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)
Who Said
The Isley Brothers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Who said
{Who said} I've been sneaking out with your friend
{Who said} Who said
{Who said} I've been seen in the Holiday Inn
{Who said} Who said
{Who said}
{Who said} Somebody said I was about to do my thing
{Who said}
Who said I was shacking up
Who's makin' all these rumors up now
Yeah...hea...hea...
{Who said} If you ring my telephone
{Who said}
{Who said} That you wouldn't find me at home
{Who said} Who said
{Who said} I've been sneaking out with your friend
{Who said} Who said
{Who said} Somebody said I was seem in the Holiday Inn
{Who said}
Who sad that I was shackin' up, yeah
Who's makin' all them rumors up now
{Who said} I was doin' my thing
{Who said} I do the same thing I do all the time
{Who said} I been shackin' up
{Who said} Yeah
{Who said} I don't want your friend
{Who said} I don't want her
{Who said} I've been sneakin' out
{Who said} I was home, girl
Who said
Who said
Who said
Who said
Say, man
Somebody said they caught me doin' my thing
They must have seen a ghost
Oh, you did
Well, catch this funk
{Who said} Did you like that, baby
(Mmm, hmm, I said, mmm, hmm)
{Who said}
{Who said} I hope you got what you were lookin' for
{Who said} (I got mine) I'll trade you for it
{Who said} Come on, baby, you gon' snag my groove
{Who said}
{Who said} Can you feel it
{Who said} Who said they seen me where
I ain't never been in there
{Who said} That wasn't me
{Who said} Maybe it was somebody that, uh, kinda looked that way
{Who said} Ha-ha, ooh
{Who said} I'm always doin' the right kinda stuff
{Who said}
{Who said} I want to know
{Who said}
{Who said} Not me, I'm always doin' the right stuff
{Who said} I want to know who said
{Who said} (Not me)
{Who said} Who said so, my dear
{Who said} I just don't sneak around like that
The Isley Brothers' song "Who Said?" is essentially about shutting down rumors - rumors of infidelity, sneaking around, and being caught in compromising situations. The song challenges the person or people spreading these rumors to reveal themselves and their sources, and makes it clear that the subject of the rumors is not guilty of any wrongdoing. The use of repetition and call-and-response in the chorus emphasizes this point and creates a sense of defiance in the face of baseless accusations.
The lyrics also touch on themes of trust and communication in relationships. The accusations of cheating and dishonest behavior suggest a lack of trust between the people involved, and the song seeks to repair that trust by directly addressing the rumors and denying their validity. At the same time, the repeated refrain of "Who said?" suggests that communication may be breaking down, as the subject of the rumors seems to be hearing about them secondhand rather than from their partner directly.
Line by Line Meaning
Who said I've been sneaking out with your friend
Who claimed that I have been leaving with your friend secretly
Who said I've been seen in the Holiday Inn
Who asserted that I have been spotted at the Holiday Inn
Who said that I used another name
Who alleged that I utilized a different name
Somebody said I was about to do my thing
Someone mentioned that I was going to pursue my interests
Who said I was shacking up
Who spread rumors that I am living together with someone
Who's makin' all these rumors up now
Who is fabricating all these untruths currently
If you ring my telephone
In case you call my phone
That you wouldn't find me at home
You won't discover me at home
Somebody said I was seen in the Holiday Inn
Someone stated that they saw me at the Holiday Inn
Who sad that I was shackin' up
Who spread the falsehood that I was living together with someone
I was doin' my thing
I was engaging in my own interests
I do the same thing I do all the time
I always pursue the same activities
I've been shackin' up
I have been residing with someone
I don't want your friend
I don't have any interest in your friend
I've been sneakin' out
I have been leaving quietly
I was home, girl
I was at home, girl
Somebody said they caught me doin' my thing
Someone claimed that they caught me pursuing my interests
Oh, you did
Did you really?
I hope you got what you were lookin' for
I hope you found what you were seeking
I'll trade you for it
I can exchange something with you for it
Come on, baby, you gon' snag my groove
Come on, baby, are you going to disrupt my flow
Can you feel it
Are you sensing it
Who said they seen me where I ain't never been in there
Who lied that they saw me where I have never been before
That wasn't me
That wasn't me there
Maybe it was somebody that, uh, kinda looked that way
Maybe it was someone who appeared similar to me
I'm always doin' the right kinda stuff
I always do the proper kind of things
I want to know who said
I want to find out who spread the falsehood
Not me, I'm always doin' the right stuff
It wasn't me, I always do the right things
Who said so, my dear
Who claimed so, my dear
I just don't sneak around like that
I don't sneak around like that
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: CHRISTOPHER JASPER, CHRISTOPHER H JASPER, ERNIE ISLEY, MARVIN ISLEY, O'KELLY ISLEY, RONALD ISLEY, RUDOLPH ISLEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind