"Lay Away" is a 1972

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 m ...

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

single released by The Isley Brothers on their T-Neck imprint. Released as the first record off their ''

Brother, Brother, Brother ''Brother, Brother, Brother'' is the tenth album released by The Isley Brothers on their T-Neck imprint on May 2, 1972. It was to be the Isleys' last studio record with Buddah Records before moving on to Epic in the middle of 1973. The album' ...

'' album, the song depicted the narrator's description of how his lover's love was so special that he wanted to have for keeps just in case (hence the lyrics ''going back to get (your love) on a rainy day/your love is safe in my lay-away''). The song took the riff of Honey Cone's "

Want Ads "Want Ads" is a song that was a million-selling #1 pop and R&B hit recorded by female group, Honey Cone for their second album '' Sweet Replies'' and also appears on their third album ''Soulful Tapestry''. The song on the Detroit-based Hot Wax l ...

" especially in the bridges. The song was significant for showcasing brother Ernie on lead guitar for the first time on an Isley Brothers record. Written and produced by elder brothers O'Kelly, Rudolph and

Ronald Ronald is a masculine given name derived from the Old Norse ''Rögnvaldr'',#H2, Hanks; Hardcastle; Hodges (2006) p. 234; #H1, Hanks; Hodges (2003) § Ronald. or possibly from Old English ''Regenweald''. In some cases ''Ronald'' is an Anglicised ...

, the song charted at number fifty-four pop and number six R&B in the spring of 1972.

Credits

*Lead vocals by

Ronald Isley Ronald Isley (; born May 21, 1941) is an American recording artist, songwriter, record producer, and occasional actor. Isley is the lead singer and founding member of the family music group The Isley Brothers. Early life Born in 1941 to Sally ...

*Background vocals by

O'Kelly Isley, Jr. O'Kelly "Kelly" Isley Jr. (December 25, 1937 – March 31, 1986) was an American singer and one of the founding members of the family group the Isley Brothers. Biography The eldest of the Isley Brothers, Kelly started singing with his brothe ...

and

Rudolph Isley Rudolph Bernard Isley (born April 1, 1939 in Cincinnati, Ohio) is an American singer-songwriter and is one of the founding members of The Isley Brothers. Life and career Born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, Rudy began singing in church at a youn ...

*Instrumentation by the Isley Brothers: ** Ernie Isley:

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

s ** Chris Jasper:

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

** Marvin Isley:

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

*Other instrumentation by assorted musicians

References

External links

1972 singles The Isley Brothers songs Songs written by Rudolph Isley Songs written by O'Kelly Isley Jr. Songs written by Ronald Isley T-Neck Records singles {{1970s-single-stub