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Ron Isley Reveals Secrets Behind Iconic Hits | SWAY’S UNIVERSE
Nov 12, 2024
Dive into the captivating world of music legend Ron Isley as he unveils his untold hip-hop connection on this exclusive episode of Sway In The Morning. Join the engaging conversation with Sway as they explore Isley's musical journey, from his early days with The Isley Brothers to his profound influence on hip-hop culture. Discover key moments, such as the impact of iconic tracks like "Fight the Power" and "It's Your Thing," and how they shaped social change and inspired generations of artists. With insightful anecdotes about legends like Jimi Hendrix and connections to modern hip-hop, Ron Isley shares his unmatched legacy. Don't miss the chance to witness this unprecedented interview, revealing the dynamic interplay between gospel music, social change, and hip-hop evolution. Subscribe now to Sway’s Universe for more exclusive interviews and stay connected on social media for the latest updates and content. #entertainmentnews #celebritygossip #hiphopinfluence #hiphopculture #hiphop CHAPTERS: 00:00 - Intro 02:47 - R Kelly Verzuz Battle 04:59 - The Beatles Influence 08:56 - Introducing Contagious Project 16:55 - Need for Songs Like “Fight The Power” 19:10 - Independent Music Profit Changes 21:40 - Artists Sampling The Isley Brothers 24:05 - Taking Calls from Listeners 24:15 - Isley Brothers vs. Earth, Wind & Fire 29:58 - Hollywood Walk of Fame Recognition 30:19 - Relationship with Jimi Hendrix 32:54 - Meeting Music Legends 37:46 - Caller Q&A Session
View Video Transcript
0:00
That deserves a round of applause. I had to take them back to 1992, Heather B
0:04
I had to take them back to 1992. That's when they finally got smart and inducted them into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992
0:14
But it started off in the 50s, Heather B. I know this for a fact. I studied them
0:18
Yeah, because you wasn't there. I wasn't there. You wasn't there. You usually there swayed, but you wasn't there
0:25
Normally I'm there, but this particular time I wasn't, but my mother was there
0:30
Thanks. Love that. And my family came up in Northern California, in Oakland, California
0:37
and came up during the Civil Rights Movement, obviously. The Black Power Movement, obviously
0:44
And so I was a child of the 70s who got a chance to grow up
0:49
to wake up and fall asleep to your music. and it was your music along with the folks you did the verses with earth wind and fire
0:59
that's right the commodores isaac hayes the barclays um howard melvin and the blue notes
1:10
i could just continue uh george george clinton funk and delitz you know all of these people
1:17
help shape and mold me into the person I am, including yourself, and help shape and mold
1:23
the culture that we've come up through when it comes to hip-hop, if it wasn't for the
1:27
likes of you, Sly and the Family Stone, James Brown, all of these different people that
1:33
we were able to sample the music in order to create our own version of it and make it
1:39
into something different. Hip-hop wouldn't have had the success that it's had
1:44
You know, and I know it wasn't always easy at that time because sampling was a new thing
1:49
But I want to say thank you because you're one of the most sampled artists in the business when it comes to hip hop
1:56
I want to say thank you for allowing those samples to flow through because those songs that were created as a result of your inspiration help us build this multi-billion dollar industry that we call hip hop
2:08
So I want to welcome this man. Give this man a round of applause. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992
2:14
multiple Grammy Awards, come on, Billboard hits, more than 12 on the top 10 hits
2:20
regarded as one of the most greatest vocalist R&B music in general has ever seen
2:25
one of the most influenced generations of artists that come across all of these genres
2:29
Please give it up for the one and only, the legendary Ron Isley is up in here, man
2:34
Come on. What we doing? What we doing? Welcome to the show, man. Welcome home, man
2:55
Home, man. Thank you. Absolutely, man. First of all, when you hear all of these things and people talk about all the things you accomplished
3:05
is it hard to hear? How do you feel when you hear the celebration
3:09
It makes me want to cry, man. Yeah. Go ahead, man. I'll cry with you, brother
3:16
Right? Yeah, yeah. But it's a blessing. It's a blessing. And it makes you feel wonderful
3:24
When I say wonderful, I really mean that. Yeah. And I really want to give thanks to all those fans
3:34
Yeah, man. The people that liked our music. Like, it's the greatest feeling in the world
3:39
Man, I can only imagine. When you talk about some of the legends and music in general, I know that the Beatles
3:47
Yeah. The Beatles at one point said if it wasn't for the Isley Brothers, we would have never left Liverpool
3:53
That's right. Right? And imagine who the Beatles were at that time, right
3:58
And they were breaking all of these records and all of these different things, but they were influenced by people like you
4:04
What did that mean for them to acknowledge you like that? Wow, they were pretending to be the ISU brothers over there
4:10
They were singing shout. They were shouting, twisting shout, you know. And that's where they got the woo and all those things
4:19
The same thing we got from Lil Richard. Yeah. But they've been congratulated, what, this November, right
4:29
Yes, they're putting out a documentary called Beetle 64. Uh-huh. and they asked Ronald to be a part of that
4:38
That voice right there is Candy Isley, man. Give her a big round of applause, man. Hello, hello
4:42
Hello right there. Come on. Thank you so much. You think I don't know who you are, huh
4:47
You know you got a history. You're an artist yourself, right? I am
4:52
I am. My sister and I put out a record a while ago, J.S
4:57
J.S. We know who you are. Yeah, and I still do it. I'm still touring and hanging with my husband
5:03
And now we've got this product that we're launching here in New York
5:08
But just to reiterate, the Beatles, they're putting out a documentary. And so they're doing the premiere here actually in New York, November 29th
5:18
So we'll be back to New York for that to watch the..
5:22
I thought it was on the 24th. November 24th. Yeah. November 24th
5:28
And so they asked Ronald to share some of his utmost respect and moments that he had with the Beatles when he and his brothers went to the U.K
5:39
And they were on the elevator with him when they first met and they wanted to know his opinion
5:44
What do you think about our version of Shout? What did you tell them? What did you tell them
5:49
We hated it. You know, we enjoyed it. You know, we had a couple of million records on that
5:57
Yeah. And they did, I don't know, maybe more than that, you know, so we enjoyed it
6:05
Did y'all consider that appropriation? Yeah, that's the first song that I, you know, I wrote that song in 1959
6:16
And that was the first song that we had really had all of our success on
6:23
Was Shout. Yeah. Now, Little Richard inducted you into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, right
6:30
And Little Richard is somebody who had to fight to tell people who he was to rock and roll, who he was to music
6:39
And people like Little Richard, Jackie Wilson, all these folks' style were being taken from them, right
6:45
Yeah. Can you tell me who was Little Richard at that time, in those times
6:50
Oh, he was a man. At the time that we were, you know, listening to his record
7:00
Good Golly Miss Smiley, Jenny, Jenny, Jenny, and, you know, we had all of those records in our act, you know
7:12
And we was tearing the places up just doing that. He had his own band and James Brown had his own band so a little later we had our own band you know And we were singing those songs Good God Miss Molly And like I said Jenny just all of Rich songs
7:36
Well, you guys, what are I? Isley Brothers before you went, I'm going to get you some water, Mr. Isley
7:41
I'm sorry. We just got to make sure it's mineral water from a sacred, you know, well
7:46
I ain't going to just get you some regular water. OK, that's going to be filtered in the Garden of Eden
7:52
Trust me, you're going to be all right when I get you this water. We ain't got it
7:58
It's going to be all right. But when the Isley Brothers first started, y'all were, it was more gospel, wasn't it
8:05
Yeah. Okay. And then when you transitioned, how hard was that transition
8:10
Did you get backlash? No, no. You know, Jackie Wilson, Clyde McFetter, you know, all of them had that influence
8:19
that soulful influence in their voice. and I think that's the reason
8:25
that we were successful you know the soul well you know you make me want to shout yeah
8:37
I thought you were going to keep going I'll have background vocals for you
8:42
in case you wanted to keep going when you mentioned James Brown
8:46
and we're going to talk about Candy mentioned one of the reasons why you're here
8:51
is because of this product. Can you talk about that real quick, too? Not real quick, but can you bring that in there
8:57
because I got to introduce our other guests. That's Contagious. And that's made by Miss Braxton
9:09
Vanessa Braxton is here. She is the distiller. She is in New York City
9:14
And she is an amazing woman, an amazing black woman she is
9:19
Vanessa Braxton is a distiller. We have a black-owned... Yeah. The first black-owned..
9:26
The first black-owned distillery in the U.S. Oh, nice. It's my 10th year. That's you
9:31
And we both have a... You interviewed me. You interviewed me. When you just said your name, I was like..
9:37
You interviewed me? Yeah. Over the phone. Yeah. Yeah, over the phone
9:41
We didn't meet face-to-face, but your name, yes. Yeah. I'm holding it down here
9:46
And been holding it down. I mean, I know you're being humble, but she's been holding it down
9:50
Yeah. Vanessa is special. Like she said, she is the first and only U.S. black African-American woman distiller in this country
10:01
She makes this brandy, which we're here for to launch here in New York
10:07
It's an XO brandy called Contagious. And she makes this from scratch
10:13
This is an age brandy, six years old. The most delicious brandy you will ever taste
10:22
Okay? We will hold this up against any, any other brandy, okay, or cognac
10:28
It is amazing. It's filtered and distilled five times. So it's smooth when it goes down
10:36
No burn. No burn. But it is still, it is still what, 80 proof
10:41
It still gets the job done, right? Absolutely. Wow. Yeah, yeah. And we also have a vodka as well for those vodka drinkers out there
10:51
Mr. Isley, you haven't made enough money. Were you still selling stuff? You know, this is where the fun is. Yeah
11:02
You know, singing to me will always be the thing that we started out doing and enjoyed doing more than anything in the world
11:17
This will be for the family, you know, continuation. You know, and I wanted something to be special
11:28
I didn't want it just to be a cognac or something you pour
11:34
And he said, oh, man, I don't like this. You know, I wanted to be like Hennessy
11:40
Like, you know, better than Hennessy. And that's what I told Vanessa
11:47
And that's what she formulated and made. Vanessa Braxton. Let's give her some spotlight. Absolutely
11:55
Why are you the only one? I keep asking myself that question
12:03
It's actually a difficult industry, you know. So I'm a retired civil structural engineer
12:08
Oh, wow. Yeah, so I have an engineering background. Okay. You know, and liquor is still a bioprocess, no matter what
12:16
It's still a STEM. Can you imagine when you were in high school and you're doing chemistry or in college or
12:22
and you're a high school student and the teacher comes in and says, okay, y'all, we're going to make liquor today
12:26
Everybody would pay attention. It's still a science and people don't realize that
12:32
So for me, I'm very passionate about it. It's always been my dream
12:38
I used to make liquor in college in 1987 right here at Pratt on campus
12:43
What? You was making moonshine on Pratt campus? I sure was and selling it to everybody
12:49
That's puffy. You sold it to Diddy? You sold moonshine to Diddy
12:54
Not Diddy, but back in the day, we had those college. We had City College
12:59
We had the Howard College. Remember back in the days? I was the one making the liquor
13:03
Everybody was buying it from me right on campus. It was illegal. The statute of limitation is done
13:08
You could. Before the nutcrackers, homie. Before the little cart nutcrackers. Yeah, I was making it on campus in a pressure cooker
13:15
What was the first spirit that you made, and what did you name it? On campus? Yeah. Funky, cold Medina, because the song was out
13:22
and I made that Tone Loke? That was out then but you know what I made it with
13:29
Remember when we had A&P supermarket? It's around the corner from Pratt
13:34
I made it with macaroni, Fleischmann yeast and a ton of sugar
13:40
That's how you make because you need the yeast to make liquor. It's like the gel recipe
13:44
Yeah. Of course it's perfected. Now it's 35 years later, distilled five times over
13:57
Sherry cast. Okay. And this is the key. Congratulations. Maybe a lot of, we have a lot of hip-hop artists and different artists who have liquor brands
14:07
Maybe they could come to you. They should. Like, right? They should. If they want to get it distilled, come to you
14:12
They should. But not only that, Ron Eisley was smart about it
14:17
Because this is a legacy. You know, he's a legacy in the music industry, and he wanted to build a legacy brand
14:25
Okay. He has a license. A lot of the artists do not have a license
14:29
They have a license that's going to last from generations to generations because the license required
14:36
They make sure when they put that law in that the license has no expiration date
14:41
That's why you have all these legacy brands that's around for 250 years
14:46
We need to make sure that we own our brand for generations to come and not just put your
14:53
name on the liquor because at the end of the day a lot of them don own it He owns his They own theirs And it be well into the future after they gone for the legacy
15:06
And that's what's important. Same thing with my distillery. What's the name of your distillery
15:11
It's Black Mama Distillery, GB Distillers. Right here in New York. I won't forget that
15:16
Because my brand is clothing. Black Mama Distillery. Because I make Black Mama vodka
15:20
Most people, you remember you met me, so I make Black Mama vodka. This is my 11th year
15:25
So people can find this. If you can't find it, ask for it. Right
15:29
Right. But you can find this online at RonaldIsleyLiquidGo.com. And we're launching it here in Brooklyn at Happy Cork today
15:38
And also tomorrow we will be at Total Wine in Westbury. The number one store in the U.S
15:45
That's Heather's story. Heather clapped for that. Well, no, because Total... Heather didn't cheer for that
15:50
Okay. For those of you that don't know, Like, Sway wouldn't know what Total Wine is, but it's almost like a grocery store for wine and spirits and entertaining at home
15:59
It's a massive market for everything that you want from the highest spirit to low end
16:06
She's right. And you can entertain when you do the parties. It's all there. So I'm happy it's available at Total Wine
16:12
And I live in New Jersey, but I will hound them in my Jersey store to start
16:16
I'll start recording. The Cherry Hill store. We're going to do the Cherry Hill store soon
16:20
You let them know. All right. Cool, man. Yes, and if it's not there, call and say, we want this liquid gold
16:29
Contagious. Contagious, Brandy, and we will get it to your market. Okay
16:33
Hold on. You can also order it online at RonaldIsleyLiquidGold.com. I need every citizen because it's the holiday
16:41
We don't want you outside drinking and driving. Come on. Thanksgiving. Order whatever you're going to drink
16:45
Let it come to your house. Sit down. Enjoy yourself and fall asleep. Yes. It's also a nice gift
16:50
A lot of times you don't know what to get men and the family. It's a nice gift to give some
16:54
Facts. Mr. Isley, I'll be remiss if I didn't ask you because, you know
16:59
there were certain songs that you made. I'm going back to the music. I got to get this off
17:05
This Old Heart of Mine, Twist and Shout, It's Your Thing, Fight the Power, 1975
17:14
All of these songs that you made during that black power movement, if you will, seem like we could use those songs today
17:26
That's right. Harvest for the world. Harvest for the world, right? Yes
17:30
What was your mindset then? What did the country feel like then to you, and how does it feel now
17:36
It felt like, I remember when we first went to the Madison Square Garden, and we had to fight the powwow
17:53
And it was 20,000 people inside and 22,000 people outside trying to get in
18:02
Yeah. That was a great feeling, man. Yeah. You know. and songs like
18:10
The Harvest for the World you know I wrote the song It's Your Thing and
18:17
the whole business changed for us at that time that was a huge hit right
18:24
that was the one that catapulted after Shout you did 5 million singles damn
18:31
in 75 No, it's 69. And it was, you know, our first start with our record company
18:43
It's your thing. It's your thing. We just left Motown. And Motown said, you all shouldn't leave us
18:51
You're going on your own and this and that, this and that. We started T-NAC Records
18:58
T-NAC Records, right? It's your thing. An independent label. Yes, it was
19:02
what they call that d-y-i-d-i-y do it yourself i'm sorry yeah do it yourself d-i-y yeah you
19:10
were doing independence so when we see artists like la russo today we see um people like master
19:16
p you know even easy e with ruthless records back in the day yeah doing it independent you
19:22
were already doing that was anybody else doing that uh kenny gamble and gambling yeah philadelphia Yeah
19:30
Yeah. And Curtis Mayfield. Where's 100? Yeah. Is that Curtis? Yeah. Yo, he's going to be singing all the time
19:40
No singing today. Yo, I got to sing in front of the time. Not in front of him. Come on, man. Just ask, not in front of him today
19:46
Okay. When y'all went independent, how did that change your profits? Well, it changed my whole..
19:53
He giggling all day. Yeah. It changed our profits, you know, like from one nickel to $5
20:09
Wow. Wow. From one nickel a record to $5 a record. Just to make an example, you know, it changed it more than any and everything
20:24
So that was great for us. and we could sign other artists if we wanted to
20:30
You know, we signed. I think we did a record on the, what's the name
20:37
Well, We Go a Long Way Back. We Go a Long Way Back
20:42
I thought that was Ray Goodman and Brown. We did the record. Goodman and Brown
20:47
No, I thought it was. Oh, okay. All right. We'll come to it. It'll come to me. Don't worry
20:54
And, you know. Bloodstone. Bloodstone. I don't know. I forgot that name
21:02
But we could do anything we wanted to do, and we could put out what we wanted to put out
21:07
That's how we were able to put out Fight the Power. You see, all this bullshit going down
21:15
That's what we wanted to say. And we could bleep it if you didn't want to hear it
21:23
but it helped other artists to be able to say what they wanted
21:28
to say and later on when the hip hop came out Chuck D and Public Enemy
21:33
they could say anything but I like it when you call me Big Papa
21:42
Biggie come on man all of these artists that sampled your songs
21:46
which ones stand out that you really heard and was like oh I like what they did with this
21:51
Oh, man. Ice Cube. Oh, come on, man. We have to do that every night
21:58
Every night. And we do in between the sheets. That's right here, man. Hold up
22:14
It's Ron Isley, y'all. Cuba Tell You. Okay, that's good
22:24
At that point the YouTuber would tear it down You know they do That why you went independent You have to deal with these overseers the power What was the power Fight the power What was the power
22:36
Yeah, my brother wrote that song, you know, and he was writing in the shower
22:42
He tells the story, and he said, when he came up with that song
22:50
he said, you ran out of the shower, the soap went one way, you know
22:55
trying to get the idea down. Before he forgot it, he had to write it down
22:59
Write it down, write it down. I added the part in there
23:03
with all this bullshit going down. Yeah. That was you. Public Enemy took it and introduced you all
23:11
to a whole new generation of people and prolonged the messaging. It's Your Thing, first time I heard that used
23:20
well, it was a couple times. I feel like Dana Dang might have used a piece of it
23:25
But Salt and Pepper did It Is Your Thing. What did you think of that, man
23:31
How did you? I loved that song when they did it. Oh, man. We loved it. And still love it, you know
23:38
That's dope. It was our biggest hit record. Yeah, we did Five Million on that
23:47
And it was on Teaneck Records. That was our everything. backed in get that a round of applause man
23:57
uh ron isley is here i promise people i'll take some um some calls uh for you um so i i definitely
24:07
have to do that um but i i'd be remiss couple things i want to ask you i want to ask you about
24:14
that versus y'all did man what earth went in fire man that that was um that was really amazing
24:20
Versus was an incredible platform. Support. Salute to Timbaland and Swizz Beatz
24:25
Because one of the greatest things I think Versus did for the pandemic is it gave us a lot of peace
24:32
Brought people together. Gave us harmony. Calmed us down. You know, there was a lot of chaos there
24:38
You know how they do. They keep us chaotic. But it also introduced, reintroduced you all to me to now a whole other generation
24:48
What kind of response did you get from that? Like the world opened up again. Really
24:54
Wow. Yeah, yeah, yeah. The Versus was great for us. And, you know, we released Friends and Family
25:04
Yeah, we released a new album at that time called, the single actually, called Friends and Family
25:11
Snoop Dogg was in the video. So right after the Versus, the video came right on
25:16
So it was like perfect timing for us because that record was just sitting there. And we were waiting to release it
25:22
And so we were like, hey, this is the perfect time to release it right after the verses
25:26
And then he went viral for his beard. So that opened up a whole other thing
25:35
Everybody couldn't believe it. This was an accident, though. He grew up because of the pandemic
25:40
He was like, man, I'm not shaving. We're not going nowhere. So I'm going to just keep it
25:47
And we did a surprise birthday party. You know, in those during COVID people did the birthday parades because people couldn't come inside
25:56
So we had a birthday parade at our home and some people it was it was a far away video because he was on the porch and someone got a shot of him
26:06
And so people were like, wait a minute, is that Mr. Biggs? Does he have a beard
26:10
And so that went around went around viral. And so but then when he did the verses, it really just and so now he's stuck with it
26:19
Mr. Big, man, I love that, man. When the whole Mr. Big concept was first introduced, what did you think
26:29
Wow, R. Kelly. Yeah. R. Kelly did the song. He wrote the song
26:35
Down Low. Down Low. Mm-hmm. Down Low. And he said. Don't sing
26:39
Okay, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I like to sing. Go ahead. Right in front of him
26:44
He said. He said. He said, I got this idea for the video
26:51
He said, I want you to play this character, Mr. Biggs. He said, everybody thinks of you as Mr. Biggs
26:59
And he said, in singing, it's not like no dope or anything like that
27:07
And so I'm listening to him, and he said, and he had all these ideas
27:12
which he has, this man has had genius ideas. And he said, I want to tape you when you're walking across to the floor
27:26
when you're singing. And, you know, in the video, that's when he came in
27:36
And we were talking about the girl and so forth. and that exploded
27:45
When I said it exploded, after that record came out, man, shh
27:52
Shit. That was it, huh? So after that, I did the record Contagious
28:02
You're contagious. Touch me, baby. Give me what you got. And then I signed a Kelly Price, and she did the song Friend of Mine
28:18
And he heard Friend of Mine, and he said, Ronald, he wrote the remix for Friend of Mine
28:26
And we did that. This is Mr. B. What you doing, Mr. B
28:33
What the hell is going on? What you mean, what's going on
28:37
Kelly's telling me that you're sleeping with her Just because I'm sleeping with her
28:46
Doesn't mean I feel If you're not sleeping with her What the hell are you doing with her
28:52
I could be I could be just talking to her And I said you could be just freaking
28:57
Son man to man We both know the game And wait a minute
29:06
You know All about heartache and pain This is my goddaughter
29:16
And I want to You know And we went on and on
29:20
And we went from that to Busted You know And Busted Was a record that
29:29
We had How many millions of views? Oh 70 million or something
29:36
Yeah, and it's still going. The new generation has picked it up
29:40
Like it's a new song all over again. And people on TikTok reenacting it
29:45
And it's just amazing how these songs just keep coming back and coming around
29:50
And it's a blessing, actually, that he's able to affect this new generation
29:58
The Hollywood Walk of Fame. Yes. Yes, congratulations. The Hollywood Walker fan
30:04
Yes. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Yes. The Hollywood Walker fan
30:10
Yes. Feels good. Next year. Next year, right? Yes. It's about time, right
30:15
Yeah. Yeah, we'll leave that right there. Tell me about the relationship with Jimi Hendrix
30:23
Yes. Wow. He's lived in our house for about two and a half years. Damn
30:29
Wow. And, you know, I was introduced to him by a friend of mine named Tony Rice
30:39
He said, you got to hear it, this guitar player. He said, man, he's the best person
30:46
And I said, what? Now, hold it. You have some good guitar players
30:53
But anyway, to cut this story short. No, you don't have to
30:57
he introduced me to jimmy and i said i wanted to hear you play and uh tony said you were the best
31:07
and this and that but he didn't have his guitar his guitar was in a pond shop so i went to the
31:14
pond shop with him and got his guitar out and he needed some strings and bought him some strings
31:21
for him to play for us. And he played the song Twist and Shout
31:28
And when I first heard it, I said, I mean, this man
31:33
was left-handed. And he was talking to me and playing. I said, hey, you got the job
31:42
And I introduced him to my brothers. And he said, He was trying to stay at a hotel, but he didn't have any money
31:54
so he stayed at my mother's house. And he was there for two and a half years
32:01
and he played some great songs with us. And we went to England, and he went to England
32:11
and he wanted to do his own thing after a certain length of time
32:15
and that's what he did. Man, that's an amazing story. It also reminds me of people like Bootsy Collins, too, who, you know, a lot of these legendary musicians started with a band
32:26
Right. And that band pretty much ushered ushered them in. People like Rick James, people like Lenny Kravitz, people like Prince, you know, don't often get
32:40
Well, they didn't often get credit for being these rock and roll iconic
32:45
Some of the best at playing these instruments ever. Right. you got a chance to meet all these folks right you're right um man what was it like just like
32:55
boosie collins let's start with boosie what was he like well i think jimmy started all of that yeah
33:02
because no no guitar player was the superstar yeah and he went to england and recorded the record uh
33:11
Purple Haze. And that record sold so much and he was able
33:17
to do his own thing as a guitar player. There's no way
33:23
if we knew he could sell that many records on his own
33:28
hey, I would assign him to T-Neck, right? Yeah. He did that and after that Bootsy Collins and Prince you know Prince was Prince
33:42
Yeah, yeah. But was Prince an outlier back then? Was he something different
33:49
Like, did y'all see him as, who's this guy? Or did you see him as, he's from the Jimmy lineage
33:55
Yeah, he was a person that could do it all, you know, and he knew he could do it all
34:00
And, you know, he wanted to prove that, you know, he wanted to play the drums, the piano, the guitar
34:10
He could play all of the instruments and write the songs. And people maybe didn't think he could do that, this little short guy walking around, you know
34:25
But he did it, you know. And Michael Jackson wanted to do his own thing
34:31
He wanted to play instruments? He wanted to try all of his ideas, you know
34:38
After he learned what he learned, you know, he wanted to experiment and do his thing, you know
34:44
And talking to Quincy, you know, it was able to bring all of those things out
34:54
You know, the Lord makes a way for you to do, you know, this is how we met Miss Braxton
35:03
We wanted to do a cognac. We didn't know about no license
35:08
You know, somebody wanted me to sign my name on it, you know, but I said, hey, man, I don't want to do that
35:16
And we met her. And she knew how we could do all these things that we wanted to do
35:23
You know, you can meet someone that, you know, with your ideas and talk to them
35:31
Maybe that's what Michael did with Quincy. And finally, when he met Quincy, everything, he was on it, did a record on his own
35:43
And that was it. That was it, right? Yeah. When did you meet Quincy
35:48
Wow. Way before he had started his label. Uh-huh. But we thought Quincy was a person that did records on Sarah Vaughan and Donna Washington and Frank Sinatra
36:04
And we didn't think of Quincy doing a rock and roll record
36:10
And although I would like to do some songs like that, and I wound up doing them with Burt Bacharach, which is one of my greatest albums
36:23
but Quincy was a person you could talk to, and he was a busy man
36:32
but you could talk to him, and then Michael Jackson and him just hit it off
36:41
They hit it off. Yeah. Did you ever work with Mike at all, or hung out with Mike
36:45
Yeah. Mike wanted us to work with the Isley Brothers and with the Jacksons
36:51
and we were doing this album with Footsteps, which he later on wanted
37:02
hey man, is there any way I could buy that record? You know, asked my brother
37:08
My brother said yeah if I can buy Billie Jean Man that didn happen huh
37:19
No. That didn't happen. Man, our time is coming to a halt, man, which I hate
37:26
but I would love to have you come back up and talk more music, if that's okay
37:30
Well, that'd be great for me. I hope you enjoyed yourself here, man
37:33
Oh, you know I did. Come on, man. Ron Isley, give his brother a big round of applause
37:38
Sorry to my listeners. Did I take one, Heather? You had these people in home for an hour
37:45
Okay, I got to take a couple callers, all right. Mark in Arkansas, say hello to Ron Isley
37:50
Go ahead real quick. What's your question? Mark. Hey, what's going on, Ron
37:54
Hey, I was trying to see who sang the chorus, I mean, that's the chorus
37:59
the verse in Choosy Lover. Me and my friend, we went back and forth about it
38:03
and so I'm just trying to figure it out because it didn't sound like you at person. Sound like you closer to the end of the verse, but I'm just trying to figure it out
38:11
That was me. That was me. That was you the whole time? Oh, yeah. Oh, man. Oh, man. Okay. Well
38:18
I can't tell her she was right, but I'll be calling y'all back on Monday. Happy birthday
38:26
Heather B. Oh, thank you. All right. Hey, Mark, you're a super citizen, brother. Dave
38:31
what would you like to say real quick? Oh, quick. Thank you for letting me in. I just want to say
38:35
Thank you so much for your decades of music. You have been the soundtrack to my life
38:41
I've been listening to you guys since the 60s, 69 to be exact
38:45
And every album that you came out with was banging. And I just want to say thank you
38:50
I got a privilege to speak to the legend. And I'm grateful for Sway in the Morning for allowing this to happen
38:55
Thank you so much. Bravo, Dave, man. You sound like DJ Premier
38:59
You're a citizen. Sway in the Morning. C. Brown is in Dallas, Texas. Go ahead, C. Brown
39:04
C. Brown. C. Brown. Once again, I'm just like everybody else. I got to give Mr. Ronald Asley his flowers for just his life and his brother's life
39:17
44 years old, and I'm just like Sway. I had to sneak my mama's Asley Brothers CDs and sneak it into my CD player
39:25
and listen to it when I was in junior high. And like I said, being 44, I love all y'all hits
39:34
but it was three of them that resonated with me that a lot of people might not know about
39:39
Lay away, fire and rain, and brother, brother, brother. And I got to tell you, Mr. Adley, thank you for coming to my campus
39:52
University of Arkansas, Pine Bluff, back in 2000 for a homecoming. It was my first time seeing you and your love, the white line
40:00
And again, just blessings to you and your family and your brothers
40:04
and just keep doing it, man. Still looking good. You still got it, brother
40:09
Oh, thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Looking sharp today, too. I feel underdressed
40:14
See, Brown at my own show. You got to see this guy. I can't see him. I can't see him
40:17
I'm over the phone. Well, we live on air, but we'll be posting it on Swayze Universe
40:22
You'll see it. Okay? And Mr. Asner, I'm waiting on that cognac and beer as well
40:27
So as soon as I hear it, it's ready for purchase. I'm in Texas. I'm sure I'm never going to worry about something
40:32
All right. That's good. Okay, give him the address. He can order it now
40:37
Order it right now. C. Brown, tell him where. RonaldIsleyLiquidGo.com You got that
40:45
IsleyLiquidGo There you go You a citizen brother I going to take one more Frank in Alabama always supports the show What you like to say Frank Man this is a true blessing I been a fan since the 80s
40:56
I'm 45. My cousin Chris put me on to the Island Brothers when I was in elementary school
41:03
And Spending Nights is one of my favorite songs. And I just want to say thank you for the decades of music
41:11
I have my own playlist that I rock with with the Island Brothers
41:16
but thank you, Sway. Thank you, Sway in the morning. Thank you, Shade45
41:20
Just say thanks to Sway in the morning family for this opportunity for me to speak with a legend
41:24
Yeah, man. Listen, brother, thank you for supporting this platform, but I'm just like you, man
41:29
That's what we, we're conduits. We want people to feel what we feel and we want our guests to feel what the people feel
41:35
So I appreciate you calling, man. Thank you, Frank. You're a citizen
41:39
Sway in the morning. Man, you've been kind of like, we got to wrap up, but I noticed you keep going into acapella
41:45
vamps, man. Is there something you can do real quick before we leave
41:49
Because you acapella in it. Ugh. Huh? Yeah. The name of the show is Sway in the Morning
41:59
So maybe you could Sway. Hello, hello girl Hello, hello
42:09
Hello, hello Hello Hello, hello Yeah Hello
42:22
Say this, say this And if you could sing You're listening to Sway
42:28
However you want to do it, Sway in the Morning You're listening to Sway
42:33
In the Morning Y'all can't say shit to me Right now None of y'all can compare
42:44
We're going to play that every day Are you kidding me? It's a hit
42:52
You got another hit on your hands Look, this is amazing I appreciate you joining us
42:59
Thank you very much Candy, thank you very much Congratulations to you
43:03
Thank you, Vanessa Thank you for your words earlier They landed on my heart
43:09
I'm going to play this song That Snoop and Jamie Foxx did
43:14
then uh have you want to set this up no it's your show tell us what happened set it up well snoop and
43:21
jamie well actually jamie fox was a guest here on the show and snoop happened to be walking by and
43:27
he came in actually snoop was a guest and jamie happened to be walking by he crashed this crashed
43:32
the interview and the producer threw on a track um and they just started freestyling it was for
43:38
the love of you. On this track. And here's what happened when the two of them
43:42
got together on this track. Yeah. I thought maybe we could have something
43:47
Can we do something fun with it? Woo! Snoop, maybe you could do something
43:52
Jamie, come in with a hook. Sway in the morning. Shade 4-5 exclusive
43:57
Shade 4-5 exclusive in the morning. Get you on your knee. Get him up, dog
44:03
Oh, I'm waiting on that. Here we go. Don't listen to this. Get him up. Get him up, dog
44:08
About to get you on your knees. Yeah, yeah. Hennessy and smoking weed with Snoop
44:18
Yeah, yeah. That's what we do. Yeah, yeah, yeah
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