One of only a handful of tracks Hendrix cut with the Isleys, 1964's Testify is a furious, entertaining romp enlivened by Jimi's guitar breaks and Ron Isley's gift for mimicry, as he tries to convince us that Ray Charles, James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Jackie Wilson and even the Beatles joined the Brothers in the studio for this track. They remained an enduring concert attraction, however, thanks in part to their energetic new guitarist, a former paratrooper from Seattle named Jimi Hendrix.
The Isleys struggled to follow Shout even a top 40 hit with Twist & Shout in 1962 – a year before the Fabs got their hands on it – couldn't keep them in the charts for long. A signature hit for Lulu in the 1960s, the 1959 original remains a barnstormer 55 years on – it was often Bruce Springsteen's showcloser on his last tour. Their first smash – which began life as an improvised onstage vamp on their cover of Jackie Wilson's Lonely Teardrops – had its roots firmly in the call-and-response tradition of gospel, and even featured Professor Herman Stephens, the organist at their church, on keyboards. The Brothers Isley (Kelly, Rudy and Ron) started out singing gospel music before embarking upon a pop career that would stretch over five decades.
0 kommentar(er)
