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)
Keep It Flowin
The Isley Brothers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The way you're doing, what you're doing (ooh) keeps me, coming back
for more. So,
Keep it flowin baby, gurl don't stop for nothing
Keep it flowin baby, keep givin your lovin
Keep it flowin baby, kissin and huggin
Keep it flowin baby, and don't stop it now
Now is the time to do what I do.
I'm gonna try my best to put my joy in you.
Wanna be your lover, day and night.
The way you're pleasing me, feels so right.
Keep it flowin baby, and don't stop for nothing
Keep it flowin baby, keep givin your love
Keep it flowin baby, kissin and huggin
Keep it flowin baby, gurl don't stop it now.
Just open up, and let me in. I wanna give you
this love I have within. Said that I wanna be,
your lover gurl. Oh baby, you know what I want.
Keep it flowin baby, and don't stop for nothing
Keep it flowin baby, keep givin your lovin
Keep it flowin baby, kissin and huggin
Keep it flowin baby, just like a boat
(Bridge)
Just like a boat gurl, keep it flowin. Don't you stop
gurl, keep it going. Up and down gurl, keep it strokin.
Feelin so good, kissin and huggin. Love in the wind, feel
ya lovin. Gurl ya so, I wanna stay here, in the passion.
Rollin with you. Honey make like you a river.
(Ending)
Let it flow, let it flow, let it, just let it flow.
(Repeat ending while singing chorus)
The Isley Brothers's song Keep It Flowin is a sensuous and passionate love ballad that speaks about a couple's insatiable desire for each other. The song begins with the singer expressing his deep infatuation for his lover, with whom he is spending the wee hours of the morning. Despite the time, the intensity of their physical intimacy has not reduced even a bit, and he wants it to keep going. He admires the way his lover does what she does, which drives him wild with desire, and begs her not to stop.
In the next verse, the singer reciprocates the love and pleasure by promising to devote himself to his lover's satisfaction. He aims to please her day and night, given how well she pleases him. He asks her to open herself up and receive the love he has for her, declaring himself her lover. In the bridge, the singer likens his lover's erotic energy to that of a river's flow, urging her to keep it up and not to stop.
Overall, Keep It Flowin is a sultry and compelling R&B song about a couple's passion and desire.
Line by Line Meaning
It's 2:00, and we're still going. I can't get enough of your lovin now.
Despite the late timing, I'm still enthralled with your love and desire more.
The way you're doing, what you're doing (ooh) keeps me, coming back
for more. So,
Your seductive actions and behaviors are irresistible and make me crave more of your affection.
Keep it flowin baby, gurl don't stop for nothing
Please continue with your passionate and loving actions without any hindrances.
Keep it flowin baby, keep givin your lovin
Persist with giving me your faithful and attentive love.
Keep it flowin baby, kissin and huggin
Don't stop cuddling and kissing me tenderly and lovingly.
Keep it flowin baby, and don't stop it now
Please keep your passionate actions towards me going and don't halt them.
Now is the time to do what I do.
Presently is the time to show you how much I love and adore you.
I'm gonna try my best to put my joy in you.
I intend to try my hardest to make you as happy as you make me.
Wanna be your lover, day and night.
I aspire to be your lover always, without exception.
The way you're pleasing me, feels so right.
Your methods of providing me with joy are precisely correct.
Just open up, and let me in. I wanna give you
this love I have within.
Please let me into your life so I can show you how much I love you.
Said that I wanna be, your lover gurl. Oh baby, you know what I want.
I have stated my desire to be your lover, and you know exactly what I'm after.
Keep it flowin baby, just like a boat
Keep our passion going, much like a boat floating on a tranquil stream.
(Bridge)
Just like a boat gurl, keep it flowin. Don't you stop
gurl, keep it going. Up and down gurl, keep it strokin.
I compare our love and passion to a boat on a calm stream, and I beg you to persist with your movements and rhythm.
Feelin so good, kissin and huggin. Love in the wind, feel
ya lovin.
It feels sublime being in your loving embrace with the air filled with passion and love.
Gurl ya so, I wanna stay here, in the passion.
Rollin with you. Honey make like you a river.
I want to stay here, lost in my love for you and surrounded by the passion. Just as a river flows endlessly, let our love do the same.
(Ending)
Let it flow, let it flow, let it, just let it flow.
I encourage you to let our love and affection continue unobstructed and unimpeded without any barriers.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ROBERT S. KELLY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind