The Isley Brothers — Tiny Desk (home), St. Louis, 2021

Released on 18 August 2021 in NPR’s Tiny Desk (home) series, this session brings together Ronald and Ernie Isley, pillars of the Isley Brothers, filmed from their home studio in St. Louis, Missouri. Across four songs, the brothers span nearly seven decades of a career that fed American soul, funk and R&B. The set opens with “Between the Sheets” (1983), rolls through “Footsteps in the Dark” (1977) and “For the Love of You” (1975), then closes on the immortal “That Lady” (1973), whose Ernie guitar solo remains a benchmark. Ronald notes along the way that these songs have been sampled or covered by hundreds of artists, from Notorious B.I.G. to Kendrick Lamar. Joined on vocals by Kandy Isley and Kimberly Johnson and on drums by Calvin Rodgers, the Isleys deliver a live filmed concert of rare elegance. A living lesson in soul from one of the most influential groups in the history of African American music.