Fire" and his self-penned Christmas song "". Music genres he explo ...

's version of " Light My Fire" and in 1968 got his first guitar. He is a self-taught musician. In 1968 he did his first professional recording, playing bass on the Isley Brothers' breakthrough funk smash "

It's Your Thing "It's Your Thing" is a funk single by The Isley Brothers. Released in 1969, the anthem was an artistic response to Motown chief Berry Gordy's demanding hold on his artists after the Isleys left the label in late 1968. The lyrics of the chorus, w ...

", released in 1969. He played electric guitar, acoustic guitar, and drums on the group's early 1970s albums '' Get Into Something'', '' Givin' It Back'', and '' Brother, Brother, Brother'', before fully joining the group in 1973, becoming a multi-instrumentalist playing acoustic guitar, electric guitar, drums and percussion. Ernie is a prolific songwriter, penning, among others, "

Fight the Power (Part 1 & 2) "Fight the Power" (sometimes titled as "Fight the Power (Part 1 and Part 2)") is a song recorded by the Isley Brothers, who released the song as the first single off their landmark album, ''The Heat Is On (album), The Heat Is On''. The song is ...

", Between the Sheets", " Make Me Say It Again", " Harvest for the World", "Voyage to Atlantis", " (At Your Best) You Are Love", " Footsteps In the Dark", "Brown Eyed Girl" and co-writing, among others, " That Lady", " For The Love of You", and " Take Me To The Next Phase". His guitar riffs are recognizable on " Summer Breeze", "That Lady", "Voyage To Atlantis" and " Choosey Lover". In 1984, Ernie, Marvin and Chris formed the group Isley-Jasper-Isley, releasing three albums. In 1990, Ernie released his first solo album, ''

High Wire Tightrope walking, also called funambulism, is the skill of walking along a thin wire or rope. It has a long tradition in various countries and is commonly associated with the circus. Other skills similar to tightrope walking include slack rope ...

''. In the same year he recorded a cover version of

The Cars The Cars were an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1976. Emerging from the New wave music, new wave Subculture, scene in the late 1970s, they consisted of Ric Ocasek (rhythm guitar), Benjamin Orr (bass guitar), Elliot Easton (l ...

' "Let's Go" for the compilation album '' Rubáiyát''. In 1991, he rejoined Ronald and Marvin on tour and in the studio. In 1996 they released their platinum CD '' Mission to Please'', and in 2001 " Eternal", the lyrics to the title track written by Ernie. The Isley Brothers were inducted into the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame in 1992. In 2014 the Isley Brothers received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2010 and 2011 he participated on the ''Experience Hendrix Tour''. He is a musician on the

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreogr ...

album ''

Discipline Discipline is the self-control that is gained by requiring that rules or orders be obeyed, and the ability to keep working at something that is difficult. Disciplinarians believe that such self-control is of the utmost importance and enforce a ...

'', on the tracks "Never Letchu Go" and "The 1". He performed on the majority of the 2012

Joss Stone Joscelyn Eve Stoker (born 11 April 1987), known professionally as Joss Stone, is an English singer, songwriter and actress. She rose to prominence in late 2003 with her multi-platinum debut album, ''The Soul Sessions'', which made the 2004 Merc ...

CD '' The Soul Sessions Vol. 2''. Ernie and Ronald continue to work together on tour and in the studio. Ernie and Ronald teamed up with

Carlos Santana Carlos Humberto Santana Barragán (; born July 20, 1947) is an American guitarist, best known as a founding member of the Rock music, rock band Santana (band), Santana. Born and raised in Mexico where he developed his musical background, he r ...

, releasing the 13 track ''The Power of Peace'' in 2017. In 2022, the Isley Brothers teamed with

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most Cultural impact of Beyoncé, ...

to remake " Make Me Say It Again, Girl", originally released in 1975 and written by Ernie. In 2020, Ernie was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame as a member of the Isley Brothers, and is currently touring domestically and internationally with Ronald.

Fender Custom Shop The Fender Custom Shop is a division of Fender Musical Instruments Corporation, housed within its headquarters complex in Corona, California, Corona, Riverside County, California, Riverside County, California. The Fender Custom Shop produces spe ...

has built for him three custom Zeal Stratocasters, using his personal design. Ernie is active as a musical mentor in schools and community music programs. He has been a returning guest lecturer at Berklee School of Music in Boston. He has been married to Tracy since 1998. He has one daughter, Alexandra Isley ( Alex Isley) who is also a Grammy nominated R&B singer-song writer. He was awarded an honorary doctorate of music by the

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music () is a Private university, private music college in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern Music of the United ...

on May 7, 2016.

References

External links

Official Isley Brothers WebsiteErnie Isley Interview
at NAMM Oral History Library (2014)
The Isley Brothers' Ernie Isley (2020)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Isley, Ernie 1952 births Living people African-American guitarists African-American rock musicians American rock drummers Soul drummers American funk drummers American male drummers American funk guitarists American rock guitarists American soul guitarists American male guitarists American lead guitarists American Pentecostals Members of the Church of God in Christ The Isley Brothers members Drummers from Cincinnati Dwight Morrow High School alumni Musicians from Englewood, New Jersey Drummers from St. Louis Songwriters from Ohio Guitarists from Missouri Guitarists from Ohio 20th-century American drummers 20th-century American guitarists African-American songwriters Drummers from New Jersey