"(At Your Best) You Are Love" is a song by R&B group

the Isley Brothers The Isley Brothers ( ) are an American soul group originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, that began as a vocal trio consisting of the brothers O'Kelly Isley Jr., Rudolph Isley and Ronald Isley in the 1950s. With a career spanning over seven decades, ...

. It was originally released on their album ''

Harvest for the World ''Harvest for the World'' is the fourteenth studio album released by The Isley Brothers on their T-Neck imprint on May 29, 1976. The album was remastered and expanded for inclusion in the 2015 released CD box set ''The RCA Victor & T-Neck Alb ...

''. The song was dedicated to their mother, Sally. Although not a single, the song was a radio hit in 1976, and later became a hit for R&B singer

Aaliyah Aaliyah Dana Haughton ( ; January 16, 1979 – August 25, 2001) was an American singer, actress, dancer, and model. Known as the " Princess of R&B" and "Queen of Urban Pop", she is credited with helping to redefine contemporary R&B, p ...

in 1994.

Background

"(At Your Best) You Are Love" was written by

Ernie Isley Ernest Isley (born March 7, 1952) is an American musician best known as a member of the musical ensemble The Isley Brothers, and also the splinter group Isley-Jasper-Isley. Biography Ernie was born in Cincinnati, where his older brothers formed ...

and it was originally "dedicated to the Isley Brothers' mother, Sally". It was featured on the groups fourteenth studio album "Harvest for the World" (1976). According to Isley: "The first time I played it after I had initially written the song was for my brother Rudolph, just voice and guitar. When he heard me say, "You're a positive motivating force within my life," he got this quizzical smile on his face, like how? The syllables and the notes — he goes, say that again? Then he sort of nodded his head like, yeah, that's pretty good. And that's one of the things that I think captures the emotion in the song". While discussing the song's message he stated, "That song was expressing the way I felt towards someone. And sometimes you can feel a certain way towards someone and they don't always get it. So it was both like an affirmation and kind of a frustration too because it does say, "You may not be in the mood to learn what you think you know".

Personnel

Ronald Isley Ronald Isley ( ; born May 21, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Isley is the lead singer and founding member of the family music group The Isley Brothers. Early life Born in 1941 to Sallye Bernice (née Bell) and O ...

: lead vocals, background vocals * O'Kelly Isley, Jr.: background vocals *

Rudolph Isley Rudolph "Rudy" Bernard Isley (April 1, 1939 – October 11, 2023) was an American singer-songwriter and Christian minister and one of the founding members of The Isley Brothers. Life and career Rudolph "Rudy" Bernard Isley was born on April 1, ...

: background vocals *

: electric guitar, acoustic guitars, drums, background vocals *

Marvin Isley Marvin Isley (August 18, 1953 – June 6, 2010)
– accessed June 2010 was an American musician best known as the young ...

: bass played by, background vocals *

Chris Jasper Christopher Howard Jasper (December 30, 1951 – February 23, 2025) was an American singer, composer and producer. Jasper was a member of the Isley Brothers from 1973 to 1983, and Isley-Jasper-Isley from 1984 to 1987. He was also a successful s ...

: acoustic piano, electric piano, keyboards, synthesizers, background vocals *Produced, written, composed and arranged by

The Isley Brothers The Isley Brothers ( ) are an American soul group originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, that began as a vocal trio consisting of the brothers O'Kelly Isley Jr., Rudolph Isley and Ronald Isley in the 1950s. With a career spanning over seven decades, ...

and

Aaliyah version

Aaliyah covered the song for her debut studio album, ''

Age Ain't Nothing but a Number ''Age Ain't Nothing but a Number'' is the debut studio album by American singer Aaliyah. It was released on May 24, 1994, by Blackground Records and Jive Records. After being signed by her uncle Barry Hankerson, Aaliyah was introduced to reco ...

'' (1994). Her version, titled "At Your Best (You Are Love)," was produced by R. Kelly. It released as the second single from ''Age Ain't Nothing but a Number'' on August 22, 1994, by

Blackground Records Blackground Records 2.0 (legal name Blackground Records, LLC, formerly known as Blackground Records, also known as Blackground Entertainment) is an American record label founded and owned by Jomo and Barry Hankerson. Initially named Blackground ...

and

Jive Records Jive Records (later stylized as JIVE Records) was a British-American independent record label founded by Clive Calder in 1981 as a subsidiary of the Zomba Group of Companies, Zomba Group. In the US, the label had offices in New York City and Chic ...

. A commercial success, it peaked at number six on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number two on the

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

. Soon after its release, it was certified

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA).

Background

At one point The Isley Brothers catalog saw an increase in popularity among the

Hip Hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

community. According to Ernie Isley, "The hip-hop-MTV-rap guys, as they came to the forefront, were leaning on different songs from our catalog. They embraced us and we embraced them back. We had to give aliyah's covera green light". Aaliyah was a fan of the group and after meeting lead singer

she expressed to him how much she loved the song; eventually, he gave her the green light to record the record. Former Jive records A&R Jeff Sledge credits R.Kelly for Aaliyah covering the song. In an Interview Sledge said: "If I'm not mistaken, I don't think the Isley Brothers version was ever a single. It was like an album cut. A lot of people didn't really know that because it wasn't a big album single. It wasn't even one of their more popular album cuts. They have a lot of album cuts that are very popular too and it wasn't even that. It was this hidden gem. I think it was a Chicago thing. Knowing Robert, it was probably a big record in Chicago and he just liked the record and he just decided to do it over".

Music and lyrics

Musically, the album version of "At Your Best (You Are Love)" is a "vintage

Soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

ballad". In a review of ''Age Age Ain't Nothing but a Number'', ''Billboard'' described the song as a "sweet ballad". The songs arrangement is very close to the original version performed by the Isley Brothers. Aaliyah begins the record showcasing her "flute-like head voice" by singing the lyrics "Let me know ... let me know", in an

a cappella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

. Ann Powers from

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

noted that "As the arrangement unfolds, satin, around her, she takes in each phrase and makes the listener consider it, moving slowly and deliberately, as if she's explaining something". Powers concluded that the vocals on the song are not sexy but reassuring. According to ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' writer Mosi Reeves, "she sings with grace, before offering a wordless cry with incandescent softness". Tonya Pendleton from ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' noted that though her voice is soft, "her diction is clear, and each word resonates with feeling" on the song. The "Gangstar Child Remix", which was released as the single has a "bass-heavy

G-funk G-funk, short for gangsta funk, (or funk rap) is a sub-genre of gangsta rap that emerged from the West Coast scene in the early 1990s. The genre is heavily influenced by the synthesizer-heavy 1970s funk sound of Parliament-Funkadelic (aka P-F ...

beat", and it features various murmured interjections from Kelly. For the remix, Aaliyah sings with newly alternate vocals, "that's more restrained than the version on her debut, Age Ain't Nothin' But a Number".

Critical reception

"At Your Best (You Are Love)" received widespread critical acclaim. Oliver VanDervoort from AXS praised Aaliyah, saying "The singer nailed her version of the song." Reviewing the single for ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'',

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the musi ...

described the song as a "seductive urban ballad". Adding that "Aaliyah continues to exhibit a warm and soulful style that belies her teen-age years." He noted that R. Kelly "does an excellent job of blending a raw street groove with a lush R&B melody and layers of sweet vocals. Gorgeous." Damien Scott from ''Complex'' felt that the song was a nice departure from the

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

and

new jack swing New jack swing, new jack, or swingbeat is a fusion genre of the rhythms and production techniques of hip hop and dance-pop, and the urban contemporary sound of R&B. Spearheaded by producers Teddy Riley, Bernard Belle, Jimmy Jam and Te ...

–inspired songs that comprised a large portion of ''Age Ain't Nothing but a Number''. He said that the song showed Aaliyah was "on the cusp of adulthood". John Martinucci from the ''

Gavin Report The ''Gavin Report'' was a San Francisco-based radio industry trade publication. The publication was founded by radio performer Bill Gavin in 1958. Its Top 40 listings were used for many years by programmers to decide content of programs. The ...

'' said, "Aaliyah's second single from her gold debut album, Age Ain't Nothing But A Number isn't the one everybody was anticipating. Aaliyah respectfully remakes The Isley Brothers classic with soothing vocals". In his weekly UK chart commentary,

James Masterton James Masterton (born 2 September 1973) is a British music critic and columnist, his work focusing on the UK Singles Chart having been an online fixture on various sites since the 1990s. Masterton is also a producer for talkSPORT, and has worke ...

wrote, "Her second hit is in essence a beauty, a sparse but haunting rendition of an old Isley Brothers track, first written and recorded before she was even born." While reviewing the song, Ralph Tee from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as ''Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music We ...

'' gave the song a 4 out 5 rating and praised it for "combining the essence of the original song with new ideas in the arrangement and a drum kick which opens it up to the dancefloor". He also felt that "it's a tune that'll be making a big impression soon." Tee's colleague Alan Jones gave it three out of five, adding that "this pretty Isley Brothers

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

is played on traditional instruments, and is sung by the striking young R Kelly protege in intimate and breathily pure style." MTV.com felt that "(At Your Best) You Are Love" was one of the album's highlights, along with "Young Nation," "

Age Ain't Nothing But A Number ''Age Ain't Nothing but a Number'' is the debut studio album by American singer Aaliyah. It was released on May 24, 1994, by Blackground Records and Jive Records. After being signed by her uncle Barry Hankerson, Aaliyah was introduced to reco ...

" and " Down With The Clique." In a retrospective review, Cydney Lee from'' Billboard'' praised Aaliyah's vocal delivery on the song and felt that she maintained the original song's "depth with a sense of maturity and grace that defined her emerging class of young R&B stars, like

Brandy Brandy is a liquor produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35–60% alcohol by volume (70–120 US proof) and is typically consumed as an after-dinner digestif. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks. Others are coloured ...

and Monica, at the time." In a ''

'' interview discussing Aaliyah and the songs legacy, Ernie Isley praised her cover. Isley stated, "When I first heard it, I liked it. I had no idea that it would be such a big hit for her, much less a signature hit for her. And then she did two versions of the song. There was one that had a little bit more hip-hop feel in the music, then there was the first one that was similar to the Isley Brother version, but either way, she made the song hers".

Commercial Performance

"At Your Best (You Are Love)" entered the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at number 69 during the week of September 3, 1994. Seven weeks later, on October 15, the song peaked at number 6; it has spent 20 consecutive weeks on the Hot 100. Meanwhile, on the

chart, it debuted at number 10; 4 weeks later, it peaked at number 2. It also peaked at number 2 on the Rhythmic chart. The song received a Gold certification by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

on October 25, 1994. Internationally, the song reached the top 40 in several countries, including The Netherlands, where it peaked at number 40 on November 11. On the UK singles chart, it peaked at number 27. On the UK Dance chart, it peaked at number 11. It also peaked at number 4 on the UK Hip Hop/R&B chart. In New Zealand, the song peaked at number 38 on December 4.

Music video

The accompanying

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

for "At Your Best (You Are Love)" was directed by

Millicent Shelton Millicent B. Shelton (born January 29, 1966) is an American music video, television and film director. Shelton began her career as a wardrobe production assistant on the Spike Lee film '' Do the Right Thing'' (1989). She went on to direct music ...

. In her biography ''Baby Girl: Better Known as Aaliyah'' (2021) author Kathy Iandoli said the video "shows Aaliyah singing into an old-school Kellogg telephone in a booth, while R. Kelly waits for her in the car." In another scene, "the two then start step dancing with each other against a brick overlay before pivoting to the obligatory hip-hop music video parking lot scene". According to Iandoli, her earlier videos including "(At Your Best) You Are Love You Are Love", all have in common the usage of an "vignette effect, where Aaliyah is almost haloed, as the color schemes change from warm earth tone tints to black and white". The video made its television debut on

BET Black Entertainment Television (BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting Black American audiences. It is the flagship channel of the BET Media Group, a subsidiary of Paramount Global's CBS Entertainment Group. Originally launched ...

during the week of August 14, 1994 and August 27 on The Box. During the week of August 21, 1994 the video made its debut on

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

. The video received ample airplay and became the 8th most played video on BET, while becoming the 18th most played on MTV for the week ending on September 25. It was published on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

in October 2009. As of May 2024, the video has amassed over 22 million views.

Track listings and formats

* US 12-inch vinyl # "At Your Best (You Are Love)" (Gangstar Child Remix) – 4:30 # "At Your Best (You Are Love)" (Stepper's Ball Remix) – 3:05 # "At Your Best (You Are Love)" (album version) – 4:43 # "At Your Best (You Are Love)" (Gangstar Child Remix) (instrumental) – 4:30 * US cassette single # "At Your Best (You Are Love)" (album version) – 4:43 # "At Your Best (You Are Love)" (Gangstar Child Remix) – 4:30 # "At Your Best (You Are Love)" (Stepper's Ball Remix) – 3:05 * US maxi CD single # "At Your Best (You Are Love)" (album version) – 4:43 # "At Your Best (You Are Love)" (Gangstar Child Remix) – 4:30 # "At Your Best (You Are Love)" (Stepper's Ball Remix) – 3:05 # " Back & Forth" (Ms. Mello Radio Mix) – 3:50 * UK 12-inch vinyl # "At Your Best (You Are Love)" (Gangstar Child Remix) – 4:30 # "At Your Best (You Are Love)" (Stepper's Ball Remix) – 3:05 # "At Your Best (You Are Love)" (album version) – 4:43 # "At Your Best (You Are Love)" (UK Flavour Stepper's Mix) – 4:55 # "At Your Best (You Are Love)" (UK Flavour) – 4:57 * UK cassette and Japanese mini CD singles # "At Your Best (You Are Love)" (album version) – 4:43 # "At Your Best (You Are Love)" (Gangstar Child Remix) – 4:30 * UK maxi CD single # "At Your Best (You Are Love)" (no intro) – 4:12 # "At Your Best (You Are Love)" (Gangstar Child Remix) – 4:30 # "At Your Best (You Are Love)" (Stepper's Ball Remix) – 3:05 # "At Your Best (You Are Love)" (UK Flavour) – 4:57 # "At Your Best (You Are Love)" (UK Flavour Stepper's Mix) – 4:55 # "At Your Best (You Are Love)" (album version) – 4:43

Credits and personnel

Credits are adapted from the liner notes of ''Age Ain't Nothing but a Number''. *

– lead vocals, backing vocals * R. Kelly – multi-instrumentation, production

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

Notes

Other versions

*In the Philippines, the Aaliyah version was covered by two artists: MYMP on their album ''

Versions Version may refer to: Computing * Software version, a set of numbers that identify a unique evolution of a computer program * VERSION (CONFIG.SYS directive), a configuration directive in FreeDOS Music * Cover version * Dub version * Remix * Versi ...

'' and Nina from her love songs live album '' Nina Live!''. *Swedish artist

El Perro Del Mar El Perro del Mar (literally "The Dog of the Sea" in Spanish) is a musical project that was founded in December 2003 in Gothenburg, Sweden. The sole member of El Perro del Mar, Sarah Assbring (born 1977), initially started as an MP3/CD-R artist an ...

covered the song in 2009 as a special

Record Store Day Record Store Day is a semi-annual event established in 2008 to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". Held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November, the day brings together f ...

release as well. *In 2015,

Frank Ocean Frank Ocean (born Christopher Edwin Breaux; October 28, 1987) is an American singer and songwriter. He has been credited by several music journalism, music critics as a pioneer of the alternative R&B genre. Ocean has won two Grammy Awards and a B ...

released a cover (You are Luhh) on his

Tumblr Tumblr (pronounced "tumbler") is a microblogging and Social networking service, social networking website founded by David Karp in 2007 and is owned by American company Automattic. The service allows users to post multimedia and other content ...

account as a tribute to

, one day after what would have been her 36th birthday. A slightly different version was also included on his visual album '' Endless''. *In 2021, English singer

Sinéad Harnett Sinéad Monica Harnett (born 12 October 1989) is an English singer and songwriter of Irish and Thai descent. Early life Born to a Thai mother and an Irish father who separated when she was a toddler, Harnett was raised by her mother in Finchley ...

covered the song with a new music video to tribute to Aaliyah's version of the song.

Samples

DJ Screw Robert Earl Davis Jr. (July 20, 1971 – November 16, 2000), better known by his stage name DJ Screw, was an American hip hop DJ based in Houston, Texas, and best known as the creator of the chopped and screwed DJ technique. He was a centra ...

sampled the "Gangstar Child Remix" of Aaliyah's version in his song "My Mind Went Blank", released in 1995. *In 2010,

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals and creatures * A male duck * Drake (mythology), a term related to and often synonymous with dragon People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family ...

released a song with

Young Jeezy Jay Wayne Jenkins (born September 28, 1977), known by his stage name Jeezy (or Young Jeezy), is an American rapper. He is credited, alongside fellow Georgia-based rappers T.I. and Gucci Mane, with pioneering the hip hop subgenre trap music fo ...

called "Unforgettable" which samples Aaliyah's version of the record. *"Activist" by Gucci Mane & Peewee Longway, released in 2013, samples Aaliyah's version. *

Tamar Braxton Tamar Estine Braxton (born March 17, 1977) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and television personality. Braxton began her career in 1990 as a founding member of The Braxtons, an R&B singing group formed with her sisters. The Braxtons r ...

sampled Aaliyah's version in her single with

Future The future is the time after the past and present. Its arrival is considered inevitable due to the existence of time and the laws of physics. Due to the apparent nature of reality and the unavoidability of the future, everything that currently ex ...

, " Let Me Know".

References

Bibliography

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:At Your Best 1975 songs 1994 singles Aaliyah songs The Isley Brothers songs Soul ballads Rhythm and blues ballads Songs written by Chris Jasper Song recordings produced by R. Kelly Songs written by Marvin Isley Songs written by Ernie Isley Songs written by Rudolph Isley Songs written by O'Kelly Isley Jr. Songs written by Ronald Isley 1970s ballads Music videos directed by Millicent Shelton