Together with a fourth brother, Vernon, the group performed gospel music until Vernon's death a few years after its formation. After moving to the New York City area in the late 1950s, the group had their first successes during these early years, first coming to prominence in 1959 with their fourth single, "Shout", written by the three brothers. Initially a modest charted single, the song eventually sold over a million copies. In the 1960s, the group recorded songs for a variety of labels, including the top 20 single "Twist and Shout" and the Motown single "This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You)", before recording and issuing the Grammy Award-winning hit "It's Your Thing" on their own label, T-Neck Records.
Influenced by gospel and doo-wop music, the group began experimenting with different musical styles incorporating elements of rock and funk as well as pop balladry. The inclusion of younger brothers Ernie Isley (lead guitar, drums) and Marvin Isley (bass guitar), and Rudolph's brother-in-law Chris Jasper (keyboards, synthesizers), in 1973 turned the original vocal trio into a complete band and reached the height of their success. For the next full decade, they recorded a string of top-selling albums from 3 + 3 to Between the Sheets, including the number one album The Heat Is On.
The six-member band splintered in 1983, with Ernie, Marvin, and Chris Jasper forming the short-lived spinoff group Isley-Jasper-Isley. The oldest member, O'Kelly, died in 1986 and Rudolph and Ronald released a pair of albums as a duo before Rudolph retired to a life in the Christian ministry in 1989. Ronald reconvened the group two years later in 1991 with Ernie and Marvin; five years later, in 1996, Marvin Isley left the group due to complications of diabetes. The remaining duo of Ronald and Ernie achieved mainstream success with the albums Mission to Please (1996), Eternal (2001) and Body Kiss (2003). Eternal spawned the top twenty hit "Contagious". As of 2019, the Isley Brothers continue to perform under the lineup of Ronald and Ernie.
The Isley Brothers have sold over 18 million units in the United States alone. They have had several hit songs including four Top 10 singles on the United States Billboard chart. With their first major hit charting in 1959 ("Shout"), and their last one in 2001 ("Contagious"), they are among the few groups ever to have hit the Billboard Hot 100 with new music in five different decades. Sixteen of their albums charted in the Top 40 and thirteen of those albums have been certified gold, platinum or multi-platinum by the RIAA. The brothers have been honored by several musical institutions, including the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which inducted them in 1992. Five years later, they were added to Hollywood's Rockwalk, and in 2003 they were inducted to the Vocal Group Hall of Fame. They received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Isley_Brothers
Studio albums
Shout! (1959)
Twist & Shout (1962)
Twisting and Shouting (1963)
This Old Heart of Mine (1966)
Soul on the Rocks (1967)
It's Our Thing (1969)
The Brothers: Isley (1969)
Get into Something (1970)
Givin' It Back (1971)
Brother, Brother, Brother (1972)
3 + 3 (1973)
Live It Up (1974)
The Heat Is On (1975)
Harvest for the World (1976)
Go for Your Guns (1977)
Showdown (1978)
Winner Takes All (1979)
Go All the Way (1980)
Grand Slam (1981)
Inside You (1981)
The Real Deal (1982)
Between the Sheets (1983)
Masterpiece (1985)
Smooth Sailin' (1987)
Spend the Night (1989)
Tracks of Life (1992)
Mission to Please (1996)
Eternal (2001)
Body Kiss (2003)
Baby Makin' Music (2006)
Power of Peace (2017)
Gypsy Love Song
The Isley Brothers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And the shades and the glades are lonely
Summer is there with her blossoms fair
And you are absent only
No bird that nests in the greenwood tree
But sighs to greet you and kiss you
All the violets yearn, yearn for your safe return
Slumber on, my little gypsy sweetheart
Dream of the field and the grove
Can you hear me? Hear me in that dreamland
Where your fancies rove
Slumber on, my little gypsy sweetheart
Wild little woodland dove
Can you hear the love song that tells you
All my heart's true love?
The fawn that you tamed has a look in its eyes
That doth say, "We are too long parted"
Songs that are trolled by our comrades old
Are not now as they were light hearted
The wild rose fades in the leafy shades
Its ghost will find you and haunt
All the friends say come, come to your woodland home
And most of all I want you
The Isley Brothers' "Gypsy Love Song" is a melancholic love song that captures the feeling of longing and yearning for someone who is absent. In the first stanza, the lyrics evoke the image of a forest, where the birds are calling and the shades and glades are lonely because the person the singer is addressing is not there. The singer then goes on to say that summer is in full bloom with its fair blossoms, but it's not complete without the person they miss.
The second stanza continues with the imagery of the forest, where even the birds and violets yearn for the person's safe return. In the chorus, the singer urges the person to sleep and dream of the field and the grove, where their fancies rove freely. The singer affectionately calls the person a "wild little woodland dove" and asks if they can hear the love song that tells them about the singer's true love.
In the third stanza, the lyrics mention a fawn that the person tamed, and how it looks at them as if they have been separated for too long. The songs that are usually sung by their comrades are not as light-hearted as before. The wild rose flower fades in the leafy shades, and its ghost will haunt the person, and all their friends are urging them to come back to their woodland home. But, most of all, the singer wants the person they miss to return.
Overall, "Gypsy Love Song" is a beautiful and poetic love song that expresses the depth of a person's longing and love for someone who is absent from their life.
Line by Line Meaning
The birds of the forest are calling for thee
The natural world echoes the loneliness felt in your absence
And the shades and the glades are lonely
The shadows of the trees and the open meadows are desolate without you
Summer is there with her blossoms fair
The beauty of the summer season is present, but incomplete without you
And you are absent only
The only thing missing is your presence
No bird that nests in the greenwood tree
Every bird in the forest is waiting to welcome and embrace you
But sighs to greet you and kiss you
They yearn to express their affection and kiss you with their songs
All the violets yearn, yearn for your safe return
Even the sweet little flowers weep for your safety and eagerly await your return
But most of all I miss you
Above all, I feel your absence the most
Slumber on, my little gypsy sweetheart
Rest peacefully, my darling, adventurous soul
Dream of the field and the grove
Let your dreams take you to the tranquil surroundings of the countryside
Can you hear me? Hear me in that dreamland
In your slumber, can you sense my voice calling out to you in your dreams?
Where your fancies rove
Where your imaginative thoughts wander
Wild little woodland dove
Free-spirited, untamable soul of the forest
Can you hear the love song that tells you
Can you hear the romantic melody that sings of my love for you?
All my heart's true love?
A love that is genuine and pure, emanating from deep within my heart
The fawn that you tamed has a look in its eyes
The gentle deer that you befriended has an expression of longing for your presence
That doth say, "We are too long parted"
It seeks to convey that it's been too long since we've been together
Songs that are trolled by our comrades old
The songs sung by our aging friends evoke memories of you
Are not now as they were light hearted
Those songs have lost their joy and lightness since your departure
The wild rose fades in the leafy shades
The vibrant rose that once bloomed has withered away in the shade of the leaves
Its ghost will find you and haunt
Its lingering essence will find you and remind you of its fading beauty
All the friends say come, come to your woodland home
Everyone urges you to come back to your natural home in the forest
And most of all I want you
Above all, I yearn for your presence and your love more than anything else
Contributed by Peyton C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.