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)
Take Me to the Next Phase
The Isley Brothers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We're the people above forty years
Something's happening
Same old feeling is back again
Take me to the next phase, baby
Take me, take my soul to the next phase
Take me to the next phase, baby
I see you standing tall
We're here jammin' wall to wall
Feel the spirit happening
Thank you for let me do it all again
Take me to the next phase, baby
Take me, take my soul to the next phase
Take me to the next phase, baby
Take me, take my soul to the next phase
Feel the music coming down
Happy feelings all around
Take me to the next phase, baby
Take me, take my soul to the next phase
Take me to the next phase, baby
Take me, take us all to the next phase
Come on, can you feel it? Yeah
Come on, yeah, help me with the feeling
Come on, yeah, help me with the feeling
Groove yeah, ain't that I can feel
We need volunteers
We're the people above forty years
Something's happening
I wanna thank you for let me do it all again
Take me to the next phase, baby
Take me, take my soul to the next phase
Take me to the next phase, baby
Take me, take us all to the next phase
Everybody say, yeah
Everybody say, I like it, yeah
Come on, dance
Come and get the feeling, yeah, yeah
Come on, yeah, dance
Come to get the feeling, I got it
The Isley Brothers's song "Take Me To The Next Phase" is an exuberant ode to the joy of the dancefloor. The lyrics describe an all-encompassing feeling of elation and the desire to keep dancing on and on, taking the spirit of the music to new heights. The song starts by calling for volunteers, specifically people above 40 years old, to join in the festivities. There is a sense of something happening, a "same old feeling" that's back again. This feeling is open to interpretation, but it could be a reference to the cyclical nature of dance music, how it keeps evolving and looping back to its roots.
The chorus of the song is a plea to be taken to the "next phase" of the party. The singer implores their partner to "take my soul" to the next level of enjoyment. The verses describe a scene of people jamming, feeling the spirit happening, and being surrounded by happy feelings. The music itself is described as "coming down" and enveloping everyone in its groove. The song ends with a call for everyone to keep dancing and keep feeling the music, with the singer declaring that they want to do it all over again.
Line by Line Meaning
We need volunteers
We're looking for people to join us
We're the people above forty years
Our group consists of people who are over 40 years old
Something's happening
There's a change in the air
Same old feeling is back again
We're experiencing that feeling again
Take me to the next phase, baby
I want to move onto the next stage of my life
Take me, take my soul to the next phase
I want to bring my whole being to the next level
I see you standing tall
I see that you're confident and proud
We're here jammin' wall to wall
We're all together enjoying the music
Feel the spirit happening
We can feel that something special is occurring
Thank you for let me do it all again
Thank you for giving me another chance to experience this
Feel the music coming down
The music is getting more intense
Happy feelings all around
Everyone is feeling joyful
Take me, take us all to the next phase
Let's all move forward to the next stage together
Come on, can you feel it? Yeah
Can you sense the excitement and energy? Yes
Come on, yeah, help me with the feeling
Join in with me and let's share this feeling together
Groove yeah, ain't that I can feel
I can feel the rhythm and I'm enjoying it
Everybody say, yeah
Let's all agree and say 'yes'
Everybody say, I like it, yeah
Everyone is enjoying themselves and expressing their liking
Come on, dance
Let's all move our bodies to the beat
Come and get the feeling, yeah, yeah
Experience the emotions and sensations that this music brings
Come to get the feeling, I got it
I'm already feeling it and I want to share it with you
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: CHRISTOPHER H JASPER, ERNIE ISLEY, MARVIN ISLEY, O'KELLY ISLEY, RONALD ISLEY, RUDOLPH ISLEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@viv6511
This song is a beast!! It never gets old.
@geraldhaynes2989
Never!
@stourglassboy
This track has gone so far off the scale on my funkometer it's actually broken it! I am the proud owner of the 12 inch version of this on vinyl, circa 1978
@debwright3190
The Isley Brothers! One of the greatest Old School Bands among many. I am so grateful for the music these guys left behind. The Black American classics. Great! Music! Real music!👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻😀😀😀😀
@victorialevy3928
Bad ass all the way for real! I've gone to the space phase on this one! They destroyed this song! I can't quit listening to it! I was a teenager when this came out and people were crazy! I'm still going crazy and I'm 58 years old! Love you Isley Brothers.
@shelbyscoggins2451
Miss the days when each band had their own unique sound, and the Isley Brothers were in a league of their own! ❤❤❤❤
@lesmartinsings
I loved how the Isleys morphed from an excellent vocal outfit into the full blown band that did stuff as funky as this.
@paulmiles5942
You can SMELL THE FUNK ON THIS ONE!! love these brothers!!
@tammyabney9562
this is still.......and 'WILL' always be......the best jam ever!!!!!
@lenorawester5788
Yesssss!!!!