''It's Our Thing'' is the sixth album released 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, ...

on their own T-Neck Records imprint in April 1969. Fully emancipated from three and a half years in

Motown Records Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...

and encouraged by their international success in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, the Isleys composed this album in the style of

Sly & the Family Stone Sly and the Family Stone was an American band formed in San Francisco, California, in 1966 and active until 1983. Their work, which blended elements of funk, soul, psychedelic rock, gospel, and R&B, became a pivotal influence on subsequent Amer ...

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, and record producer. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th-century music, he is referred to by Honorific nick ...

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

that was dominating the music industry at the time but with their own flair as explained in their smash "

It's Your Thing "It's Your Thing" is a funk single by The Isley Brothers. Released in 1969, the anthem was an artistic response to Motown chief Berry Gordy's demanding hold on his artists after the Isleys left the label in late 1968. The lyrics of the chorus, w ...

". Other hits off the album though it didn't chart included "I Know Who You Been Socking It To" and "Give the Women What They Want". This album was also the Isleys' first Top 40 record reaching #22 on the pop albums chart. Curiously, despite its importance in the career of the seminal group, this album was not released in CD format until 2008. The album was remastered and expanded for inclusion in the 2015 released CD box set "The RCA Victor & T-Neck Album Masters, 1959-1983". Although not featured on the album's cover, ''It's Our Thing'' marks the first Isley Brothers album to feature Ernie Isley on bass guitar.

Track listing

Personnel

;The Isley Brothers *

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 * O'Kelly Isley, Jr. and

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 *Everett Collins – drums, percussion * Ernie Isley – bass, guitar ;with *Instrumentation by assorted

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

musicians ;Technical *Tony May – recording and mix engineer *Acy R. Lehman – art direction *James Kriegsmann Jr. – cover photography

References

External links

The Isley Brothers - ''It's Our Thing'' (1969) album releases & credits
at

Discogs Discogs ( ; short for " discographies") is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. Database contents are user-generated, and described in ''T ...

The Isley Brothers - ''It's Our Thing'' (1969) album to be listened
as stream on

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The Isley Brothers - ''It's Our Thing'' (1969) album back cover
at www.FunkMySoul.gr {{Authority control 1969 albums The Isley Brothers albums Buddah Records albums T-Neck Records albums Albums produced by Rudolph Isley Albums produced by Ronald Isley