'Fight the Power' provided Public Enemy with the title and some beats for their defining 1989 protest anthem, Ice Cube based 'It Was a Good Day' on 'Footsteps in the Dark', 'Between the Sheets' provided the bed for the Notorious B.I.G.'s 'Big Poppa', 'That Lady' invigorated Beastie Boys' 'B-Boy Bouillabaisse' and can be heard in Kendrick Lamar's recent 'i'. The Isleys also are a bottomless well for samples in hip-hop.
'Shout', 'Twist and Shout', 'This Old Heart of Mine', 'It's Your Thing', 'That Lady', and 'Fight the Power' all arrived during the glory days of Top 40 in the '60s and '70s, enduring hits still heard on oldies radio, movies, television, and commercials. Few other artists can match that kind of longevity and, fittingly, the band's biggest hits still resonate.
They last cracked the charts in 2006, with 'Just Came Here to Chill' petering out at 25 on the R&B charts. The Isley Brothers first appeared on Billboard in 1959, when 'Shout (Part 1)' made its way to 47 on the Hot 100.
