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)
Speechless
The Isley Brothers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Everything you mean to me
Oh, lady do you believe
How can I express the way
I dream about you night and day
But I didn't prepare a speech
La da da da da da
La da da da da da
See, I don't know what to say to you, but
La da da da da da (La da da)
La da da da da da (La da da)
Speechless
Here's a tender melody describin' love
Love
Love, ooh
Turnin' pages, tryin' to find (Tryin' to find)
Secret ways to make you mine (Make you mine, all mine)
Lady of desire
And every time I try to speak
Your presence just takes over me
Still I'm not prepared to speak, so lady
La da da da da da (La da da)
La da da da da da (Oh...oh...)
Speechless
Don't know what to say to you, but
La da da da da da (La da da da la da da da)
La da da da da da (La da da la da da)
Here's a tender melody describin' love (Love)
Love (La da la da lda da)
Yeah
Love (Love)
Love (La da da la da da la da da)
Just like ice cream
You're such a treat
I'm like a speaker without a speech
La da da da da da (I don't know what to say)
La da da da da da (I don't know what to do)
But sing "La da da" to you, girl
La da da da da da (La da da da da)
La da da da da da (La da da da da)
I'm speechless, baby, speechless, baby
Whoa...oh...ho...
La da da da da da (Though I had it all together, baby)
La da da da da da (But one look at you)
I lost my train of thoughts, yeah
La da da da da da (La da da da)
La da da da da da (La da da da da)
La da la da da, ooh
The song "Speechless" by The Isley Brothers feat. Ronald Isley is an expression of strong feelings towards a lady. The first verse "Look into my eyes and see", shows the desire to communicate deepest emotions, but lack of words. It is said that the lady “takes over” the singer's presence, making him speechless. The use of "la da da da da da" serves to describe the inability of the singer to express himself verbally. He had no prepared speech or words to express how he feels about the lady, but the song itself is the speech, a tender melody describing love. The singer sees the lady as a sweet treat and can't help but sing "la da da" to her.
The chorus “Speechless, don't know what to say to you” is repeated throughout the song, emphasizing the singer's inability to express himself verbally. The line “Still I'm not prepared to speak” shows the singer's reluctance to incorrectly express his feelings. It could be said that the song “Speechless” is not about the singer's lack of words but shows the overpowering feelings that come with love, which words cannot entirely express.
Line by Line Meaning
Look into my eyes and see
I want you to see how much you mean to me by looking into my eyes
Everything you mean to me
You mean everything to me
Oh, lady do you believe
I hope you believe me
How can I express the way
I am struggling to express
I dream about you night and day
Thinking about you keeps me up at night and occupies my days
But I didn't prepare a speech
I didn't plan out what to say to you
La da da da da da
I am at a loss for words
Speechless
I am unable to speak
See, I don't know what to say to you, but
As I said before, I don't know what to say to you
Here's a tender melody describin' love
I express my love towards you through this soft melody
Turnin' pages, tryin' to find (Tryin' to find)
I am searching for ways to make you mine
Secret ways to make you mine (Make you mine, all mine)
I want to find secret ways to win your heart over completely
Lady of desire
You are the woman that I desire
And every time I try to speak
Whenever I try to talk to you
Your presence just takes over me
Your presence fills me with intense feelings
Still I'm not prepared to speak, so lady
But even still, I am not ready to speak
Here's a tender melody describin' love (Love)
This soft melody describes my love
Just like ice cream
Just like how ice cream is a treat
You're such a treat
You are also a treat
I'm like a speaker without a speech
I feel like a speaker with nothing to say
But sing "La da da" to you, girl
So I will just sing "La da da" to you
I'm speechless, baby, speechless, baby
I still cannot speak, baby
Though I had it all together, baby
Even though I thought I had it all figured out, baby
But one look at you
Just one look at you
I lost my train of thoughts, yeah
Made me lose my ability to think straight
La da la da da, ooh
So I will continue with singing "La da la da da"
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ROBERT S. KELLY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind