"Don't Say Goodnight (It's Time for Love)" is a 1980

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

and

quiet storm Quiet storm is a radio format and genre of R&B, performed in a smooth, romantic, jazz-influenced style. It was named after the title song on Smokey Robinson's 1975 album ''A Quiet Storm''. The radio format was pioneered in 1976 by Melvin Lin ...

record by

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, ...

, released on their T-Neck imprint. The track was released as the first single from their 1980

platinum album Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

, '' Go All the Way''.

Song background

The song, which was released as an answer of sorts to

Teddy Pendergrass Theodore DeReese Pendergrass (March 26, 1950 – January 13, 2010) was an American soul and R&B singer-songwriter. He was born in Kingstree, South Carolina. Pendergrass spent most of his life in the Philadelphia area, and initially rose to musi ...

' hit, "

Turn Off the Lights "Turn Off the Lights" was a hit for R&B crooner Teddy Pendergrass, released as a single on June 23, 1979. Released from his hit album, ''Teddy,'' the song hit No. 48 on the Pop charts and No. 2 on the R&B charts. The song was also a b-side s ...

", was an ode to love sung 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 ...

, who begs his lady in his trademark falsetto to give him her love, stating if "people say that love is for the giving/so lemme love you, girl".

Chart performance

The song was also their last

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...

pop hit in 16 years, peaking at number 39 pop while reaching number one on the R&B singles chart.

Personnel

: lead and background vocals *

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 ...

: background vocals *

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 for ...

: guitars, drums *

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

: bass *

Chris Jasper Christopher Howard Jasper (born December 30, 1951)Allmusic biography/ref> is an American singer, composer, and producer. Jasper is a former member of the Isley Brothers and Isley-Jasper-Isley and is responsible for writing and producing the maj ...

: keyboards, piano, string synthesizers

References

{{authority control 1980 songs 1980 singles The Isley Brothers songs Songs written by Chris Jasper Songs written by Ernie Isley Songs written by Rudolph Isley Songs written by O'Kelly Isley Jr. Songs written by Ronald Isley Songs written by Marvin Isley Soul ballads T-Neck Records singles 1980s ballads Quiet storm songs