Bullseye with Jesse Thorn is a production of MaximumFun.org and is distributed by NPR.

It's Bullseye, I'm Jesse Thorn.

The Isley Brothers first hit was Shaft.

The Rock & Roll was new, soul was even newer, and Ernie Isley, since in Addie Zone, was

seven years old.

It was 1959.

In the 60s, they had twist and shout and a run with Motown.

For a while, Jimmy Hendrix was their lead guitarist and lived in their mom's spare room.

In 1969, they reintroduced themselves to the world.

They weren't a singing group anymore.

They were a band, with little brother Ernie on bass.

The song was, it's your thing.

The Isley, brother Marvin Isley and brother-in-law Chris Jasper reinvigorated the band, starting

in the early 1970s.

Ernie moved from bass to guitar, and his sound was key to the family's revival.

They were the rare R&B group, which featured raw, extended guitar solos.

The Isley Brothers had a nearly unparalleled run of hits, starting with it's your thing

and continuing into the mid-1980s.

In fact, they're the only group in popular music who charted in every decade since the

50s, and their influence extends far beyond their own original recordings.

They've also been the basis of hip-hop hits, like bone thugs and harmonies, crossroads,

ice cubes, it was a good day, and Kendrick Lamar's eye.

...