The Isley Brothers Talk Teaming with Beyoncé, Taking Their Career to the Next Phase

The year is 1975. The Isley Brothers are onstage in Chicago, the latest stop on their current tour, and performing songs from their new album The Heat Is On. Featuring future Isley classics such as the funk-rock political anthem “Fight the Power (Part 1 & 2)” and stirring ballad “For the Love of You (Part 1 & 2),” there was another song that made temperatures rise that night.

“We started playing ‘Make Me Say It Again Girl,’ guitar mastermind Ernie Isley tells Billboard during an exclusive interview. “And Ronald was dressed in this sharp leather outfit. Then on the last verse and chorus of the song, one of our co-workers came onstage and draped a white mink over Ronald. I think every woman in there probably turned into [melted] chocolate.”

Now in 2022, the Isley Brothers are taking their 60-plus-year career to the next phase. And it’s starting with an even more sultry and sensuous revamp of “Make Me” — this time with Beyoncé intertwining her sexy, silky voice with Ronald Isley’s ageless, supple tenor. Premiering worldwide on Tuesday (Aug. 9) on iHeartRadio, “Make Me Say It Again Girl” follows last year’s release of the Isley Brothers’ “Friends & Family” with Snoop Dogg.

It also doubles as the title of the siblings’ new album. Hinting only that “there are many more guest features” to come, Ronald and Ernie say Make Me the album will arrive in September via indie label RI Top Ten. But getting back to the “Make Me” duet with Beyoncé, Ronald notes, “Beyoncé’s album [Renaissance] is out now. But nobody in the world would let the first single of our album come out at the same time. That’s how important this work is.”

From how the original “Make Me Say It Again Girl (Part 1 & 2)” came about as well as the first-time pairing with Beyoncé, check out some more from the Rock & Hall of Fame inductees and Ronald’s manager/wife Kandy below.

A Pairing Years in the Making

Ronald: I’d met and talked to Beyoncé when she was just getting started with Destiny’s Child. When we began recording our new album out here [Los Angeles] last year, the idea of working with Beyoncé was one of the first things I thought about. She worked on this just about the whole last year in between recording her own album, doing her vocals for this while she was in the Hamptons.

Kandy: Tina Knowles-Lawson [Beyoncé’s mother] was very influential in getting this record started and getting it to the point where we are now. She has a love for the Isley Brothers and her daughter grew up listening to this type of music. All we can say is that God’s hands was on this whole project. And the fact that they are giving us permission to put it out at this time is just overly special. Between Beyoncé’s undeniable talent and [producer/engineer] Tony Maserati’s superb job at blending her and Ronald’s voices — he made it sound like she was right there with Ronald in the same room.

Why “Make Me” Was the Right Song

Ronald: It’s probably one of the greatest songs that Ernie wrote [co-writers include Ronald, Marvin Isley, Rudolph Isley, O’Kelly Isley and Chris Jasper]. And when we’ve performed the song in concert, the response has been unbelievable. So this was the right song to do.

Ernie: While recording The Heat Is On, we kicked different ideas back and forth. We had “Fight the Power,” “Sensuality” and “For the Love of You.” But Ronald kept telling me there was something he was trying to say that he hadn’t sung yet. We were in our mother’s basement. I picked up my six-string guitar and started playing then singing the words “Make me say it again.” And Ronald’s like “Oh my God, where did that come from?” Then I sang, “I believe you are a rainbow” and Ronald’s screaming “That’s it … Here’s what I’m trying to say!” When it came time for us to record “Make Me” then, it was flawless. Now this duet is a whole redefinition of the song that many people will be hearing for the very first time. And this new version is the mountaintop.

60 Years … And Still Going Strong

Ernie: Since the beginning with “Twist and Shout” [the group’s first top 5 R&B single in 1962], the Isley Brothers music has basically influenced everybody that you might want to name — from the Beatles to Jimi Hendrix to the Average White Band and Whitney Houston. Our catalog is constantly in a position of being rediscovered. How many times has “Between the Sheets” been sampled? Ice Cube’s “It Was a Good Day” samples our “Footsteps in the Dark.” Then you’ve got a lead vocalist who’s gone from “Twist and Shout” and “Between the Sheets” to “It’s Your Thing,” “That Lady” and “Harvest for the World.” I mean, the man is my brother [laughs]. But when it comes to that vocal instrument and its recognition factor/influence … We’ve stretched around the world with our music by grace. So Lord willing, I expect it to continue and thrive.

Ronald: For me, this new album is almost like the beginning. I’m so happy about it. But I also want people to hear it and decide. I remember when I couldn’t wait for people to hear “That Lady” when we were mixing it. That’s how excited we all were. You just want all of your fans to hear it too. Beyoncé’s mother texted us to say how much they were crying over the record when Beyoncé played it for them. Me, Kandy and her sister were together when we first heard it and they were crying. Then Ernie and his wife came over and there was crying again. We hadn’t done any crying over a record in years [laughs].

Kandy: Thinking of retiring? No way. These brothers are still at the top of their game. They’ve paved the way and set trends while their music has stood the test of time. The hunger, love and passion that they have for music is what you will hear and feel when you listen to these new songs.

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