Marvin Isley (August 18, 1953 – June 6, 2010)
– accessed June 2010 was the youngest member of the family music group

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

and its

bass guitarist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboard bass or a low bra ...

Early life

Originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, Isley and his family moved to a home in

Englewood, New Jersey Englewood is a city in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, which at the 2020 United States census had a population of 29,308. Englewood was incorporated as a city by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1899, from por ...

in the summer of 1959. Isley eventually graduated from Englewood's

Dwight Morrow High School Dwight Morrow High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school located in Englewood, in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Englewood Public School District. The school also serves students from Engle ...

in 1972.Wilner, Paul
"Isley Brothers: A Family Affair"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', March 13, 1977. Accessed September 18, 2011. "WHEN Sallye Isley moved her brood of children from Cincinnati to Englewood in the summer of 1959, she was participating in a show-business phenomenon.... While their older brothers toured America, the younger Isley boys enrolled successively in Englewood Junior High and Dwight Morrow High School.... Right now, the brothers reside near enough to each other to keep in close touch. Ronald lives in Teaneck, Kelly Jr. in Alpine, Rudolph in Haworth and Ernie in Englewood." In 1976, he graduated from

C.W. Post College LIU Post (formally, the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University, and often referred to as C.W. Post) is a private university in Brookville, New York. It is the largest campus of the private Long Island University system. The campus is nam ...

with a degree in music.

Career

Marvin began playing bass guitar while in high school and by the end of the decade was being tutored and mentored by his elder brothers alongside elder brother Ernie and their friend, Chris Jasper, who was an in-law. By 1971, Marvin began performing bass guitar on

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

' album, '' Givin' It Back''. Within two years, he became an official member of the group. In addition to playing bass, he also provided percussion and also wrote or co-wrote some of the group's hits including "

Fight the Power Fight the Power may refer to: * "Fight the Power (Part 1 & 2)", a 1975 song by the Isley Brothers * "Fight the Power" (Public Enemy song) (1989) * '' Fight the Power... Live!'', a 1989 music video compilation by Public Enemy * '' Fight the Power: G ...

", " The Pride" and " Between the Sheets". Breaking away from the Isleys in 1984, he, Ernie and Chris formed the trio,

Isley-Jasper-Isley Isley-Jasper-Isley was a splinter group A schism ( , , or, less commonly, ) is a division between people, usually belonging to an organization, movement, or religious denomination. The word is most frequently applied to a split in what had ...

, who had a hit in 1985 with "

Caravan of Love "Caravan of Love" is a 1985 R&B hit originally recorded by Isley-Jasper-Isley, the second half of the Isley Brothers' ''3 + 3'' lineup of the 1970s. Original Isley-Jasper-Isley version After breaking away from the family group, the group (not ...

". The group broke up in 1988 after Ernie Isley signed a solo recording deal. Three years later, Marvin and Ernie reunited with Ron Isley to reform the Isley Brothers. Marvin remained a member until complications from his longtime battle with

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...

forced him into retirement in 1997. Having been diagnosed with diabetes in his early 20s, Isley's condition worsened to the point where he had to have both legs

amputated Amputation is the removal of a limb by trauma, medical illness, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as malignancy or gangrene. In some cases, it is carried out on indivi ...

. Isley was inducted as a member of the Isley Brothers to the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and othe ...

in 1992.

Death

Marvin Isley died on June 6, 2010, from complications of

at the Seasons Hospice within

Weiss Memorial Hospital Louis A. Weiss Memorial Hospital, is an urban hospital located in the Uptown neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. It is a 236-bed hospital, located on the site of what used to be Clarendon Beach, a popular beach of the city. Until the 2000s, Weiss ...

in Chicago, Illinois, at age 56. Besides his three brothers Ronald, Ernie and Rudolph, Isley was survived by his wife Sheila Felton Isley, a son Cory, and two daughters, Sydney and Jalen.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Isley, Marvin 1953 births 2010 deaths American funk bass guitarists American male bass guitarists American male guitarists American rhythm and blues bass guitarists American soul guitarists Deaths from diabetes Dwight Morrow High School alumni Musicians from Cincinnati People from Englewood, New Jersey The Isley Brothers members Guitarists from Ohio 20th-century American guitarists Burials at George Washington Memorial Park (Paramus, New Jersey)